Let’s face it, our dogs can do things that simply perplex their owners. How many times have you just had to shake your head at your dog’s seemingly strange behavior? Or been revolted by something that just seems disgusting to you?

Amazingly, there are people, canine behaviorists, who have studied this to try to help us understand our canine companions. Their observations can enhance the human/canine connection we share with our pets. Many of their findings explain our pet’s behaviors through survival pack instincts that enabled dogs to communicate and flourish before they became domesticated.

2The Head Tilt

This is something most dogs do at one time or another, showing ears perked up, eyes inquisitive, eyes very focused on your face. Are they doing this to just melt our hearts, or are there other reasons? Canine behaviorists have theorized that it is to help dogs hear better as a dog’s ear is different from ours and that may make it more difficult to completely localize the source of the sound. They may be also working to pick up our emotional state or read our body language and tone of voice, or even looking for specific words that are meaningful to them, like “outside” or “treat”.

Read more on the next page

SHARE