Veterinary experts call this behavior "land grab". It is usually regarded as annoying-a strange and unexplained behavior quirk of dogs. But research shows that it can also tell us a lot about dogs.
First of all, not all dogs will do a strange ceremony and jump the soil into the air. In fact, this seems to be a rather rare behavior. Rosie Beskobi, a clinical animal behaviorist of the British Pet Behavioral Counseling Association, said: "Science explains 20 kinds of strange dog and cat behaviors."
"The probability of appearing in males and females seems to be the same, but only about 10% of dogs will do this." . Beskobi told Life Science: "This behavior of dogs is also triggered by a series of precise environments: usually, dogs show this enthusiasm after urinating or defecating, when they enter a new area with a strange smell, or when they smell another dog's feces."
And scratching the ground is not just a dog's patent; Wolves, wolves and other mammals, such as lions, do the same. Carol Siracusa, a veterinary behaviorist at the College of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, said that in fact, several observational studies on the scratching habits of these other animals, especially coyotes and wolves, have provided some of the most helpful clues for researchers to explain why dogs do this. For example, wolves are alive, so this is related to their sociality. Dominant animals living in groups often show this behavior to delimit their territory. So, they may be trying to send a message to other wolves. If they cross this line, they may be attacked. It is aimed at strangers, not the same group of animals.
Siracusa said that this region labeling process has two main characteristics. First of all, there is a visual mark-scratches left by animals on the ground. The second is the odor trace left by urine, or the odor trace left by the liquid secreted by the gland on the wolf's paw. These glands will blow up the soil and scatter it on the ground. "So, this is the theory behind it: either you see me doing it, or you see the moving soil, or you smell me," said Syracuse.
How does this compare with what we see in dogs? First of all, when domestic dogs scratch the ground, they often leave urine marks on nearby trees or grass, which reflects the territory marking behavior of coyotes and wolves. In addition, the dog's paws seem to secrete special marking liquid.
"It is not clear whether other dogs will smell the smell from scratches, but we know that there are sweat glands on the dog's foot pads and sebaceous glands on the fur between the toes," Beskobi said.
Siracusa added that these glands on the feet also produce pheromones, which means that dogs may leave these smelly substances in the soil and then disperse them widely through their powerful kicks. Siracusa said that this may provide a strong chemical signal to other dogs that they have been there. He warned that it is not clear what function these pheromones have, so it is difficult to draw conclusions about what information they can convey to other dogs. But like wolves, these pheromones may provide other animals with some information about their proximity. Why do dogs turn around before lying down? ]
Is this behavior aggressive? "Although it is easy for people to conclude that land grabbing is aggressive-if other dogs invade the designated territory, they will actively threaten them through fighting-but Syracuse thinks this is more subtle than this. dome