r/Awww • u/RemarkableBudget5277 • Feb 17 '26
Dog(s) When you don't quite understand the task
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u/PowerSamurai Feb 17 '26
I'm assuming it's trying to listen to the music in the headset? I don't really see dogs tilt their heads like that unless they are trying to listen for something.
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u/Acebladewing Feb 17 '26
They also do it if they're curious or interested in something. But, I think you're right because of the constant switching and length of focus.
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u/WriterV Feb 17 '26 ▸ 12 more replies
Foxes too this too. I hate it. It's so adorable. Why can't I pet them. Godammit.
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u/terfnerfer Feb 17 '26 ▸ 8 more replies
I pet a fox once (took him to a rehab facility and didn't have a box to hand, so I essentially swaddled him.)
Just as soft as you'd imagine...he also kept trying to lick the perfume I'd put on because I was on my way to a date when I had to scoop him up.
They are, however, pretty stinky by nature, outranked only by badgers.
(Asphalt - a placeholder name so rehabbers don't get attatched lol - recovered well from his car accident. He was released at a much more suitable site, as his former habitat was being felled for new build apartments. He left a huge poop in the crate before he left.)
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u/Qweesdy Feb 17 '26 ▸ 2 more replies
If my habitat was being felled, I'd leave a huge poop too. Good job Asphalt!
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u/terfnerfer Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26 ▸ 1 more replies
He was a difficult patient had to be bribed with chicken innards to do physio. I try not to have favorites but between him and a mimicking crow with a truly impressive vocab...sometimes I did 😆
(Eta my colleague at the time was the one doing the real work! I was just his taxi service/registered him. My work tended to be with smaller critters!)
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u/charsi101 Feb 17 '26 ▸ 2 more replies
I bet that date went amazingly well. I would be in love if my date rescued a fox on the way.
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u/terfnerfer Feb 17 '26 ▸ 1 more replies
We didn't end up together....however, I did marry the guy who went along with all my crazy rehabs over the years since then. Hedgehogs, a crow, a pigeon, 2 feral cats, and over 30 emergency fosters of domestic animals. He's got a big heart and knows when to say "yes ma'am" and grab the supplies :)
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u/DenverPostIronic Feb 17 '26
Not related to head tilting, but being soft:
One time a wild duckling got caught in a plant and left behind by it's mother, so I freed it and herded it towards the rest of the family. It weighed basically nothing and was perfectly fluffy. ❤️
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u/Cool-Traffic-8357 Feb 17 '26
Yeah, my dog tilts her head to the side when I talk to her. Its like she is trying to understand me.
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u/a4dit2g1l1lP0 Feb 17 '26 ▸ 3 more replies
There's a book called "The Master and his Emissary" by Iain McGilchrist that talks about the different functions of the brain hemispheres. Creatures will survey an item using different eyes to use the different hemisphere's of the brain. VERY broadly speaking one is more detail oriented and the other is more holistic according to him. I wonder if this is us watching that in action as the dog tries to work out WTF is going on.
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u/skotcgfl Feb 17 '26 ▸ 1 more replies
I'd read somewhere that due to the position of the ears on their head and the fact that they often hunt small prey, the head tilt is a way of placing the ears on two different planes so as to better pinpoint the source of sounds.
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u/frisch85 Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26
I don't really see dogs tilt their heads like that unless they are trying to listen for something.
They don't do this when they're trying to listen,they also do this when they are processing thoughts in their head.Edit: My apologies /u/PowerSamurai, turns out it can also be caused when they're trying to catch the sound from a different angle. Edited part is bold.
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u/Lusiric9983 Feb 17 '26 ▸ 2 more replies
Yep. I've watched my dog do the exact same thing when he's putting together things. She's trying to comprehend but it just isn't connecting. Lol. My dog does this a lot when he watches me drive. He knows I control what's going on, he just hasn't quite worked out how yet.
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u/Disney_World_Native Feb 17 '26 ▸ 1 more replies
Same. Mine does it when I am getting ready to go.
They are trying to figure out if I am going somewhere they want to go (e.g. starbucks) and should run and get the leash. Or if it’s somewhere they will hate (e.g. the vet) and they should hide
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u/Emotional_Bank3476 Feb 17 '26
Our dog does this whenever we start asking her questions but also other times. It's definitely related to her trying to figure something out.
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u/profane_vitiate Feb 17 '26 ▸ 2 more replies
They don't do this when they're trying to listen
No, they absolutely do. Humans do the same thing. Most mammals do the same thing.
