Chip Chick
One of the most endearing quirks of my pup is his habit of tilting his head to the side when he hears someone squeak his beloved toy or mentions his favorite words like “treat,” “park,” “walk,” or “dinner.” It’s a sight that never fails to bring a smile to my face.
There are so many videos of cute pups tilting their heads not only when hearing certain sounds but also when they hear some of their favorite things.
Many pups are known by their loved ones for tilting their heads in curiosity, but did you know that it can be considered a sign of intelligence?
A study published by researchers in 2021 in the journal Animal Cognition explored why dogs tilt their heads and how it can indicate they’re acting intelligently and processing information.
The researchers studied 40 dogs that were divided into two groups. One group of dogs was able to learn the names of different toys and demonstrated special learning abilities, while the second group had more typical learning abilities.
The dogs who could recognize the names of toys were labeled “gifted word learners.” How did the researchers know these dogs were gifted?
They tilted their heads upon recognizing different toy names.
While there isn’t much research into why dogs tilt their heads, this study made a lot of progress. Researchers noted that the dogs’ head tilts could be related to them making a cross-modal match in their memory by matching the toy’s name to an image in their minds.
Additionally, the head tilt could be a sign of increased attention and shows the gifted word learners were actively learning versus the more typical dogs with no head tilt.
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