Why do dogs tilt their heads when we talk to them?
⠀
Chances are, almost every dog owner has noticed this behavior of their pet’s.
⠀
There is no clear answer as to why dogs do this, but canine behavior researchers have a few hypotheses👇
⠀
What are the situations in which dogs tilt their heads?
⠀
This will of course depend on a particular dog’s behavior.
⠀
In the majority of times, our dogs tilt their heads when they hear something.
⠀
It might be a strange, unfamiliar sound (of a very high tone, for instance), or sometimes a certain word that causes an emotional response (like “eat”, “go”, “walk”, “car”, “leash”, etc).
⠀
Many dogs tilt their head when they hear a question addressed to them or a person with whom they have an emotional connection.
⠀
Some dogs may do this when they hear weird noises coming from the TV, radio or even a distant sound that we, human, would barely even notice.
⠀
Why do dogs tilt their heads?
⠀
⭐️Close emotional connection with a certain person.
⠀
Some animal behavior specialists think that pets tilt their head when talked to, because they have a very deep emotional connection with their human. So, by tilting their head, they are trying to better understand what their owner has to say.
⠀
⭐️Curiousity.
⠀
That’s another hypothesis: dogs react to a sound that is interesting for them.
⠀
For example, TV noises or a question from an owner that was pronounced with an unusual intonation.
⠀
⭐️Learning.
⠀
Dogs are constantly learning and forming associative links. Maybe your pup has learnt to tilt his/her head when hearing certain sounds or phrases and seeing your reaction to this action, which serves as reinforcement.
⠀
⭐️To hear better.
Another hypothesis says that a head tilt helps dogs hear more clearly and identify sounds easier.
⠀
🐶When our dogs are trying to understand us, they are looking at us as much as possible. Dogs are guided by our body language and always trying to read the mini-hints that our bodies give away without us even noticing🐶
⠀
But whatever the reason our dogs tilt their heads is, one thing is always true: it is next-level cute.
⠀
What are your hypotheses? Why do dogs tilt their heads?🔻
