If you have a dog, then you will have noticed us shaking our fur off. You may have also yelled at us for shaking our fur as soon as we are out of the tub, or fresh out of the water, and soaking you in furry water droplets!
My owner loves it when I shake off my fur fresh out of the ocean, I always cover her in water too, and she chases me up the beach!
But sometimes, us doggies shake our fur even when we are not wet, or we will shake our fur just after getting up from a long nap, and you may be wondering why we do this.
Being a doggie myself, I like to think of myself as something of an expert, here to answer all of your pawsome questions about canine companions!
Us dogs are so entwined in our human’s lives, that sometimes you may just accept our behaviours as funny traits and natural instincts that we have, and never question why we do this.
One of the things you may want to know about is why do dogs shake their fur?
Why do dogs shake their fur?
There are a few reasons as to why us dogs shake our fur off. The most common reason we shake our fur is to get something off of us… shock, we do not like the silly birthday hat you put on us, and we want it off.
We will then shake our fur to try to remove a tight collar, lead, or to get dirt, water and other irritants off of our furry coats. Our paws don’t reach, so sometimes we just shake it off.
Another common reason we may shake off our fur is to wind down after a rigorous activity.
Sometimes, I will shake my fur because I have been playing and running around, or having an intense playtime session, and now I want to wind down.
It is sort of a relaxing way to show that I am ready to cool down, and flex my muscles.
In a similar way, when I shake my fur to calm down after playtime, this is also a signal that I am ready to be petted, or I would like to be friendly and have some affection from you.
In this situation, I am trying to tell you that playtime, or funtime is over, and I could be ready to curl up on the couch with you and have a snooze!
There may be underlying issues as to why your doggie chooses to shake off its fur, so you may want to pay special attention when they do this to find out why they may be doing this.
For example, excessive shaking of the fur may be a sign that they have itchy fur or skin, and they could have an allergy to something.
The action of shaking the fur could then mean that they have a physical discomfort, and they are trying to shake it off.
It is best in these situations to take your furry friend to the dreaded veterinarian, to make sure that everything is okay. Just make sure you hold their paws because we do not like the scary veterinarian.
Finally, your dog may not be shaking their fur because of physical discomfort, but because of emotional discomfort or distress.
Sometimes, when a dog is being petted too much, or petted heavily by smaller humans who do not understand how to pet us, we may feel uncomfortable, and are unsure how to react to the situation.
Once the human is done petting us, and we have been good and let them, we will shake off our fur almost as if to remove the uncomfortable feeling afterwards!
Why do dogs shake off after you hug them?
You may have started to notice your dog shaking off after you hug them, whilst I love cuddles and affection, for many dogs, getting hugged and petted excessively is not as fun as humans think it is.
Sometimes, we would rather run off and play than sit and be hugged for long periods of time.
However, we love to make our humans happy, and hugs and affections seem to be a way to help them be happy, so we have learned to accept their cuddles and tolerate it even when we do not want to.
In those cases, sometimes these hugs can make us feel a little uncomfortable, and we want to go do something else, so after you hug us, we will shake as a way of defusing the anxiety, and stress of having to deal with affection when we do not want to.
Why do dogs shake when they aren’t wet?
When dogs shake their fur, it is not always because we are wet and trying to dry off. Sometimes, we shake our fur in the same ways that humans do.
For example, we will often shake our fur to shake off a feeling of stress, or anxiety just as humans do, as a way of saying phew!
When we shake off, it can sometimes just be a way to get over a worrisome or stressful situation.
Should I be worried about my dog shaking its fur?
Shaking off our fur is normal for us, and we will do this very often to keep our fur feeling flowy, comfortable, and free of any dirt or debris.
You do not have to worry about us too much if we are just shaking away our fur unless we do it excessively. This could mean that we have an allergy, and you may need to change our diets or bedding.
The problem is when we seem to shake our fur uncontrollably, involuntarily, or we are trembling often.
Then, you should look after your furry friend, just like we look after you, and take them to see a veterinarian or a professional.
