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Why does my dog tilt their head?
That famous head tilt may mean your dog is working on something that matters to them. Researchers in Budapest took a closer look.
Published
What the researchers did
A team at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest filmed 40 family dogs while their owners asked them to fetch a familiar toy by its name.
- Seven of the dogs were so-called gifted word learners: dogs that learn the names of many toys quickly. The other 33 were typical family dogs.
- The gifted word learners tilted their heads in 43 % of the requests. The typical dogs did it in 2 %.
What it might mean
- The researchers suggest the tilt is linked to processing meaningful, relevant information, perhaps with extra attention.
- Each dog tended to tilt to its own side, consistently over months. A little like being left- or right-handed.
Keep in mind
- It was a small, exploratory study, and the frequent tilters were all Border Collies. The authors say the results cannot yet be generalised to all dogs.
- So a dog that never tilts is not a less clever dog.
- A head that stays tilted all the time is a different thing. If that happens, contact a vet.
Sources
We make clothes, we are not vets. When in doubt, call a vet.