Ten of the Oddest Dog Habits Explained

I personally think one of the best things about having a dog as a part of the family is getting to witness all of their crazy and inexplicable habits. We don’t mean crazy as in “crazy”, we just mean some of the things our dogs do blow our minds. Whether it is walking in circles before they lay down or hoarding all their bones under the couch, here are our favorite “crazy” dog habits. Hopefully, a few of these will make more sense after reading about why they do some of this stuff.  Enjoy!

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Walks In Circles Before Laying Down: Believe it or not, that is a trait that is part of the dog’s instinct left over from when it was wild. Dogs would walk in circles outside to clear brush and twigs and branches, so they would have a little area to sleep in that was unsullied.  What makes it such an interesting and crazy dog habit is the fact that they are still doing it, even though most of them are doing it on couches and beds now.

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Peeing on Hydrants: Well, truthfully, the hydrant thing is sort of territorial. It is not that they like hydrants as bathrooms, it is that they want an area to mark that stands out. If that area is already marked with another scent from another dog, that dog is even more apt to pee in that spot to mark over the former owner’s territory.  This starts an unending cycle of dogs peeing on hydrants to mask the smell of other dogs peeing on hydrants. Why hydrants? Well, only the first dog who ever peed on one truly knows the answer to that question.

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Hide (and Hoard) Their Food: This is another dog habit left over from when dogs were wild. Often, dogs would only eat part of their food and store some away some place safe in case they ever ran out of food or were starving. Dogs still do this (bones under the couch, anyone?) because it is part of their wild traits that have not yet become obsolete.  Much like the spinning in circles mentioned before.

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Drink out of Toilet: Do the math on this one, people. Dogs love to drink water. They love to drink cold water. Your toilet pretty much always has cold water in it. It is not like your dog is conscientiously aware that is where you go to the bathroom. It just knows that is a bowl of cold water. Plus, dogs can be a lot like kids. So when you specifically tell them NOT to drink that water, that is the water that will be most appealing to them. Also, it is often colder than the water in their bowls. Would you rather drink cold water or room temp water?

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Compulsive Digging: This one is still highly debated among dog specialists. It is a natural instinct in a dog to dig, so that in itself is not that odd of a dog habit. But when dogs dig compulsively, some think they are seeking praise and attention, and need to be distracted by a game of catch or some light horseplay. If it becomes a serious enough problem, it really could be compulsive. Nothing too much to worry about, but still strange to most of us who go our whole lives without ever digging a hole.

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Rolling Around in Smelly Stuff: Another one that goes way back to dogs hunting days. What may be a nasty smell to you or me can be a very appealing smell to a dog. They roll in that scent to make it a part of them. It is also thought they do this from when they used to hunt and would mask their scent with the entrails of their kills so they would be “hidden” by scent for further hunts.

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Barking at the Mailman: This one is more territorial. It is also more and more obsolete, as it was a reflection of older times in our society. Often, mailmen used to approach houses and drop mail into slots in the front door. The image of a uniformed man could evoke memories of dog catchers for them, or they just don’t like the idea of someone they don’t know coming that close to their family. It is also mostly where the term “bark is worse than their bite” came from. Half the time, they are sweet as can be once they actually meet the guy (or woman) who delivers their mail.

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Chasing Other Animals: Prey instinct and prey drive are parts of a dog that will probably never go away. Though some breeds may have it stronger and more pronounced than others, dogs chasing cats (or any other smaller animal) has a great deal to do with that. Also, in some cases, it is play drive. They have no desire to hurt the animal at all, but rather, are just trying to rile it up and do some horseplay. Just make sure you know what kind of drive it is behind your dog if it decides to chase animals.

(Photo by Ken Bohn/Zoological Society of San Diego via Getty Images)

Hanging Heads out of Car Windows: We smell. We don’t think we do, but we do. Dogs have thousands more scent receptors in their noses then we do, and being stuck in a car with us is like putting them in a box and forcing them to smell our sweat, breath, cologne, perfume, and whatever else we may be wearing. The dog sticking its head out the window not only allows for mental and visual stimulation, but it makes it so the smells are not as pronounced.  Plus, outdoors has a lot of great smells, too. Having their heads out the window helps them experience that. Dogs can live vicariously through scent. Remember that.

(Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Chasing their Own Tails: Listen, there are videos of little kids who get scared of their own shadows until they realize what it is. A dogs tail can be just behind him, following him at all times. Sometimes, prey drives kick in, and they decide they would rather chase then be chased. Simple enough, and pretty much always hilarious (and a little crazy).

So what crazy dog habits did we miss? Take to our comments section and let us know, and then go check out our Facebook.

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