Why Do Dogs Shake Their Coats?

Part of being a good dog owner is understanding what your dog is trying to say. Shaking a coat in a particular manner is one indication of a dog's wants, needs or feelings. A dog will shake his coat for many reasons, including being wet and wanting to exhibit a certain emotion. He also shakes because it is his nature to do so.

  1. Types

    • A dogs will do a rough shake of his coats when wet, which is a way of getting water off his coat. He also shakes when items are caught in his coat, such as burrs, bugs, leaves or grass. In addition, a dog will shake when he has an itch or is angry, upset or scared.

    History

    • Within the last few hundred years humans began taking care of dogs. For thousands of years, dogs had to completely take care of themselves. Therefore, it's in his nature to shake when wet even though his owner may have a fluffy warm towel. Because dogs have shaken their coats since the beginning of time, they continue to do so. Sometimes your dog will shake his coat for absolutely no reason, which is his nature.

    Reasons Today

    • The reasons dogs shake their coats today reflect on the reasons they did in the past, even if the world has changed. In the past, dogs had no warm houses to go into when they were wet, so if they didn't shake the water out of their coats, they would freeze. Even if your dog knows he can go into your house and dry off, he will still shake his coat. Although most dogs don't have to fight for dominance in a pack today, because some live in homes with other domesticated dogs, they still shake their coats when meeting a dog they don't know or during a fight to show dominance. The same goes for a hunched over shake, which indicates fear or submission. If you can't outwardly tell why your dog is shaking his coat, and it happens more than just occasionally, check his fur. He might have something stuck in it, or he might have a skin condition.

    Significance

    • A dog does not shake for no reason. Each time your dog shakes his coat, he is trying to either clear the coat of fleas, grass, dirt, water or flakes of his own skin. If he isn't trying to clear his coat, he is trying to project an idea about himself to other dogs or people.

    Benefits

    • A dog has no hands to run along his coat to smooth it down, and he cannot use a towel to dry himself off. He cannot pull burrs or fleas out of his coat, and if he wants to tell another dog something he cannot speak to do so. Therefore, shaking is one of the main ways that a dog has to take care of himself and to present himself in a certain way to another dog or to people he meets.