As soon as the dog is out of the bath, he goes completely crazy, races through the house and rolls around on the floor. Funny is that every time anew. But why do dogs actually?
If the craziness ever breaks out after bath time, you better run for cover! © iStock
Everyone who has ever given his dog a shower or a full bath knows this: As soon as the tail wagger has left the shower or tub, he shakes himself once vigorously and then the madness begins!
As if stung by a tarantula, the dog dashes through the house, throws himself on the floor, rolls around, jumps up again and starts racing again. Some animals even go so crazy that they completely forget internalized rules like "jumping on the couch is forbidden" and literally walk over tables and benches. You could almost think that surviving the bath is the greatest thing that has happened to your dog in his whole fuzzy life so far.
But why do dogs behave like that?? Experts name four possible reasons.
1. Survival instinct
Running around, shaking and rubbing against carpet could be dog’s instinctive reaction to wet fur. A wet dog is more vulnerable in nature than one with a dry coat: it weighs more, smells more intensely, and freezes faster. By running around wildly, the dog instinctively helps itself. The body is warmed up and the fur is dried by the de-scrubbing on the carpet.
- Dog towel to dry off after bathing, swimming, walking or on cold winter mornings + cleaning cloth for dirty paws
2. Odor question
Every creature has a certain urge to survive. But maybe the wet fur is not the current main problem of your four-legged friend. Maybe he just finds his new smell awful. Because even if you use shampoo specifically for dogs – the smell is never exactly that which a dog naturally possesses.
With its 125 to 220 million olfactory cells, this can be really unpleasant for your four-legged friend. Because instead of "freshly washed" he much prefers to smell of earth, dirt, manure pile, dead mouse, cat feces (Yes, these are all empirical values …) and just himself. Some experts therefore assume that a dog gets his crazy "five minutes" after bathing, because he tries to escape the unpleasant odor.
3. Stress relief
Many dogs don’t like being showered or bathed at all. Being the goody-goodies they are, they keep quiet and endure the unpleasant procedure. Through the many different stimuli such as the smell, the wetness and also the proximity to the master or mistress, however, a lot of energy builds up. If the situation is only once got through, the dog reduces this stress by the intensive movement. And since the shower or bathtub is not located in the park or garden, the madness takes place where there is least room for it: in the middle of the apartment.
Click on the button below to view vine content.co to load.
4. Joy
For some dog owners it may sound absurd, but there are actually four-legged friends who love to be bathed. And that’s not so surprising, because for once everything revolves around them without exception during the cleaning procedure. If these rare specimens also race around the house after washing as if chasing rabbits, this could simply be the expression of pure joie de vivre. ♥
Last updated on 2.02.2022 / Affiliate Links / Images from the Amazon Product Advertising API / As an Amazon affiliate, we earn on qualifying sales