Have you ever seen your dog cock his head as if he is trying to make sense of what you’re saying to him? Is this really what it means?
Experts on animal behavior suggest that your dog may be focusing on a specific word that he is hearing that seems to him to relate to a favorite activity such as going for a walk or playing Frisbee.
It could also be the dog’s attempt to identify where the sound is coming from. Dogs have a unique ability to determine the distance of the sound. Knowing how dogs respond to positive reinforcement, repeated praise for the cocking of the head in the past may trigger this behavior in the future.
Although we as dog lovers would like to assign this behavior to elevated intelligence, some behavioral specialists claim that the gesture may have more to do with certain socialization problems or even medical issues. That may apply to other dogs, but I still like to think that mine is doing his best to really try to connect and understand.