As in the picture, some dogs tilt their heads when they hear a command or see something interesting. This behavior seems to occur especially in particularly gifted dogs.
Some living beings behave asymmetrically in certain situations – we humans too: We prefer one hand over the other and usually even perceive things better with one eye or ear than with the other. Dogs behave similarly when, for example, they sniff something or try to reach for something. They also prefer a certain nostril or a certain paw.
“Head-tilting is also an asymmetrical behavior in dogs, but it has never been studied,” says Andrea Sommese from the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, who directed the study. “We analyzed in which direction and how often dogs tilt their heads after they were ordered to look for a certain toy.”
The researchers originally investigated how well or poorly dogs can remember the names of toys. They invited 40 dogs to memorize up to twelve toys and their names. After several months of training, it was found that most dogs had difficulty distinguishing even two toys by name. Only seven four-legged friends could easily remember the names of the cuddly toys. They were recognized as particularly talented word-learning dogs.
During the tests, the researchers noticed that gifted dogs in particular often bowed their heads when they were given a command. So they went through the video recordings again and analyzed the frequency and direction of the movements. “There seems to be a connection between tilting your head and processing relevant information,” says Sommese’s colleague Shany Dror.
It was also found that the dogs tilt their heads more often in one direction than the other. Which they prefer, however, depends on the individual. Why the dogs behave this way has yet to be clarified. The researchers write: “We do not yet fully understand what the function of the whole is. However, this study is the first step in determining how the dogs’ behavior relates to meaningful acoustic stimuli. “