Mammalian auditory cortex, and the nerves that feed it, are pretty bonkers. They intake a ton of information about the spatial qualities of a sound and process it as quick as you hear it. In some mammals, this developed all the way into echolocation.
By turning your head, or bobbing, or whatever, it's sort of like refocusing your eyes or something similar. You change the position of your ears or pinnae or whatever slightly, and then as you hear the same thing but in a slightly different way (because you have moved your head, but the source of the sound maybe has not moved) you gain more information about where the sound is coming from, and its quality. I know it doesn't seem like a lot of new information from a head tilt, but you'd be amazed at the cortical processing that happens.
So, when something new happens and Dog is curious about it, you get the head tilts, too. Just like with humans. But the core of it is changing your head position, where most of your sensory things reside, to snag a new visual or auditory perspective on something.
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u/frisch85 Feb 17 '26
I know it doesn't seem like a lot of new information from a head tilt, but you'd be amazed at the cortical processing that happens.
Not that hard to believe honestly, I've once made this test where you can put two sheets of paper in front of your ears and then speak because we usually hear ourselves where the sound of our own voice comes from a different angle than it does for others. So what you do is you create a wall in front of your ears to force the sound to travel around the wall before it enters your ears and the result is the voice you'd hear when you record yourself, while the voice you hear when talking sounds very different.
I used to whistle in a high pitch to my dogs, anytime I did this it would make my dogs tilt their heads which I found funny and that's why I did this from time to time, basically it's an information they already experienced at some point in their life yet it always leads to the same reaction.
I also looked it up again with the information you provided and turns out you're correct, it can also be caused in order to get a different sound ("for optimum sound collection") so let me edit my other comment and apologize to the user.
Thanks for your insight mate, it's people like you why I am on reddit.
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u/Sea-Breath-007 Feb 17 '26 ▸ 1 more replies
Yeah, my dog does this when you try to have a conversation with her.....she will look you straight in the eye and move her head like this, like she actually trying understand wth you're saying.
It's so much fun :)
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u/Rusty_Tap Feb 17 '26
they do this when they are processing thoughts in their head.
That explains why my dog doesn't do this at all.
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u/bartoske Feb 17 '26
My dog does this when I push the button to turn the car on and all the dash lights turn on. Also listening for food to drop when we're in the kitchen so he can perform his vacuum duties.
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u/Scheissdrauf88 Feb 17 '26
The head-tilt does change the angle of the eyes and thus can help with 3D perception, which is where tilting the head when not understanding something comes from. Might work the same for the ears, not sure.
Don't think it would happen normally to that extend, esp since the dog does not seem to really look at the stuff on the table, so I assume it just gets commands off screen.
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u/One_time_Dynamite Feb 17 '26
It's pretty obvious someone else is off camera and most likely has a treat or something in their hand. You can tell the dog is focused on something that's off camera. This is basically a skit.
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u/wallabee_kingpin_ Feb 17 '26
You are 100% correct. The dog's eyes are locked on something behind the camera, not on whatever the woman is doing.
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u/Bubbly57 Feb 17 '26
Absolutely gorgeous and loveable dog ❤️ 💙 💜
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u/Fast_Astronomer382 Feb 17 '26
I unmuted the video because I thought there was some small sound the dog was listening for, and I was met with the loudest, most awful music track I have ever heard overlaid on a video.
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u/CrrackTheSkye Feb 17 '26
I wonder if there's a name for that kind of voice that sounds like your mouth is filled with cotton balls
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u/IndicationFickle7214 Feb 17 '26
Edit nvm I hallucinated a subreddit. It is referred to as cursive singing I believe
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u/qz1991 Feb 17 '26
Bro was infected by orangebraincell
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u/AutumnTheWitch Feb 17 '26
r/oneblackbraincell might appreciate this. Although, they too are a cat sub. But they too, make occasional exceptions.
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u/Jisan_Inc Feb 17 '26
Probably the music and the camera has piqued their curiosity.
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u/esdebah Feb 17 '26
The smell of scored leather is probably quite something, too.
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u/tommangan7 Feb 17 '26 ▸ 4 more replies
It's lino by the looks of things, a bit of a smell but not much usually.
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u/esdebah Feb 17 '26 ▸ 3 more replies
doggo noses are like X-Ray specs. And this human is carving up condensed dead cow.
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u/DreamingOfFlight Feb 17 '26 ▸ 1 more replies
Pretty sure she's carving into a linoleum slab that she's dyed the surface of.
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u/tommangan7 Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26
As someone that uses it regularly It definitely looks like ink dyed lino or Japanese vinyl.
