{"id":3241,"date":"2021-11-17T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=3241"},"modified":"2021-11-04T04:46:40","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T04:46:40","slug":"did-your-dog-do-a-head-tilt-it-may-be-concentrating-says-scientists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/did-your-dog-do-a-head-tilt-it-may-be-concentrating-says-scientists\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Your Dog Do a Head Tilt? It May Be Concentrating, Says Scientists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Being our companions for thousands of years since their domestication, humans have had a long-held fascination with our canine friends. Dogs have been around for so long<\/a> that we\u2019ve since affected how they evolved, and their stories have been passed along with our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, despite millenia having passed since we\u2019ve crossed paths, we have yet to fully understand how dogs communicate with us. Past studies have clearly shown that dogs are highly perceptive of their human buddies, and are capable of assessing the overall state of their friend; it seems likely, though, that there\u2019s a lot left to learn regarding the ways we let our fur friends know how we feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kintamani dogs are a breed native to the island of Bali in Indonesia; these dogs originated from the Kintamani region, and were developed from roaming street dogs around the area. The F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Cynologique Internationale<\/em> (FCI) recognized the Kintamani as an official dog breed back in 2019. (Wikimedia Commons, 2007) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of these canine mysteries is their classic head tilt. You\u2019ve likely seen your dog do it from time to time\u2014perhaps when you\u2019re trying to call its attention, or while you\u2019re talking to your pet. We don\u2019t actually know why they do this behavior\u2014and experts think it\u2019s more than just a gesture to boost their adorable appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turns out, it really may be more than just a cute act; researchers from E\u00f6tv\u00f6s Lor\u00e1nd University may have found an answer to our canine companions\u2019 actions. As it turns out, our dogs may be showcasing a signal for their increased attention or concentration. This particular study was led by Dr. Andrea Sommese, Ph.D. in Animal Science at E\u00f6tv\u00f6s Lor\u00e1nd University. Their study was published in the journal Animal Cognition.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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According to new research by Dr. Somesse and team, dogs may actually be tilting their heads as a sign of increased concentration\u2014perhaps as they process what their human friends just told them. (Wikimedia Commons, 2011) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the study, Dr. Somesse and team examined some 40 dogs, all from various breeds. They had the dogs remember the names of certain toys, and were then asked to get specific toys by mentioning the toy\u2019s name, which the dogs associated with a toy that they remembered seeing. Of all the dogs screened with this procedure, seven (7) border collies were isolated for their remarkable ability to remember the names of the toys. These border collies, in turn, would be labeled as \u201cgifted word learners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These \u201cgifted learners\u201d would then be tested for their memory retention across two more tests after that first one. In the second one, the research team instructed the \u201cgifted\u201d dogs\u2019 owners to remember the names of 13 toys for up to three (3) months. And in the third experiment, the dogs were asked to remember up to 12 toys\u2019 names within one week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results from these tests showed that these dogs were capable of remembering pretty well. A particular dog from the second experiment, named Whisky, was able to recall the names of the toys 54 out of 59 times\u2014a 91.5% success rate. Only two more dogs resulted in at least a 90% success rate; the other dogs\u2019 results played around 57% and 75%. The third experiment also showed that the dogs could remember the 12 new names for around two (2) months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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