Why do dogs tilt their heads?

Updated 27/02/2024

You’re having a heart-to-heart with your furry friend and just as you get to the juicy bit, their ears prick up, they raise their eyebrows, and they tilt their head from side to side. Your fur baby knows exactly what you’re talking about, right? Well, there could be some truth to that - let’s uncover the answer to “Why do dogs tilt their heads?”. 

Why do dogs tilt their heads?

Dogs have got tilting their heads down to a T, but why do they do it? Turning their head from side to side enables them to hear better and get a full view of their pet parent’s facial expressions to improve their understanding of the situation. But there may be another interesting explanation. One small study suggests that the signature dog head tilt may be a way for furry friends to process information and form a link between words and their associated meanings. Let’s dig a little deeper into “Why do dogs head tilt?”.

All the better to hear you with 

In case you hadn’t noticed, our four-pawed pals’ ears are quite different from our own. Aside from being furry, pups have special movable flaps called pinnae that cover their ear canals and make it difficult for them to hear where a sound’s coming from. The natural position of the ear flap varies from breed to breed, but pups often prick up their ears and tilt their heads in the direction of the sound to enhance their hearing. 

All the better to see you with

​​It’s no secret that the dog head tilt is utterly adorable, especially when combined with a look of puzzlement. So why do dogs tilt their head when confused? It’s not all about looking cute. Angling their adorable noggins to focus on their pet parent’s facial expressions helps them have a better understanding of what’s going on. Fur pals base a lot of their comprehension not just on what we say, but how we say it, so they want front-row seats to the show. Add to that trying to see past their sizeable snouts and it makes total sense for our furry friends to tilt their heads. What’s more, our pooch pals may politely tilt their heads in response to their pet parents, just like when humans nod to show they’re listening. For this reason, the more sociable your four-pawed pal is, the more often they will tilt their heads. They’re just doing their best to be a part of the conversation!

To enhance concentration

Your pooch pal might tilt their head in order to hear or see better, but there’s another interesting possibility. A small study conducted by Eötvös Loránd University found that a group of particularly clever canines would tilt their heads when concentrating on a task. The pups were taught the names of ten different toys to see if they could learn to retrieve the correct one based on word association. The researchers noticed that the “gifted dogs” that correctly attached a meaning to the word tilted their heads 43% of the time, while the typical dogs with average intelligence cocked their heads just 2% of the time. They also found that furry friends had a favorite side when it came to head tilting, and more often than not, they’d stick to it. So do dogs tilt their heads in order to digest information before performing a task? Monique Udell, a human-animal interaction researcher at Oregon State University, suggests that although further investigation is needed, it’s an exciting possibility! 

It’s encouraged

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the dog head tilt is just so adorable! Chances are, we find it so cute that we encourage it without even realizing it. A pat on the head here, a tickle of the tum there, your furry friend might be putting on a head titling show with the sole purpose of being showered with affection!

When could the dog head tilt indicate a health condition?

If there’s no clear reason why your furry friend tilts their head, or they are constantly tilting their head, then there’s a chance there could be a medical condition behind it. If your dog’s head tilts to one side or they’re shaking their head to relieve the pressure, your furry friend could have an ear infection. Head tilting can also be caused by vestibular disease, which usually affects older fur babies and usually also causes them to lose their balance, turn in circles, or vomit. If your dog is showing any of these signs they should always be checked by a vet as soon as possible, as these symptoms can also be linked to other more serious problems.

Meet our veterinary expert, Holly

This article has been checked by veterinarian Holly Anne Hills BVM BVS BVMedSci. After graduating from the University of Nottingham, Holly spent two years working as a farm animal vet. She then spent some time traveling and volunteering in India, working at neutering clinics and with injured street dogs. Holly now works in small animal practice, and balances this with writing, volunteering with the comms team at Vet Sustain, and she is also a marine mammal medic!

So what does it mean when a dog tilts its head? From trying to locate a sound to putting their paws on something puzzling, our furry friends have got lots of reasons to turn their heads. What more have you got to learn about our four-legged friends? Head over to our blog to get to the bottom of questions like “Why do dogs stare?” and “Why do dogs chew their paws?”!