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Way before Tay Tay ever sang it, dogs (and cats) have wanted to ‘Shake it Off’. In fact, there’s not a pet parent that hasn’t been drenched by that highly skilled ‘wet pet shake’ at bath time. But just WHY they do it is fascinating…
Hint: You can blame their relatives!
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but our furry family aren’t from around her. In fact, almost all dogs’ ancestors are from much colder climates in the northern hemisphere. Just look at the names of the breeds and you’ll see mostly Northern European and Asian names.
And there, still being wet once the sun goes down could be fatal due to the intense hypothermia. So they’ve evolved to have a lifesaving quick dry system…the Wet Dog Shake.
And effective it is.
In fact, the wet dog shake eliminates around 70% of the water from their coat in just one second. Crazy.
Shake and bake! How it works...
It’s a finely tuned mechanism that relies on that adorable loose skin of theirs.
- Starting at their head, they twist their body left and right to get that rotation happening.
- Then it flows down to their shoulders and belly. At it's peak, their skin will move back and forth 5 times a second for dogs and 6 times a second for cats.
- Here the twist has enough force to draw the water from deep in their fur to form droplets on the tip of their hair that then go flying off. Often onto you!
But the proper drying process can only occur if they have a degree of waterproofing in their coat. That’s where their crucial skin oils come in.
If they’ve been dissolved away by washes containing detergents then their skin and coat stay waterlogged; leading to that musty pet odour and even hotspots. That’s why my Drool washes clean by nourishing that crucial layer of skin protection. It also means they stay cleaner for longer...
