Shake Shake Shake?

[Guest PipDG]

Do your hounds shake themselves a lot? Emmie seems to shake herself all the time - starting with her head (and flapping ears) and then right through her body. On our wooden floors her front paws slay right out to either side quite commically (the floors have never bothered her). She also likes to rub her body along the hallway wall or up against the hall table. I was wondering whether she had itchy skin but she doesn't seem to paw at herself so perhaps it just feels good? She has a very thin coat, in fact her belly really only has a thin layer of white fuzz, so you can see her skin easily enough and it doesn't look inflamed. Her coat certain has gotten thicker since she's been with us though (she only retired in January, and it's winter), so I also wonder whether the new growth gets a bit itchy at times. She certainly seems happy enough, so perhaps she just likes a good shake!

[ShebasMom]

Sheba shakes all the time--when she first wakes up, gets up from lying down, jumps off the bed, turns around, etc. I attribute it to just feeling good.

[Guest elizabeth7418]

Addy shakes a couple of times a day, like ShebasMom said, when she gets up, when we come back from a walk, etc. we have tile floors so I know what you mean about her sliding on the floor! My parents have had 8 greyhounds, and a few of them have "shaken it out," too. Addy likes to rub her face on the side of our bed when she wakes up first thing in morning. She looooooooves to have to eyes/head rubbed, but she doesn't usually scratch at her face on her own, so I don't think that she's itchy. It's adorable.

[Batmom]

I don't have any extreme shakers but my Gidget looooooooooooooves to rub along the hallway wall or the long wall in the basement. She isn't itchy, it's evidently just a "feels neat" thing.

[greysmom]

Any excuse for a good shake! When they stand up, before they lie down, when they're outside, when they're inside, before they play, after they play, during their playing, when they're getting pets - well, you get the idea.

 

Some do also like to rub themselves. It just feels good!

[Guest Waterdog66]

Audrey is a total creature of habit. (Well Scripted Habit)

 

She wakes up, scratches her ears. Gets up, Does 1 "Downward Dog" Stretch, then does 1 "Dolphin Pose", then does a good "Shake Like a Dog" which starts at the ears/head and works back in waves to her hind end. She does this on the wood floors and her legs are splayed out and she frequently shakes strong enough that her paws are off the ground.

 

She will usually do another "Downward Dog" and will hold it IF there is someone around to scratch her back while she holds that position. (She will hold it as long as someone scratches)

 

She lately has also been doing this thing where she will rub her muzzle on something in the house that smells like us. (A piece of clothing or the bedspread and even the couch)

[RaineysMom]

perfectly normal. Both of ours "flick" as we call it, all the time. Larry way more than Zeke, and both do rubby-rubbies all the time too, down the hall, down the comforter on the bed, the entire length of the L shaped couch, you get the picture.

[TwiggysMom]

I think that the full body shake is an extension of a good stretch. Sort of like the way you see Olympic sprinters stretch and then shake out their arms and legs. (Our hounds are the canine version of Olympic sprinters, after all!)

 

Twiggy loves a good shake. Hers is especially comical now that she only has one front leg. As her shake moves from her nose all the way back to the tip of her tail, she half rears up on her hind legs, and her only front leg waves wildly in front of her ! (it took her a while to learn that technique!)

Edited July 13, 2013 by TwiggysMom

[Guest PipDG]

Thanks everyone! I felt like it might be a bit of a stupid question, but she does shake so often! She does tend to have a grin on her face though, so I guess it really does just feel good. Em is our first dog as adults, so we have felt like we're on a bit of a learning curve, but we don't seem to have done anything too wrong so far!

[Guest psdirector]

Hutch and Tibbs love to shake. We call it "flapping". They also do downward dog when they awaken from a nap. They will sniff us when we come home ("Where ya been, Mom and Dad?") and will rub against us and whatever must smell like us. It's so cute. The shaking must feel good to them, because they seem to do it to loosen everything up.