Answers to Go

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Q. Why do dogs tilt their heads?

There are several reasons why a dog A. may tilt their head. Dogs are domestic animals, used to working and communicating with humans. Depending on the breed, a head tilt may be to improve their hearing and to let us know they are focused on and interested in what we are doing and saying. This is perfectly normal and quite common. For many dogs, head-tilting helps them hear better. The flaps of their ears may change the direction of sound, such as for German Shepherds whose tall ears may prevent them from clearly hearing sounds behind them. (Mitchell)

Rotating their ears, or their entire head, can help triangulate the location of the sound so they can hear it more clearly. Other breeds, such as Cocker Spaniels, have dense, heavy earflaps that can cover the entire ear canal, muffling sounds in general. Lifting these earflaps will also help improve their hearing.

Many times, moving the earflaps and tilting the head may be so subtle that we don’t really notice it. Other times, the dog may choose to exaggerate the motion. And some dogs may choose to tilt their heads more than others. (Mitchell) However, new studies have

However, new studies have shown that there may be more to it than that. While conducting a study on dogs’ ability to learn words, scientists stumbled upon a potential link between dogs’ memory and their head tilt, according to a new paper published in Animal Cognition. “We investigated the frequency and direction of this behavior in response to a specific human verbal vocalization,” said study au thor Sommesse. “We did so after realizing that it often happened when the dogs were listening to their owners.” (Sommese)

In the study, the Hungarian researchers looked at the head tilt patterns of both “gifted” and “typical” dogs. “Gifted” dogs were those that could differentiate between two or more toys when called upon by their owners to retrieve them. Owners asked their dogs to fetch a specific toy from another room after being prompted with the toy’s name. While most dogs struggle to memorize the name of just two toys, the seven “gifted” dogs — all of which were border collies — could remember at least 10 different toy names they’d been taught by researchers.

The team found that dogs that were particularly good at toy recall tilted their heads when hearing a command more often than dogs who weren’t as skilled. When they compared the pooch’s response to a command from their owner, gifted dogs cocked their heads 43% of the time, while typical dogs did so just 2% of the time. It’s possible, scientists concluded, that a pup’s endearing head tilt may be a sign of paying attention or even matching a name to a visual image in their head. (Smithsonian)

While the head tilt may be an indication that the dog is paying attention, there may also be another cause of the tilt — a medical reason. If your dog consistently tilts their head when there is not auditory stimulation, it may indicate an infection of the external ear canal. Symptoms may cause pain, itching and the occasional head tilt. Tilting without auditory stimulation may also indicate a neurological problem. If this consistently happens with your dog, take him to your veterinarian (VCA).

• Heads, W. D. T. T., Llera, R., & Llera, C. R. (n.d.). Why dogs tilt their heads. vca_corporate. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://vcahospitals.com/ know-your-pet/why-dogstilt-their-heads

• Mitchell, Sandra, D. V. M. (Oct. 29). “Why do dogs tilt their heads?” PetMD. Retrieved Dec.16, 2021, from https://www.petmd. com/dog/behavior/why-dodogs-tilt-their-heads

• Smithsonian (Nov. 3). “Why do dogs tilt their heads? new study offers clues.” Smithsonian.com. Retrieved December 16, 2021, from https://www. smithsonianmag.com/ smart-news/why-do-dogstilt-their-heads-new-studyoffers-clues-180978980/

• Sommese, A., Miklósi, &A., Pogány, &A., Temesi, A., Dror, S., & Fugazza, C. (Oct. 26). “An exploratory analysis of head-tilting in dogs — animal cognition.” SpringerLink. Retrieved Dec. 16, 2021, from https://link.springer.com/ article/10.1007/s10071-021-01571-8

Suzanne Sanders is the new columnist for the library. She is the Community Services Manager for the San Marcos Public Library and came from the Austin Public Library in 2015 after having served there as a librarian for over 20 years. She gratefully accepts your questions for this column.