Why do dogs tilt their heads to the side when listening to their owner: it's all very simple

Dogs have one extremely cute habit that can touch almost anyone. When they listen to their owner or another person talking to them, they tilt their heads to the side. Have you ever wondered where this reflex could have come from?

It is quite difficult to give an exact answer to this question. But Sante Plus has collected several quite plausible versions.

It's better to hear it this way

One of the assumptions is that the dog is trying to hear your words better. Dogs' hearing is quite acute, but not perfect, so they tilt their heads to the side to better understand where this interesting sound is coming from. Is it a person who sounds like that? You can compare the situation to trying to hear something when someone is speaking an unfamiliar language. You also strain your ears to catch at least one familiar word, and you make various head movements.

This theory is supported by the fact that dogs with long, floppy ears are most likely to bow their heads. This way they open one of the ear canals so that sound can enter it without any obstacles.

This way they can see better

The body language of the person interacting with them is very important for animals, so the dog wants to see you better when you talk to him. But for those breeds that have a long muzzle, the nose can obstruct the view. To at least partially get rid of the visual obstacle between him and you, the dog tilts his head so that he can see your behavior better during communication.

To test this theory for yourself, simply put a clenched fist to your nose - this will allow you to mimic the structure of a dog's face. You will notice how much smaller the view becomes. When you look at another person, it will be difficult to see their eyes and mouth at the same time. And if you tilt your head to the side, the task will be much easier.

This is how they are loved more

Dogs are contact animals, and they enjoy praise and affection. And when a dog tilts its head, you just want to say something nice to it or pat it on the head. So they have learned this charming gesture to get additional approval from humans. And dogs could have picked it up from humans - we also often tilt our heads to the side when listening to someone we like.

If you notice that your dog tilts his head but doesn't listen to you, this is a reason to suspect problems with the animal's health. It could be an ear infection or hearing loss. In this case, of course, you should visit a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL told you how to protect your dog from dangerous tick bites.

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