27 STRANGE Dog Behaviors Explained
twenty-seven odd dog behaviors explained dogs have been man’s best friend for thousands of years and yet it’s only recently that we’re really figuring out what our best friend’s way of communicating with us is our canine companions can understand so much of what we say to them and they have their own way of letting us know in turn today we learn what our dog’s odd behaviors really mean but before we get in today’s video make sure that you’re subscribed and hit the bell icon so you never miss an upcoming video tilting heads you’ve seen your dog tilting his head giving you that quizzical look making you believe that your dog is questioning what you’re doing it’s more common to see a puppy tilting his head and it could mean several things it could be as basic as your puppy wanting to hear something a little clearer or get a better view if your pups head remains tilted for a lengthy period it could be an ear infection so get your companion to the vet ASAP sleep on it you’ve no doubt seen your pooch running in his sleep yelping or making small moaning noises this is totally normal and it’s nothing to be worried about just like us dogs dream and during their REM stage of sleep they act on their dreams and move and twitch accordingly if it is constantly interrupting your dog’s sleep there are medications available cry just a little if your canine friend is crying in his sleep don’t wake him up it’s not a sign that he’s depressed if you wake him he may get afraid to invite you out of fear which would not be great so just let him because the hunger games you’ve heard of pregnant women experiencing pica which is a condition which sees them eating items that are well non-food related dogs experience the same thing so if you have a pup chowing down on tissues chances are he has pika you’ll have to put effort in to teach your dog to give it or leave it regular exercise is a good way to help your dog with pica and if the problem persists a trip to the vet is in order shake your tail feathers a dog tucking its tail between its legs can mean a few things firstly it could be done out of fear or when a submissive Hound meets a more dominant one they do this to cover their rear ends as that’s where they secrete smells it informs the dominant dog that there is no challenge or threat chow down yes it is totally gross but it’s also totally normal a dog eating another dogs number two is called Co Pro fascia and it’s a common habit it’s not 100 percent clear as to why dogs do this but some believe that it’s just an instinct possibly a sign of malnutrition or illness signs of possible stress and anxiety or a form of Piko like we mentioned earlier you can train your dog to stop doing this because even though it’s not highly dangerous to dogs you really don’t want to be licked with that mallet crash boom bang many dogs are afraid of thunder and sometimes dogs develop this fear with age so just be on the lookout for that some behaviors to look out for include pacing shivering drooling and trying to escape if your pup displays these symptoms animal experts suggest weaning your pet to get used to a storm play a thunderstorm CD at low volume while giving him a treat and keep increasing the volume and he will eventually associate Thunder with treats love and good times chasing tail it’s rather amusing to watch your pup playfully chasing his own tail but there is a reason for this strange behavior chances are he’s totally bored dogs need a lot of mental and physical stimulation and when they don’t get it they resort to other means to keep themselves busy it’s a cry for attention so give it to them come full circle dogs love to walk around in circles before lying down and that is thanks to their ancestors when wolf-like dogs lived in the wild they would walk around in circles to pat down the grass and make a comfortable spot to lie down in that seems to have stuck and if your dog does this it’s perfectly normal circle of life in direct contrast to our prior post if your pooch is pacing in circles but not settling down is is potentially a sign of distress if it comes out of the blue be sure to take him for a check-up as soon as possible lap it up many dogs love to get stuck into tiled floors and give them a proper licking it may just be that they’re hoping to pick up a stray crumb or two it could also be a dietary deficiency other reasons could include anxiety or nausea and licking the cool tiles may make them feel better if your floors are clay they could smell of certain minerals in the clay that your pup is missing from their diet lick your lips while we’re on the topic of licking dogs absolutely love licking humans particularly their own humans and this is a totally normal behavior we refer to them as doggy kisses and they are the perfect way for your pooch to show you how much they love you they do get your attention and to let us know that in their opinion that we taste great and seriously does anything else even matter them touch and go dogs are so much like humans and just like you and I have particular areas on our bodies that we do not appreciate being touched so don’t think it’s odd when your dog displays their displeasure being touched in a certain place or a certain way and just respect them and stop doing it immediately the song of my people some dogs are prone to random squealing and there could be several reasons for