Dogs tilt their heads for a few different reasons:
1. All the better to hear you with, my dear! Dogs tilt their heads partially to adjust their outer ear or ‘pinnae’ in the direction of the sound being directed at them.
2. They’re trying to pick out familiar words and cadences that they’ve learned to associate with specific activities like getting fed or going for a walk.
3. Ever notice that you do it…after they do it? We mimic them. They mimic us. That goes on for a while.
4. Kryptonite. Frankly, you find it cute. Dogs learn that we like it and want to please us. It’s usually also enough to get them one of the activities in #2 above – so, it’s positive reinforcement in its purest form!
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