Horizontal Spine
We have a vertical spine which makes looking upward easy. Their horizontal spine prevents them from stargazing or looking at clouds. When dogs do look up, they don’t really scan everything above. Their eyes are fixed in one position. They also have to turn their entire head to look to the side, which is different from our side-eye glance.
What Would Entice A Dog To Look Up?
Your pup may look up to see your face because he wants to make sure that you’re alright. Canines have an uncanny ability to sense our moods.
She might look at you for reassurance if she’s concerned about something.
Other instances when Fido needs to look upward include when climbing stairs, entering a car, watching a squirrel run up a tree, watching you hold a treat in the air or perhaps watching you at the kitchen table eating while he’s trying to convince you to share some of your food.
How Far Can Your Pooch’s Head Tilt With That Tiny Neck?
Many dogs can only tilt 45 degrees–making our 90-degree range very impressive. They don’t mind because they want to sniff the ground or floor, not gaze into the sky. Their noses are usually scraping the surface below exploring scents and looking for crumbs.
Which Dogs Can Tilt Their Heads The Most?
Smaller dogs seem to be able to tilt their heads more degrees than larger ones. Naturally, younger dogs have a better neck moving range than older dogs who might have arthritis or stiffer bones.
They Can’t Hear Upward Too Well, Either
Although dogs have fantastic hearing and can tell where sounds are coming from in general, if you say your dog’s name from an upstairs window, she’ll have difficulty figuring out where your voice is coming from. It’s difficult to differentiate where sounds are coming from if the noise is above or below them.
Dogs Have a Wider Visual Field
Humans generally see 180 degrees while dogs have a 240-degree visual field due to where their eyes are positioned. The wide visual field encourages them to sniff around on the ground more than to search upward unless something very worthwhile is above.
Bred To Work With Their Noses On The Ground
Most dog breeds were bred for nose work to find things, hunt and so on. Pups aren’t encouraged or trained to look up.
Neck And Spine Issues That Prevent Dogs From Looking Up
If your pup seems to cry or struggle to tilt her head, she may have a neck or spine issue that makes looking up painful. Canine Intervertebral Disc Disease is similar to a rupture or herniated disc in a human.
Atlanto-Axial Malformation is common in tiny dogs whose second neck bone might not have developed correctly.
Larger dogs may suffer from Cervical Spondomyelopathy or “canine wobbler syndrome,” which makes walking and looking up difficult.
Another neck problem is Cranial Occipital Malformation Syndrome, which occurs when a pooch has an abnormally small skull that creates pressure on his brain when he moves his head up or down.
Good Neck Care
Harnesses put less pressure on the neck than collars, especially if your dog sees something he wants and pulls on the leash to chase it.
Small and medium-sized dogs shouldn’t jump on and off of furniture because they can hurt their neck if they land the wrong way.
If your fur baby has trouble looking up, check her neck for swelling, wounds, irritations, etc.
Conclusion
Dogs have smaller necks and horizontal spines so they don’t have the ability to look up as far as we can. They are able to tilt their heads up. Canines are obsessed with what’s happening on the ground and floor because they absorb lots of information with their noses.
They tilt their heads to look at us, at a treat, if a squirrel runs up a tree and only for very important reasons like the aforementioned.
Pups have wider field vision than we do and focus on the eye-level-and-below area.