this behavior and truthfully it could just be a random squeal but if it persists then you’d need to rule out the following fear loneliness neglect discomfort or sheer excitement if you’ve ruled out all of those in your pet still doesn’t stop a trip to the vet is certainly in order so happy to see you although it’s not odd behavior why do dogs wag their tails research confirms that it is a form of communication but a wagging tail is not always an open invitation for you to go and pet the dog researchers have discovered that it will depend on whether the tail is swaying to the left or right as to whether the dog is displaying positive or negative emotions a tail leaning towards the right is positive and to the left negative their research also indicates that when a dog is wagging its tail’s to the left it stresses other dogs out think nothing of it as humiliating as it can be when your dog decides that your guest is the perfect solution to their advances note it has nothing to do with anything sexual and it’s not a display of dominance like people believe it’s very normal for dogs to do this male and female and it’s part of a normal play according to the experts if you find the advances are negatively affecting another dog then break them apart but if there’s no issues and you just kind of have to let it be haters gonna hate if your dog exhibits love for people and not for other dogs it could have a lot to do with how he was raised dogs that are raised in exclusively human environments often perceive other dogs as alien and tend to not know how to Cave around them if you’re thinking of getting a new pup ensure you socialize them before they’re three months old and it will prevent any negative behavior as they grow older heavy breather panting is normal behavior in dogs and most of the time the panting is primarily to keep themselves cool dogs don’t sweat like we do so panting is the solution but if you find the panting to be at odds with what you’re used to it could be an indication of anxiety stress fear illness or injury keep an eye on it and seek medical help if needed chasing shadows an animal expert believes that shadow chasing is okay up until a point if you keep giving your dog positive attention for his behavior he will continue to do it it could quickly turn from a game into something they can’t control so it needs to be nipped in the bud quickly don’t reinforce the behavior by showing positive acknowledgment and try to rather distract your canine friend from that behavior smells good so what is it with dogs and sniffing it’s a surefire way of having a visitor feel very awkward but if you’re the visitor it doesn’t mean that you smell as humans there are certain areas of our bodies that have higher levels of pheromones and dogs sniff to understand their world so it’s only logical that you’re gonna get sniffed rear-ended as we mentioned earlier a dog’s rear end secretes a plethora of sense with the dogs incredible sense of smell they are quickly attracted to this area which gives them a great deal of information about the other hound they can pick up the gender reproductive status diet and the general feeling of the dog all from the rear end dogs that spend a great deal of time sniffing each other tend to get along better in the long run underwear thief we are back to smells and our underwear is the second best option if we aren’t actually around even if your undies have been through the washing machine they still hold your scent and as you know dog sniffers are thousands of times more powerful than ours your pooch will find comfort in your smell which is often why they steal your clothes of course it’s not great for your clothes and not great if your dog is ripping them to shreds and swallowing the beasts getting old if your beloved companion has started snubbing your calls or doesn’t rush to the door to greet you like you once did it’s possible that the behavior can link directly to your friend getting old as sad is what it is to consider get him to the vet to start making his life a little more comfortable as he ages with grace lean on me there are three schools of thoughts when it comes to dog leaning into you and they’re as follows either they’re showing dominance they’re afraid or they genuinely love you so much and what to be as close to you as possible I personally lean towards number three this sucks many pups enjoy sucking on a blanket or on themselves just before bedtime and this peculiar behavior is called flank sucking although it’s not super serious it should still be discouraged because they can eventually swallow bits of blanket that they’ve chewed on for so long possibly requiring surgery to remove a bite to eat if your dog is biting his paws this is a sure sign that something is wrong it could mean your dog is struggling with a skin condition and injury a possible parasite or even arthritis a vet visit is non-negotiable at this point we’re almost to number one but before we get there we’d love to know what kind of weird behaviors your pets have tell us your stories in the comments below one staring contest there’s nothing better than a good staring competition and your dog will beat you hands down dogs are experts at staring and it’s nothing to concern yourself with they like to pick up at your nonverbal cues then they’re pretty good at reading you so enjoy the extra attention it’s all done with love [Music]
