Seeing a dog tilting its head to one side while lovingly staring at you is the cutest thing. The gesture instantly warms any heart. But do you really know the reason behind it?

Jill Goldman, Ph.D., a Los Angeles-based certified applied animal behaviorist, believes that there may be multiple reasons for the adorable habit.

“There is the possibility of several factors, and visual might very well be one, as well as auditory factors,” she shared. “So, it’s hard to say which one is the winner. But although it happens spontaneously, it most likely repeats because it’s positively reinforced.”

Head tilting assists in changing the ear position to help dogs identify the origin of a sound. Dogs may have an impressive capability to hear higher frequency ranges but they’re not as good at locating them.

However, if you’ve noticed, dogs almost always tilt their head when humans are in front of them. Thus, Goldman believes that more than for localization purposes, dogs tilt their heads due to inflections and frequencies.

They may be trying to discern what our high-pitched baby talk means since dogs are known to be responsive toward baby talk.

“I do believe it is to get refinement on what is being said, rather than where it is coming from,” Goldman said.

Moreover, the animal behaviorist also said that vision can also be taken into consideration.

She said, “They are looking at head tilting in primates, for example, common marmoset monkeys, and what they are finding is that it has a lot more to do with the visual cortex than it has to do with getting more auditory cues.”

Another Ph.D. but this time in psychology, Stanley Coren, also believes that vision does play a role in the gesture.

The muzzles of the dogs may be blocking their views of their humans’ faces so they tilt their heads to get a better visual field.

In fact, a pilot study he authored revealed that breeds with more pronounced muzzles, like Greyhounds, showed more head-tilting behaviors compared to those with less pronounced ones such as pugs.

While Goldman thinks that Coren’s study is a good place to start, she still believes that head tilting is multifactorial. There’s another research that associates head tilting and age-induced visual changes.

“Are we seeing more in puppies when their eyes are not fully developed? Or maybe when dogs become geriatric, and their vision (and hearing) starts declining, we see a re-emergence.”

Another way to view this is the positive reinforcement related to the act.

Goldman continued, “I think it might happen more often in certain dogs than others because it’s reinforced. I believe it is usually followed by a positive event.”

Maybe that playtime, cookie, or the walk that follows the head tilt is perceived by the dog as a reward for doing the gesture.

While head tilting is all fun and lovely, you may still want to always observe your furry friend because some types may be a cause of concern.

“If you see a persistent head tilt, and it seems not to be related to anything, go straight to your veterinarian,” Goldman said pertaining to persistent head tilting being associated with ear infections or vestibular problems.

While there is no one validated reason behind the irresistible head tilts, we can all agree that it’s something that can easily brighten up our days.

So while more research is in the works, let’s keep enjoying the adorable habit and reward them with more rubs and lots of love!

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Source: Animal Kennel Club, Psychology Today