If you have a pure bred Staffie or whippet, may I ask a question?

[TheFantasticMrsFox]

A rather pointless question it has to be said, but one that has been intriguing us. Does your dog cock it's head when it sees something that interests it?!

DPup was a "Staffie x" though looked almost pure. Now she's about 6 months there is definite signs of whippet as well- too slight, very close coat, tippy toes, very pronounced tuck-up and she is fast :o

One overriding characteristic is the head tilt. It's a quizzical, questioning sort of action and is a very common habit for her. I know of several border terriers who do this but haven't got enough experience of Staffies or whippets to know if it's one of their "things" too :)

[TripTrapTripTrapOverTheBridge]

I think most dogs do it

[TheFantasticMrsFox]

Really triptrap?
Neither of my boys do it (working cockers) and I can't say I remember any of my other dogs doing it either (springers, cockers, Rottweilers, greyhounds, lurchers)

[Branleuse]

my full staffie does it, not my staffie x.

my old collie/alsation x used to do it

[GemmaTeller]

My boxers do it when you ask 'whats that?' or 'who is it?'

My previous GSD did it.

[Eastpoint]

Portuguese Water Dogs do it, so do Westies.

[ClaimedByMe]

My staff cross does it when you say sausages it is one of the few words she responds too.

[RabidFairy]

Yes my staffie does this, but so, too, did my mums late springer spaniel.

[TheFantasticMrsFox]

It seems like it's just a quirk then.
It's a very endearing gesture and one that we see a lot over the course of a day- wonder how come I've never had a head tilter before?!

[TripTrapTripTrapOverTheBridge]

My friends staffys do it. My Beagle done it and all our breeding cockers (when I was a kid) done it too.

My parrot does it aswell LOL

[financialwizard]

My full Stafford does it. Normally in a 'you complete moron' look. She is 14 weeks Saturday!

[SpicyBear]

My staffie x does it if you squeak her ball.

[basildonbond]

My Toller does the same thing - it's very cute

[WeAreGroot]

I've got one mongrel (best guess whippet x terrier x collie) and three pedigree whippets. They all do the head tilt, as did dear old DDog1 (another mongrel) who I lost last year.

It is more comically exaggerated when the whippets do it but I think that's just because of their neck/head shape and their comical ears

[Owllady]

I think they do it when they can't understand a sound or word
Try getting them to wait and say something random like bananas. I bet they do it then.....

[TheHouoooooondsBitch]

My mum's Lab does this, her head looks like its going to go all the way around sometimes!

[PitchSlapped]

All of our dogs (lurcher, mongrel and 2 tibetan terriers) have done this, i thought it was just a dog thing

[TheFantasticMrsFox]

I tried "bananas" owl but no response. Clearly I have boys with no sense of what is normal canine behaviour :o

[PurpleSwift]

It's a dog thing, not a breed thing

[basildonbond]

Our dog does it most comically when dh talks to him on Skype - get one of your children to skype your spaniels and then see what they do