Dog Behaviors That Shouldn't Be Ignored

Many dog owners will testify that their dogs understand them better than anyone else.

They seem to know when we’re sad, when we need them to stay close by, when our energies are high – and when they’re at their lowest.

But how many dog owners can say they truly understand their dog’s behavior, too?

Sure, we know that when a dog wags its tail, it means it’s happy – but do we really know why?

And what about all that hole digging and sniffing of behinds?

If you’ve ever wondered about your dog’s strange behavior, prepare to wonder no more. We’re here to reveal the deepest secrets of the doggy psyche – and help you understand your canine best friend better than you’ve ever understood it before.

Dogs do all sorts of things that we consider funny or amusing, but there’s nothing quite as fun as watching your dog chase its tail. But why do they do this in the first place?

The answer to this is actually not exactly straightforward.

Often, puppies don’t realize that their tail is actually a part of their body, and treat it more like a toy – but as they grow up, they come realize that it is, in fact, an appendage. So why do they keep it up?

While tail chasing and chewing can actually be signs of ill health – and if they repeat themselves too much, it’s worth taking your dog to the vet for a checkup – one common reason for tail chasing is simply the fact that dogs seem to get positive reactions when they do it, and so continue in an attempt to make their humans happy!

Ever wondered why dogs like to stick their heads out of car windows so much? What’s so great about wind blowing in your face, anyway?

Well, researchers and scientists still don’t have a definitive answer to this question, but one prevalent explanation actually has very little to do with the way wind feels on the dogs’ faces.

You see, if most people’s primary sense is sight, most dogs perceive the world through smell.

While the human olfactory membranes are roughly the size of a postage stamp, an average dog’s are as large as a handkerchief – and when they stick their head out of a moving car’s window, all that air rushing into their nose allows them to smell the world around them better than they ever could otherwise.

It’s no secret that dogs’ sense of hearing is phenomenally sharp. Dogs can pick up on a really wide range of sounds, and have around 16 muscles in their ears alone, which allow them to tilt, turn and move them to hear a specific sound they’re listening for more sharply.

Still, even with their developed ears, sometimes dogs just need to move their head to the side to hear something better – just like we do.