Big Eyes Dogs: Positive And Negative Connotation


Big Eyes Dogs: Positive And Negative Connotation

It’s fun to look at photographs of big eyes dogs, cats, dolphins, fish, birds, and small animals because these images allow us to see something we might not otherwise. We’re used to seeing humans in the places of power and big animals in the spaces where they exist – a skyscraper, for example, doesn’t just seem significant, it feels big, an image that’s been drilled into our brains by TV or movies.

Small Pictures Of Animals

When we look at pictures of small animals, we think that it must be very different from looking at animals in their natural habitat. And while it is true that smaller images and small pictures of animals might make us think differently about them, that’s only because they seem foreign to us. There are, in fact, many ways in which larger images and larger pictures of animals can be strange to us.

Strength With Size: Big Eyes Dogs

For example, it’s often strange to see animals as large and strong as cows or bulls standing next to small humans. In other words, it’s unnatural to us because we’ve grown up with animals as a unit – and we associate strength with size, even if the animals are, in fact, smaller.

Big Eyes Dogs: Positive And Negative Connotation
Big Eyes Dogs: Positive And Negative Connotation

Big Animals Feel More Significant

In another case, big animals feel more significant because they’re bigger and heavier than small animals. When you weigh two people, and one person weighs one hundred pounds, the one who weighs one hundred pounds seems more “real” than the one who weighs one pound. Similarly, smaller animals still feel larger than animals that are more massive than they are because they weigh less.

Recommended just for you:
Volunteer To Help Save The Strays

Animals With Big Eyes

Another common complaint about animals is that they seem to have eyes that are too big. Again, this comes from our conditioning: seeing things bigger gives us a feeling of fear. (We also associate seeing things larger with scary places and so are conditioned to avoid those places.

Big Eyes Dogs: Positive And Negative Connotation
Big Eyes Dogs: Positive And Negative Connotation

Negative Associaton: Big Eyes Dogs

There’s another case that’s perhaps even more obvious, and that is when animals have big eyes. Small animals don’t have any big eyes, but people get the wrong idea from pictures of big animals in tall buildings and assume that the eyes must be huge. And that may be why we associate squinting with danger or have a negative association between the words “big” eye.”

Problems With Legs

Many animals seem to stand out because of their legs, and the problems with legs, which makes people have a negative association between animals with legs and dangers. You can see this in images where a dog seems to jump out of the frame, or a goat.

Positive Connotation: Big Eyes Dogs

In other cases, big eyes have a positive connotation, and big eyes are associated with strength is that when we see animals with big eyes, we think of big ones. So dogs with big eyes, big horns, and big antlers might be associated with strength, while animals with small eyes and hooves might be associated with weakness.

Kinds Of Variability: Big Eyes Dogs

Finally, it’s hard to see how big or small the eyes on an animal can be because they can change. Deer whose eyes are down on its face might have a big eye and be fairly dim, but it might also have dark eyes and have big eyes in general. It’s difficult to say how much of an impact this kind of variability has on the perception of the eyes on the animal because there is no real way to measure it.

Recommended just for you:
What You Need To Know About Animal Adoption

Big Eyes And Huge Horns

Whatever the case, though, it’s worth noting that when we see big eyes or huge horns, that does not always mean that those things are somehow bad. Animals with big eyes, for example, might be more dangerous than animals with little eyes, but it doesn’t follow that bigger eyes will make us safer.

Attacked And Killed

Indeed, many small animals with big eyes have been attacked and killed. Similarly, animals with big antlers sometimes have been attacked and killed. As a result, for all the benefits that can come from seeing animals as big and strong, those advantages should not be taken lightly.

Bottom Line

So next time you see a photograph of animals like lions or dolphins, or small dogs or cats, ask yourself what they mean to you. And remember that although they may not seem big, those photos may tell you something about their lives.

Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter