INDONESIAKININEWS.COM - According to lead author Andrea Sommese, a dog‘s head tilt shows an increase in attention to what their owner is sa...
During a study, Mr Sommese and a team of five others analysed the movements of 40 dogs during object-label knowledge tests as the canines received instructions to fetch a toy.
The team incorporated six "gifted word learners" (GWL) among the batch of trialists to see whether they would show "more significant head tilts" when responding to their owner's commands.
According to Sommese, the study found that upon hearing the owners’ request for a familiar toy, the GWL dogs tilted their heads significantly more than typical dogs.
Noting that all dogs had undergone three months of training for the tests, he said: “We suggest that the difference in the dogs’ behaviour might be related to hearing meaningful words (for the GWL dogs) and could be a sign of increased attention.
"Possibly, head-tilts could also be related to making a cross-modal match in the dogs’ memory (e.g. name to a visual image) upon hearing the toy’s name."
The expert believes the head tilt movement can help owners identify their dog’s level of intuition.
He believes it can be utilised when training them as it shows that their dog is able to understand instructions and retain information.
Mr Sommese added: "Our results indicate that only dogs that had learned the name of the objects tilted their heads frequently.
"Besides, the side of the tilt was stable across several months and tests. Thus, we suggest a relationship between head-tilting and processing relevant, meaningful stimuli."
In other pet news, a dog expert has given their top tips for owners trying to keep their pets cool during the heatwave.
Plus, the tell-tale signals to look out for when it comes to understanding how your pet is feeling have been revealed.
Source: thesun
