Dogs have a remarkable talent for making a full food bowl look like an empty one. A certain look, sigh, whine, or perfectly timed stare can have you checking the bowl, counting treats, and wondering whether you somehow forgot dinner. Here are some of the funniest ways our dogs try to convince us they are starving.

The Slow-Blink Stare

Your dog looks at you, slowly blinks, and somehow manages to look both polite and deeply neglected. One blink becomes two, and suddenly the message seems obvious: "I have never been fed in my entire life."

Mine makes the performance even harder to resist. He sits quietly, keeps his mouth closed, and gives me a soft, slightly guilty look. Somehow, I start wondering whether I have forgotten to feed him.

And yes, it works. I have caught myself checking the dog food bin to make sure it is actually full, rattling his bowl, and checking the clock to confirm that dinner really was only an hour ago. Meanwhile, he keeps blinking at me like he is waiting for me to correct a terrible injustice. The same dog will then sprint across the room at the sound of a cheese wrapper.

The Side-Eye

This one is for dogs who understand intimidation. They barely move their heads; they just shift their eyes toward you and let you feel the judgment. It is the look you get when you open a bag of tortilla chips, and they are convinced you have violated an agreement you do not remember signing.

The posture really pulls it together. The head remains forward, but the eyes slide over as if to say, I am upset. My dog likes to perform it while lying down, which makes it worse. He will be sprawled on the rug, chin on paws, pretending he is asleep.

What cracks me up is how they time it for maximum social pressure. Guests get the side-eye, too, especially the guest who is trying to be strong and not feed the dog from their plate.

The Dramatic Yodel

Some dogs would rather make their case with a sound somewhere between a sigh and a whale song. It is one long, wounded yodel that somehow makes your dog sound like he has been neglected for days.

Mine does it especially when I tell him no. I can say, "Not right now," and the yodel comes immediately. Then he goes quiet and looks away as if he has been personally wronged. If I ignore him, he turns back to see whether the performance worked. Make eye contact, and he may add a tiny mouth quiver for extra effect. It is hard to take seriously when I have watched that same mouth drag a bully stick across the rug like a trophy.

The moment I open the fridge, my dog hears the seal pop and suddenly forgets all about being hungry. The yodel stops, the ears go up, and the tail starts wagging. Apparently, the "starving" dog has made a miraculous recovery and is now ready for the main event.