Why does my husky tilt its head?

If your husky tilts its head sometimes, this post will show you a number of possible reasons why it might do it.

So, why does my husky tilt its head? Possible reasons are that it is trying to hear better, to see better, it is dizzy or injured, it’s curious or that you have inadvertently reinforced the behavior.

There are actually a number of different reasons why your husky might be doing it. Fortunately, there are also a number of things that you can consider that will help you in figuring out the exact cause.

Why your husky tilts its head

Each of the different reasons that your husky tilts its head will likely come with some clues in the way that it does it. Below, I will show you a number of possible reasons why it might do it and what would make them more likely.

To improve its hearing

Huskies have very good hearing and it is not necessary for them to tilt their heads in order to hear things. However, tilting their head may help them to single out phrases that are important to them such as when you are telling it to come for food (source). This could be the reason that it tilts its head when you’re talking to it.

To see better

The reason that it tilts its head could be that it is trying to see better. Huskies muzzles will sometimes make it harder for them to see things and tilting their heads will allow them to see what their muzzles are blocking. This would be more likely if they are looking at things lower than them or something in the distance but less likely when looking at something higher.

Dizziness or injury

The reason that it does it might be that it is dizzy or it is injured. This would be more likely if it does it repeatedly, it has been showing other signs of being dizzy or injured or it does it at unusual times (source). If you think that dizziness or injury is the cause then it would help to take your husky to a vet to get expert help.

You have positively reinforced it

It could be the case that you have actually trained it to tilt its head by giving it things it wants when it tilts its head. This would be more likely if you tend to give it things such as attention, toys or treats when it does it.

You’re being emotional

Sometimes huskies and other dogs will tilt their heads when they are unsure of what is going on. If your husky tilts its head when you are being emotional with it then it would be more likely that it is tilting its head because it does not know what is happening.

Huskies were bred to work alongside their owners for hours on a daily basis. As a result, they will often be highly responsive to their owner’s emotions. When interacting with your husky it would help to be calm with it and to use positive reinforcement training to get it to behave the way that you want.

It is curious

Sometimes, dogs will also tilt their heads when they are curious about something. This would be more likely to be the reason if your husky does it in situations such as when someone is at the door or if someone is interacting with it but it doesn’t know why.