Dog o' Day
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What does it mean when your dog tilts their head?

By Kimberley Spinney

BATH, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 18: A Border Collie mix sits on a sofa at his home, on October 18, 2023 in Bath, England. Recent figures show that there are approximately 13 million dogs in the UK, making them the most common owned pets with over a third of of households in the UK owning a pet dog. Dog ownership rose dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
BATH, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 18: A Border Collie mix sits on a sofa at his home, on October 18, 2023 in Bath, England. Recent figures show that there are approximately 13 million dogs in the UK, making them the most common owned pets with over a third of of households in the UK owning a pet dog. Dog ownership rose dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) /
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We all know that when our dog does that cute little head tilt, that we get all mushy inside. But what does that tilted head mean?

Sometimes, when we see our dog with the tilted head, we think that they might be confused. At least it’s something that we do, or at least that I do. I have been known to tilt my head to the side when I’m confused by some thing or trying to remember something. It’s the idea that by changing your perspective, you get a better look at some thing. But is that what happens with our dogs? Does a dog tilting their head mean they are confused like we are?

Well, according to a new study, it seems as if we may have an idea of what that adorable head tilt really means.

What does a dog tilting their head really mean?

According to One Green Planet, when a dog tilts their head, they are doing that as a way to process what they are hearing. Basically, they are trying to understand what we are saying to them.

So what exactly did this study figure out? Apparently this study seems to suggest,

"that a dog’s head tilt may not be an effort to identify or localize a sound, but rather an attempt to process a word that they know. Most dogs may perform this behavior when they hear a word they are familiar with like “walk” or “treat”. Dogs may perform this head tilt because they process familiar words on the right side of the brain. So, tilting their heads may be a response to stimuli."

Most animals, including humans, tilt their head to process information in some manner. And it is interesting to realize that the reason a dog may be tilting their head is because they are trying to get a different perspective of what is being said. It’s a fascinating study, because it gives us a new perspective on our dogs. We are learning something new about them all the time, and we love that.

Are you at all surprised by what the study was able to learn about the adorable head tilt in dogs? Does it surprise you that when your dog tilts their head it means that they are considering the words that they are hearing?

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