We have surely noticed that our dog bow your head when we speak to him, making a gesture that seems to show interest in what we say. The reality is that the exact reason for this adorable expression is unknown, although there are some theories about it. They study the relationship of this posture with the stimuli produced by our voice in the animal.
Some experts believe that this movement responds to the intention of listen to us better, to understand our words (studies show that dogs are able to understand the meaning of approximately 160). Show interest in our voice, because with this gesture they leave one of their ears completely exposed.
So believes, for example, the canine ethologist steven lindsey, Author of Manual of Applied Canine Behavior and Training (2000), who states: "When a dog bows its head, it tries to identify familiar words and intonations, which the animal associates with certain activities, such as going out to the park or obtaining an edible treat." Canine psychology expert Alexandra Horowitz, author of In the dog's mind (2011), also supports this theory.
Other experts argue that dogs are forced to move the cabeza because their snout takes away their vision; tilting it they obtain a sharper image of our mouth. In this way it is easier for them to identify what we want to say, since even if they do not understand our language, they are able to recognize the facial expressions of human beings.
This theory was the one developed by the researcher Stanley Coren, from the University of British Columbia (Canada), as a result of the study carried out with the help of 582 dogs. Of these, 60% shook their heads while being spoken to, although this occurred to a lesser extent with short-nosed breeds, such as the Bulldog or Boxer.
El positive conditioning it also plays an important role in this whole affair. We usually reward this delicate gesture with caresses and prizes, so the dogs end up associating it with a reward. That is why they do it continuously, in order to get our attention.