Why dogs tilt their head and 5 of the cutest examples

If you’ve spent any amount of time around a dog, you know exactly how cute their head tilts can be. Their sharp pointy ears, or oversized floppy ones, trying to echolocate the auditory disturbance. 

But why exactly do they tilt their head? Is it just for cuteness? Because it’s quite possibly the most adorable thing our pups can do. Is it to figure out where a weird or intriguing noise is coming from? Is it to see the situation around their muzzle or through their wrinkles? Sadly, there’s no easy answer.

It could be any or all of those factors or something we haven’t figured out yet. Regardless, it’s still fun to appreciate their precious idiosyncrasy and here are five great examples:

1. First and foremost, we would like to present to the world THESE EARS!

2. So much cuteness, so little time. This Siberian Husky pup shows that head tilts start at a very early age. Because husky puppies need more reasons to be the most adorable fluffballs on the planet. 

3 & 4. Head tilts don’t discriminate by size either, as you can see with this dangly-eared Dane and this parade of Pugs. 

5. And possibly the best example, passing down the wonders of the canine head tilt to the next generation of pups. These two are surprisingly synced with both their tongues and tilts.

Tilting their heads may be a mystery, but some of the top hypotheses on this strangely endearing mannerism of our canine companions is outlined very well in this video: