I can remember being told as a kid, not to EVER look a dog in the eye.... made me totally paranoid (we didn't have a dog) as I thought that meant any time you looked at one he'd go Cujo & attack.
I have German Shepherds now... I guess I didn't suffer any lasting damage (twitch, twitch).
My only guess with the sheep... is that being prey animals... they dislike being intensely watched. Whether it's right in the eye or not. I use my sheep for herding training... for the dogs to learn... and I know that the sheep seem to KNOW when they're being looked at & when they're being looked past. The dogs have to learn to look at the sheep with 'soft' eyes... sort of like looking past or looking through them to do some manuvers. Others require a direct/hard eye.
Same for people... I can sort better if I don't focus on the target sheep, but watch it peripherally.
?? Who knows if this answers your question CORRECTLY... it did answer it tho :-D hehehehehehe
Diane
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