Have you ever seen your dog tilt its head and look at you? You want to know why? Tilting the head is considered a very cute gesture for a dog. Is this a normal dog behavior?
Normal Head Tilt
A dog looking at you with it’s head tilted mainly for the following normal reasons:
1. Listen Carefully and Identify the Source of Human Voice
The dog’s head movement also has something to do with the way its ears are constructed. Although dogs can recognize sounds at a much wider frequency than humans, that doesn’t mean their hearing is better. And their brains aren’t very computationally efficient, so a simple head-tilt allows them to adjust the direction of the sound they receive, making them more certain of the source.
The dog’s ear is very sensitive, and they can feel extremely tiny sound vibration, when the person and the dog are opposite, the sound which the person sends out, the dog can immediately tilt the head to judge the sound wave source, the strength, the softness degree, judges the person’s joy and the anger! Some dogs will immediately stand up ears to listen, big ears dog will tilt it’s head, exposed ear holes to listen carefully.
2. To See Your Face More Clearly
The dog’s vision is wide, and it can be wider if its head is turned to one side. When the dog is looking at you while you’re talking, its nose and mouth will block the lower part of its face, tilting their heads allowing them to see you more clearly. Dogs can also read our facial expressions in order to better pick up emotional cues from our voices.
3. To Analyze You Actions
Dogs have been domesticated by humans for thousands of years, and their intelligence has reached the level of intelligence of 4-5 years old kids. They just cannot speak. Dogs can understand the general meaning of human sounds, short words and long training commands.
But for more complicated talking, they will tilt their heads and start to think:
“What did you say?”
“What do you mean?”
“Talking about me again?”
…
For short key word, “Eat!” “Play!” they know immediately the meaning. Or a habit of the owner, the dog will know what to do next! Fetch balls and toys and play with you!
4. To Play and Please You
Clever dogs, in addition to play eat and sleep, they will please and play with you. When the dog see you watching him, it will make all kinds of actions, tilting the head,begging and as long as you like, it’ll do. You’ll be very happy to see this and give hime some snacks and play with him. Over time, when the dog see you or want to play with you, he will come to you and doing such actions.
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Generally speaking, it is normal for a dog to tilt its head occasionally and it is not harmful to the dog itself. But in some cases, tilting the head is a sign of a health problem. But how to tell the difference?
When Does Head Tilt Indicate Health Problems?
A dog tilting it’s head may not be a response to sound or light. instead it can be a sign of serious health problems. Pathological head tilt is persistent with other symptoms, while normal head tilt is intermittent.
Abnormal tilt of the head is usually caused by some stimulus interfering with vestibular function. The vestibular system in the middle and inner ear is responsible for balance and coordination. Inflammation of the inner ear or brain problems can affect the structure of the nerves and vestibular system of the inner ear. These diseases can cause abnormal head tilt, nystagmus, ataxia, nausea, vomiting and other signs of dizziness.
The following diseases may affect the vestibular balance system:
Ear infections
Brain disease
Idiopathic vestibular dysfunction
Hypothyroidism
It’s important not to ignore this type of head tilt, as potential problems can get worse over time and lead to permanent damage.
If your dog has an abnormal head tilt, contact your veterinarian immediately.
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Original link of this post: https://cuteanimalshare.com/why-do-dogs-look-at-you-with-their-heads-tilted-%ef%bc%9f%f0%9f%98%81/
