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You've got to love this quirky behaviour; provided you're not getting covered in dirt! But have you ever wondered why dogs kick and drag their feet along the ground after doing their business?
There’s method behind the madness of that moonwalk! Here’s what it is...
Hint: It's not them wiping their paws clean
You’d be excused for thinking they’d want some privacy after their toilet time. But no. Dogs will often launch into a foot dragging dance that can flick dirt, stones or grass over you as you try to remove the evidence of their ‘deposit’.
But the key to why they dance lies in those fast feet...and their toe pads.
Those toe pads are actually quite special. In fact, they’re one of the only places on the body that have sweat glands.
And as anyone who’s ever been in a gym change room knows, sweat also means scent. Eek. But for dogs, they use this scent for something special.
They rub their feet alongside their poo as a way of almost ‘signing’ that artwork as one of their own. Crazy huh. But the meaning of the dance doesn’t end there.
The scrape marks on the ground also act as visual way of marking out their territory. The bigger and deeper they are, the more impressive their stature and strength will seem to other dogs who come across them. That explains the energy with which they undertake the project!
So considering dogs don’t have social media, it makes the foot drag the closest thing the furry family have to a highly filtered profile pic.
