I'm glad she's feeling better ! I'll be curious also to find out why they do the shake, Roxie does it after a nap and a jump off the sofa, the shake seems to signal the end of one activity, but the shake is so vigorous, I'm always astounded that a little thing like that can shake from top to bottom, her feet slide on the tiles from the impact.

how about those long stretches, .........

Shaking fluffs up the fur hence trapping more air creating better insulation both from cold & heat???

/t

Linda, glad Chabby is better!

Dogs shake themselves to remove any odors or scents left on them to throw off predetors. Rub your hands over you dog and watch as s/he shakes your scent off.

Long deep stretches are to limber up mucsles in case they need to flee from danger or catch dinner, like that pesky squirrel.

Dogs yawn not just when tired but also when nervous.

Now a cat will wash off your scent after you touch them but they rub on you and the furniture to leave or mark their scent and territory.

Glad Chabby is better, Linda!

I always thought it was to re-arrange their fur too. Andy will shake after I put on his leash to go out - even though I have not really touched him. He also shakes on the "way home" from his early morning toilet. Along with the last little flip of his tail, his shake actually lifts his back feet up off the ground! Cracks me up everytime! LOL! (I'm sooo easily amused!)

Boarding dogs at my home the last couple of years....yep..they all shake. But the thing I find funny, and they all seem to know how to do it....is shake and jingle their tags on their collars when they want to go outside. It seems like it is an inheirited quality.

3:00am...jingle..jingle..jingle.

Duane

I don't know the answer, although others have come up with good ones. I'm just posting to say I'm glad Chabby is feeling good enough to shake. Keep on getting well, Chabby!

Sally

I'm glad to hear Miss CHabby is feeling better too. Sounds like her shake was just the thing to put the world right for her.

And horses DO shake! If you have ever seen one have a good roll in a particularly dusty spot they will pop up on all 4 feet again, start with the head and shake all the way back. That is usually followed by a snort, a buck and a brief romp since it feels so good!This isn't a huge shake after the roll, but the horse is in a grassy field, the big shakes usually come after a roll in sand or dusty dirt.

Here is a link that might be useful: Horse rolling

I think dogs shake so they are sure to spread dog hair as far and wide inside your house as possible. My mom had dobermans and swore the only place that didn't have dog hair was inside the eggs.

ROFL!!!!!!!!!

I can can assure you this is correct! My Dobie Diva can send hair flying! Also - it is just stiff enough to be able to penetrate panty hose and weave itself into the fibers without snagging them. It makes it pointless to shave ones legs and wear hose when there is a Dobie around - they rub past you once and you have black/brown hair sticking out of the hose all over the place!

I agree, horses do shake all over like that. Copenhagen does it right after I groom him, a good roll in the nearest pile of manure and a good shake, then he looks at me and shakes his mane down over his eyes just like he's saying "don't try to priss ME up, I'm a BAD boy". LOL

Annie