Tag: Weird Dog Behaviors

Whether it's shoes, crayons or trash, we've all seen our pets eat some pretty strange things. But why do they do it? Although pets can't tell us why they engage in certain behaviors, experts have studied some of the common behaviors in pets like eating poop and grass and drinking toilet water and feel as though they have a not-so-strange answer for why pets act the way they do. If your dog is engaging in one of these behaviors, find out why here.

Cat Nip for Canines

Dogs react to anise seed the same way that cats react to catnip! Anise seed comes from a flowering anise plant. The seed's licorice-like taste is common in Mediterranean cooking (maybethat's why dogs love em!). According to WebMD, the seed hasmedical benefitstoo. It is believed to aid digestion,treat coughs,menstrualcramps and helps alleviate the symptoms of Scabies and Psoriasis. Strangely enough the plant is also used as aninsecticide against species of termites and cockroaches. Do not confuse this seed toStar anise. Unlike anise seed, Star anisecomes from the star-shaped flower of a small evergreen and is aningredient in Chinese 5-spice powder. Make your poochhomemade anise seed dog treatsor secure seeds into their favorite toy!

Poop

Eating feces is a common dog behavior, Theresa A.Fuess, Ph.D. of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, explains that feces eating, also known as coprophagia , is not done because of a dietary or enzyme deficiency, but that it is more commonly a behavioral habit picked up when dogs are just puppies.

Dr. Jo AnnEurell, a veterinarian and animal behavior specialist retired from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, states that dogs are scavengers, and that this behavior is common. She also notes that mother dogs often eat their puppies' feces in an effort to clean their den and keep the smell of the puppies away. This behavior can be picked up by puppies, although most shake it off when they are weaned. If a dog has this habit, be sure to regularly clean up feces in the yard and to keep litter boxes out of reach, asEurellexplains that fixing this problem is more of a prevention than a cure. Read more

Last week, Best Bully Sticks commemorated Memorial Day in our Dog Care 101 segment, but this week we’re back to the weird stuff! If you didn’t tune in two weeks ago, BBS Healthy Dog Blog talked about some strange doggy behaviors: where they come from and what they mean. This week we’ll continue with the funny dog behaviors and we’ll talk about actions like eating grass, sleep running, crazy tails and more!

1. Eating Grass: Chowing down on the green stuff could mean a couple of things for your dog. One of the reasons is a throwback to your dogs primal urges, all the way back to when his ancestors were wild. Dogs were once scavengers and would eat just about anything to fill their tummies including berries and other vegetation. So when your dog happens to go looking for an immediate answer to his growling stomach, grass might just be the first option.

You’ve probably also heard it said that dogs eat grass to help them throw up; to alleviate a hurting stomach. Usually grass only causes this reflux action when swallowed in gulps. The grass can cause a ticking sensation in the throat and stomach lining and help the dog vomit. This is usually sought out by a dog when they do have an upset or gassy stomach. The most important thing to remember when your dog eats grass is that is isn’t harmful in any way.  The only reason to be alarmed is if your dog really starts ramping up his grass consumption.

2. Sniffing Dogs or People: It’s something you’ve seen hundreds of times, dogs sniffing other dogs or people. What’s that all about? It seems really strange to us humans to get that close to a creature’s bum, but there are two coinciding reasons why dogs behave this way. One, a dog’s sense of smell is the biggest way they “see” the world. In other words, a dog’s sense of smell is their way of inputting important information about another animals. The place where dogs find that information just happens to be anther dog’s behind. That’s reason #2. Dogs have glands in their anus that store fluid which tells another dog everything they need to know about them; their gender, health, diet and even mood. Read more

Dogs are lovers, not fighters. And sometimes, they’re downright comedians. Best Bully Sticks knows we’ve all been pretty tickled at our dogs because of things they do, but why do dogs do the things they do? Why do dogs whine? Why do they circle before laying down or eating? Why do they lick things?

We have to remember, dogs were once wild animals and their behaviors, while they have adapted to a humans over the years, are still wild at heart.  This is the first of a two part series that will detail some of your dog’s funny, weird or just down right alien behaviors. This week we’ll cover circling, whining, yawning, licking and elimination behaviors.

1. Circling before lying or sitting. No, your dog isn’t aspiring to be a ballerina, it’s just his ancestral wildness coming out.  Before your dog had a comfy, cushy bed to lie down on, the nearest patch of grass was the best option.  Circling was the way wild dogs would stomp down tall grass to make a nest. This behavior was also to see if there were any unwanted creatures in the area where the dog wanted to lay down. One more possibility could be temperature regulation. If moving the grass away from a spot would reveal a cooler layer of dirt, they the dog exhibit this behavior to find the coolest spot possible. When dogs circle today before settling down it’s just a leftover urge from the wild days, an old gene that never really left.

2. Whining. There isn’t a magical machine that can translate all “dog-speak” so until that happens, we humans will just have to realize that whining could be a lot of different things. Whining means your dog is trying to communicate something and that could be anything from “I’m hungry” to “There’s a toy stuck under there!” but it does mean he probably wants something and it might just be your attention. Read more