Every dog owner on the face of the planet hates it when they are bathing their dog and it decides to have a nice shake and leave the foam or water all over their bathroom walls and their person. But it seems like dogs also love to shake themselves for no apparent reason and can do it any time of the day without any apparent provocation either. Here’s what dog experts claim are the reasons behind why dogs shake themselves.
1. To dry up
A soaking wet coat means that a dog’s body would cool down very rapidly. In the wild, that is an invitation to certain death. A good, full body shake is essentially dogs’ way of running themselves through an imaginary spin cycle that allows them to shed around 70% of the water in their coats instantly.
2. To jump start the sensations of the skin after a period of rest
Dogs shake themselves for the very same reason many humans scratch themselves after getting out of bed. It is an instinct that essentially wakes up the skin. Our skin is the first line of defense against all those billions and billions of other microscopic beings that co inhabit the planet and having it awake soon after a period of rest is the key to knowing if a parasite has been sucking your blood while you were asleep. Dogs shake themselves after a nap to ensure that square inch of their skin is awake and ready to alert them of a parasite hiding inside the coat ASAP.
3. To shake off bugs
For some odd reason, bugs, ticks and fleas love going walkabout in dogs’ coats. Since dogs aren’t as meticulous as self grooming as cats, their only option of ensuring that these bugs don’t end up camping in their coats is to do a vigorous shake and hope that these bugs fall off.
