The Other End of the Leash shares a revolutionary, new perspective on our relationship with …
An important principle in primate communication seems to be, "If we can't see each other, then we can't start something." (..). Turid Rugas, a Norwedgian dog trainer, call turning the head a "calming signal," and I agree that it does have a calming effect on the dog who sees it (although I don't think that dogs are necessarily doing it consciously to relax the other dog). Humans can do it consciously, doing what wolf researchers call "look aways" by turning our heads to the side when we greet a new dog or we sense that tension is mountain. You can also cock your head [to the side], which is something never done by a tense dog on offensive alert. Many mammals cock their head to gather more information about the world around them, and they almost always do it when they're curious and relatively relaxed. If you cock your head, you are signalling to a dog that you're relaxed, which can go a long way towards relaxing the dog as well.
— The Other End of the Leash by Patricia B. McConnell (Page 35 - 36)
A few thoughts: 1. Eye pressure and autism: Like a lot of young people who grew up in the 90s in the west, sustaining eye contact during conversation was drilled into me. I often wouldn't be allowed to communicate if I wasn't maintaining eye contact. It's interesting that I've noticed in myself that when I am more tired, I tend to avert my eyes more, as a way of conserving my own energy and focus that energy on the conversation. The parallel, where it contrasts and where it is similar with the calming signal head turn in canines is fascinating to me. 2. In a lot of ways, this entire book feels like a necessary and thoughtful update to Turid Rugas' seminal book on dog calming signals — download PDF here. 3. Leif reports that when he uses the head tilt, mimicking a confused or curious creature, with our puppy Pippin, he launches his whole body at Leif in overly energetic happiness. So while I do think that head tilts are a good tool to have around human and nonhuman mammals, do note that with puppies, it can excite them because everything excites puppies.
