When interacting with dogs, we often find them both adorable and difficult to understand. For instance, sometimes when we talk to dogs, they tilt their heads to one side and stare at us with big eyes, as if they’re pondering what we’re saying. But can dogs really understand what we’re saying?
Why do dogs tilt their heads? This article will share 6 possible reasons behind a dog’s head-tilting behavior.
When Hearing Specific Keywords, Why Do Dogs Tilt Their Heads? Are They Thinking When Their Heads Are Tilted to One Side?
Last year, short videos titled “Hearing These Sounds, Dogs Will Tilt Their Heads!” were quite popular on social media. Many dog owners were curious to test if their dogs would tilt their heads upon hearing certain sounds, and many successfully captured adorable footage of their dogs tilting their heads.
Besides the specific sounds in the videos, sometimes when we look at our dogs and ask, “Do you want some meat?” or “Want to go for a walk?” dogs seem to understand and tilt their heads while looking at us.
Do dogs really understand and think about what we’re saying when they tilt their heads? What are the possible reasons for dogs tilting their heads?
Suggested Reading: 5 hidden meanings when your dog paws you
Not Just Super Cute! 6 Possible Reasons Behind a Dog’s Head-Tilting Motion
Why do dogs tilt their heads when they hear certain sounds? The scientific community currently has no definitive conclusion about the reasons behind a dog’s head-tilting behavior.
However, based on existing research, there are generally 6 speculated reasons:
1. Dogs May Tilt Their Heads to “See More Clearly”
Professor Stanley Coren, a neuropsychology expert at the University of British Columbia in Canada, conducted a simple survey to understand why his dogs often tilt their heads.
Dr. Coren, who has studied sensory perception for many years, hypothesized that dogs might tilt their heads to move their muzzles out of their line of sight to see more clearly.
According to his survey results, Dr. Coren stated that the length of a dog’s muzzle and the size of its head significantly influence the frequency of head tilting, leading to the speculation that muzzle length and its impact on the dog’s vision might be one of the reasons for head tilting.
2. Dogs May Also Tilt Their Heads to “Hear More Clearly”
In Dr. Coren’s survey mentioned earlier, although dogs with longer muzzles had a higher proportion of frequent head tilting, even flat-faced dogs with shorter muzzles still had over half frequently tilting their heads.
Therefore, Dr. Coren also acknowledged that dogs tilting their heads might not only be to obtain better vision but might also be related to auditory effects.
Another American professor specializing in animal cognition and neuroscience, Julia Manor, suggested that dogs might tilt their heads to locate the source of a sound, moving their heads to hear more clearly.
Professor Manor mentioned that not only dogs tilt their heads; many animals, including humans and birds, also move their heads to change the angle of their ears to hear more clearly.
3. A Dog Tilting Its Head to One Side Might Be Searching for a Memory Fragment
In addition to possibly gaining better vision and hearing, some scholars suggest that dogs might be like humans, searching for a fragment of memory when they move their heads.
Andrea Sommese, a Hungarian animal cognition researcher, stated that some humans unconsciously tilt their heads when recalling a story or object from memory, and an image of that memory appears in their mind. He believes that dogs tilting their heads might be due to a similar reason.
4. A Dog Tilting Its Head to One Side Might Also Indicate It’s Trying to Understand the Content of Speech or Sound
Dr. Sommese and his research team published a research experiment paper on dog head-tilting behavior in 2022 (Sommese, Miklósi & Pogány, 2022).
The team observed 40 dogs, testing their reactions and head-tilting frequency when they heard humans giving commands to fetch specific toys.
The study found that only dogs who had learned the names of specific toys were more likely to tilt their heads when hearing the toy names. The research thus speculated: When dogs tilt their heads, they might be listening carefully to the command and trying to understand the meaning of human speech.
After several months of testing, the experiment also found that the direction of the dogs’ head tilts seemed to be consistent. They also speculated that, just like humans have left-handed and right-handed individuals, dogs might also have a preferred direction for tilting their heads.
5. Dogs Tilting Their Heads Might Also Be Seeking Our Attention and Response
Besides the reasons mentioned above, dogs tilting their heads might also be influenced by interactions with humans, a “learned” behavior and ability.
American animal cognition and neuroscience professor Manor states that for humans, the “head tilt” gesture now carries the social cue meaning of “the other person is actively listening and engaging in the conversation.”
Therefore, when we see dogs making a head-tilting motion, we often think they seem to be listening attentively to what we’re saying, and we can’t help but find them cute.
Because we find dogs tilting their heads cute, we might be more likely to give them some positive responses when we see them do it, such as:
- Smiling at the dog
- Petting the dog
- Giving treats
This might make dogs learn that they can use the head-tilting motion to gain our attention and response.
6. When Dogs Tilt Their Heads Too Frequently, It Might Also Indicate a Physiological Abnormality
In addition to the five cute reasons for dog head tilting mentioned above, when dogs tilt their heads too frequently, we should also be aware of possible physiological abnormalities.
For example, when a dog has an ear infection or an abnormality in the vestibular system that controls the dog’s body balance, the dog might exhibit high-frequency head-tilting behavior.
Moreover, we should also pay attention to the circumstances under which the dog tilts its head. For instance, if a dog tilts its head while walking or accompanied by constant head shaking, it might indicate an ear or other physiological abnormality.
When a dog tilts its head frequently and is accompanied by other symptoms such as:
- Vomiting
- Tipping over, unstable standing, circling
- Fatigue
- Hearing abnormalities
It is recommended to take the dog to a professional animal hospital for examination as soon as possible.
Besides Cute Dog Head Tilts, There Are Many Other Dog Body Movements Worth Recognizing and Observing
When a dog tilts its head and looks at us, seemingly listening attentively to what we’re saying, we can’t help but think how great it would be if dogs could really understand what we’re saying, or even speak to us, so we could understand them better.
However, dogs have actually been talking to us all along! It’s just that dogs are different from humans who use verbal expression.
Dogs are body language experts, and their body language expression is very nuanced. Even when making the same gesture, it might mean different things in different contexts.
When we can understand dogs’ subtle body movements and facial expressions, and understand the meanings behind different actions and barks, we can better understand the emotions and needs behind dogs’ behaviors.
And when dogs’ emotions and needs can be understood, accepted, and satisfied by us, it can greatly enhance the trust relationship between dogs and us.
Understanding and respecting dogs’ way of communication, recognizing and satisfying dogs’ needs, helping them develop the essential sense of security in life, and understanding the meanings behind different body movements and barks of dogs, we can love them in the way they truly need.