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All rights reserved. Stay in touch with us. United States. And because dogs repeat behaviors that are rewarded , our positive reaction can increase the frequency of head tilting. This fascinating and heartwarming canine behavior may not be as simple as it seems. Does it ever happen without an auditory cue?
And do dogs do it to one another? No matter why dogs tilt their heads, it provides a way for humans and dogs to bond. Goldman imagines a dog begging on a street corner in a third-world country. What if he gives a head tilt? The human relates to him. Many dogs will tilt their heads when they are directly facing us. In part, this may be mechanical—their long noses just get in the way of them being able to see us.
This is why some of the shorter-nosed breeds like Bulldogs are less likely to tilt their heads as much as the longer-nosed dogs, like Retrievers. Dog head-tilts are also endearing, and most people find it hard not to smile or laugh when a dog makes eye contact. Smiling when a dog looks at you and tilts their head encourages the behavior and teaches them to repeat it.
Certain sounds, especially ones that intrigue or puzzle them, will be more likely to make a dog tilt their head. Just like us, it takes something interesting to get a dog to perk up their ears.
Sounds associated with food, toys, or something fun are much more likely to get your dog to tilt their head than more routine sounds. Although most tilts are of the communication variety, some dogs will develop medically induced head-tilts.
Very commonly, you will notice additional signs that concern you—your dog may be off balance, fall easily, or have symptoms of an ear infection. Dogs are capable of recognizing certain parts of human language, so when they cock their heads as you speak to them, it's possible they're listening for specific words and inflections they associate with fun activities like meals and playtime.
The head-tilt may also have something to do with how the canine ear is constructed. Even though dogs sense frequencies humans are incapable of hearing, their ability to detect the source of sounds is less precise than ours. A dog's brain calculates extremely minuscule differences between the time it takes a sound to reach each ear, so a simple change in head position could provide them with useful sensory information.
When dogs tilt their heads, some experts believe they are adjusting their pinnae , or outer ears, in order to better pinpoint the location of a noise. Stanley Coren of Psychology Today believes that vision also has something to do with this behavior.
When watching someone speak, the "muzzle" will block the lower part of their face from view, and if you tilt your head to one side you will be able to see it more clearly. In addition to being able to perceive emotional cues in our voices, dog can also read our facial expressions.
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