People have been domesticating animals for centuries now. But, the most domesticated animals are dogs. The wolf ancestors were domesticated for hunting, security, cattle herding, and companionship. However, nowadays, most dogs are adopted for companionship.
Other than their abilities to sniff and bond with humans like no other animals, the furry friends often exhibit some behaviors that are hard to understand. Many dog parents often say, ‘ my dog is acting weird,’ but that is usually not the case. Dogs have some strange behaviors, and a majority of them have a reason behind it. Your dog might not be as weird as you think.
So, here are some quirky and strange behaviors explained for the pet parents to help you understand your little furry friend.
1. Chasing tails
Dogs love to chase their tails, even the pugs who have a curled tail try their best to chase and catch their tail. This might seem like a juvenile activity, but there are a couple of reasons why dogs do it.
Firstly, they are simply intrigued by the dangling thing flopping around their backside and chase it for pure fun and out of boredom. However, this is more common with puppies and young dogs.
Secondly, if your dog is chasing the tail excessively and is trying to bite it off more than just simply catching, then their tail could be infested with fleas.
2. Circling before lying down
Dogs circle multiple times before lying down to simply ward off insects that may be around. But, this does not make sense when your pet sleeps on a comfortable mattress.
Actually, like most dog behaviors, this behavior too is hard-wired in their brain. Dogs try to flatten the surface with their paws to sleep comfortably on a flat surface.
3. Head-tilts
Have you ever wondered why your dog tilts their head sideways when you try to talk to them?
Dogs have excellent hearing, but they sometimes have trouble locating the sound source, so one reason for their cute head tilts is that they are trying to find where the sound is coming from. So, the tilting helps them open the ear canals and reposition their ears to hear better and locate the sound source.
Moreover, they do this to show you that they are paying attention to you.
4. Carrying food to a specific location
Dogs will often carry a mouthful of treats or food in a specific area and eat it there only. No matter where you give them food, they will take it up there and eat it. Dogs do this because they feel more comfortable and safe in a specific area of the house.
5. They kick when you scratch their belly.
If your dog trusts you, they will go into the submissive pose and present their belly to you, and it’s another hard-wired behavior to display trust and playfulness. Dogs enjoy the occasional belly rubs and the tickles.
But have you noticed that they flutter and kick their legs when you scratch their belly?
This is nothing more than an involuntary reflex, triggered when you scratch in their saddle area – side of the belly. The exact spot to trigger this response varies from dog to dog, but surely, they do enjoy it a lot.
So, the next time you wonder ‘why my dog is acting weird?’, it may be their hard-wired behavioral traits passed down from their ancestors, and most of the time, there is a good reason behind such behavior.