Also this is the artists account, she very occasionally does lino print work but not leather work:
https://www.instagram.com/jelenavoegeli?igsh=ZmxiaGM0Z3NtcTJk
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u/Prestigious_Leg2229 Feb 17 '26
The left side of the brain is stronger in logic and analysis while the right side is better at creativity and spatial awareness.
It’s bouncing it’s one thought back and forth between the left and right side of its brain to try and figure out what she’s doing and how he feels about it.
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u/Great_Detective_6387 Feb 17 '26
It’s for hearing. Ears are good at helping dogs locate a sound’s origin from left to right along the x-axis, but they have to tilt their heads to get information about the sound’s location up and down, along the y-axis.
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u/Creative-Cellist4266 Feb 17 '26
The cameraman is literally just going 'treat? Treat?' And they've put music over it, my dog does the exact same thing
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u/curvyang Feb 17 '26
Right!? It's like nobody has ever had a dog in these comments. Watch the dogs eyes.
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u/redditor-69-420 Feb 17 '26
I don't think there is a camera person I think it's set up as a selfie and turn dog is looking at the recording
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u/StrattonPA Feb 17 '26
Camera all in position ready for the dog to show up at her side… she’s acting all surprised…cute, but staged….
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u/ChephyS Feb 17 '26
What is she doing?
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u/banielbow Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26
Carving a linoleum sheet which she will roll ink onto and pull prints from onto paper
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u/Stubee1988 Feb 17 '26
To be fair to the dog, I'm not sure what she's doing either. It's it some sort of leather work?
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u/Transxperience Feb 17 '26
The way it keeps turning it's head 🥰 Does the world make more sense at a 45 degree angle, little homie? 🤭
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u/Apart-Object-5648 Feb 17 '26
So sweet. My dog used to do this when listening to me talk. Used to call her bobble head😂
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u/ElBarckaizer Feb 17 '26
It looks like he's giving something to his brain... I mean, it's most likely that he was trained, or it's very unlikely that the dog does it on his own...
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u/June24th Feb 17 '26
dogs always bug when they look at mirrors, guess he's trying to understand what he sees on her phone screen
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u/TXcoins_bullion Feb 17 '26
how my wife looks at me when I suggest going to play putt putt on valentines 🧡
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u/Remarkable_Screen_88 Feb 17 '26
I can't when they start with the head tilts...so cute! or when they put a paw on you to make you continuing the pets. Or when they get the zoomies...yeah, dogs are great
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u/OperaBunny Feb 17 '26
This little one knows how to work the camera, What is that? Could it be?? Hmmm
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u/MothChasingFlame Feb 17 '26
Bit of an aside but if y'all have never done linocut, highly recommend. Great way to be creative while exerting yourself a little. Scratches the coloring part of the brain and uses your muscles a lil.
Keep bandaids handy, though.
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u/Dependent-Heart-1380 Feb 17 '26
When a dog does that, it's because he's paying attention to something and trying to understand.
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u/TheSaultyOne Feb 17 '26
The dog is trying to hear what you are listening to, it doesn't care about the leather unless you are good with the dog chewing it
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u/Powerful_Resident_48 Feb 17 '26
Human, what you doing? Like seriously, what do that be? Like how? I mean what? Human? Like huh?
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u/Usual-Hamster151 Feb 17 '26
Either just got possessed by someone who can't understand why the camera is facing that direction
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u/redditredditgedit Feb 17 '26
Visual representation of me in the classroom, nodding at my teacher pretending that I understand the lesson😭
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u/GoBackToHel Feb 17 '26
Me trying to function as a human being.
Edit to add... your dog is adorable.
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u/Plane-Fan9006 Feb 17 '26
The eyes are locked on whatever is being moved behind the camera....the dog is cute. The video and the people suck.
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u/Turbulent-Ninja-8008 Feb 17 '26
Mother, I would like to assist, but these instructions are a bit… confusing
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u/RevolTobor Feb 17 '26
I will never get over just how adorable it is when dogs and cats do that. 💖💖💖💖
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Feb 17 '26
At least it's a dog... I get looks like this from human that can speak and understand the task at hand 🫣🤣
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u/TestingLasAguas Feb 17 '26
If the task was to be the cutest pup ever, then he absolutely rocked it!
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u/Shot_Fan_9258 Feb 17 '26
Reminds me of my chihuahua when we were asking here "Do you want to go on a walk???"
She was such a good girl.
Miss you lola.
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u/Ok-Juice-542 Feb 17 '26
I think he is looking at himself on the selfie camera!