Studies give some super cute reasons why dogs tilt their heads
Dogs are the best simply because they are arguably the ‘Number 1’ choice of most households as home companions.
They are loving, caring, playful, jolly, trustworthy, and loyal creatures. They come in different breeds, sizes, shapes, and colors.
Dogs can also be trained to become therapy, emotional support, military, and police dogs.
There are a lot of reasons why people love dogs and very few to no reasons at all not to.
But do we really know our dogs? Their ways of life, their behavior, why do they do these and that?
Although we might know a thing or two about them, there are these little details about them that mean a lot more than what we know.
Aren’t they cute whenever they tilt their heads?
It’s either paired up with a begging or a curious face, isn’t it?
A small gesture that dogs normally do on a daily basis which we oftentimes thought is nothing more than just plain and simple head tilting.
Little do we know, there are a couple of reasons why dogs tilt their heads and I’m betting you’d be surprised once you get to know them.
Of course, one of the many reasons behind dogs’ head-tilting behavior is to look extremely charming, however, that’s not really what they mean whenever they do it.
Each head tilt could mean something significant.
Shared on the American Kennel Club website is Jill Goldman’s, Ph.D. research about the reasons why dogs tilt their heads.
Why trust her research? Well, now that you’ve asked, Jill Goldman is a Los Angeles-based certified applied animal behaviorist.
According to her, “There is the possibility of several factors, and visual might very well be one, as well as auditory factors. 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.”
One good reason why dogs tilt their heads is for them to hear better.
Obviously, dogs couldn’t use their paws to move their ear flaps out of the way. This is particular to dog breeds with big ear flaps.
Ear flaps could hinder sound waves from reaching a dog’s ear canal and it prevents them from hearing loud and clear.
You might protest and say, “But dogs’ hearing abilities are four times stronger than humans’?”
Yes, you might be right, but have you forgotten that humans are more capable of determining the source of a certain sound?
This is why dogs tilt their heads, they want to hear clearly so they could locate where a certain sound is coming from.
However, you would also notice that dogs will still tilt their heads even if the only person talking is you and you are already in front of them.
Given this case, Goldman gives another reason why apart from dogs determining the location of a certain sound.
She says, “I do believe it is to get refinement on what is being said, rather than where it is coming from.”
Another reason, head-tilting for better vision.
“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,” says Goldman.
Stanley Coren, Ph.D. in psychology, also hypothesized that dogs are providing themselves with a better angle of something.
The reason behind this is dogs’ snouts could be blocking their own vision, this is particular to dogs with long muzzles like Greyhounds.
However, based on his own study, more than half of dogs with flat faces also tilt their heads. This proves that their head-tilting behavior is more than just because of the snout size issues.
Human-influenced head tilting.
Yes, we also play an important role in this.
“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, like ‘Do you want a cookie?’ or ‘Do you want a walk?’ or ‘Do you want to go in the car?’ and things of that nature. I don’t think most people say, ‘Do you want to go to the vet?’”
Goldman, however, warns pet owners that this behavior could still mean something else.
“If you see a persistent head tilt, and it seems not to be related to anything, go straight to your veterinarian.”
Now that we know a couple of good reasons why dogs tilt their heads, we should be able to understand them better this time.
It’s all thanks to animal behaviorists like Goldman and many others, we now know a dog’s head-tilting behavior is more than just to look adorable.
Hopefully, this study will conclude nothing serious or anything health-related so our dogs can still do it without us worrying and them harming themselves.
Play the video below and put your speakers in max volume, let’s see if your dog would tilt its head.
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