Dogs turn out to be surprisingly easy to study when it comes to sleep because their brains cycle through sleep much like ours do.
That overlap is why a twitching, paddling, softly whimpering dog on the couch isn’t a mystery to researchers.…
Some dogs see the narrow gap between your legs and apparently think, “Excellent. A hallway built specifically for me.”
You are standing at the kitchen counter, waiting at a crosswalk, or trying to have a normal conversation with another human when your dog walks directly into the space between your knees.…
A dog walks a slow circle near your feet, then draws one paw across the rug two or three times before finally lowering herself down. There’s no dirt flying and no floor gouged out.…
You’re standing by the front door looking for your other shoe when your dog appears around the corner carrying it.
For a second, the scene looks almost impossibly helpful.…
Here’s something that surprises a lot of people: a dog’s favorite napping spot usually has nothing to do with softness.
Owners buy plush beds. They tuck blankets into corners.…
If blanket humping were simply sexual behavior, a fleece throw would be a strange target. It doesn’t move, respond, or participate, yet some dogs repeatedly seek out the same blanket after rough play, during an excited evening, or just before they finally settle down.…
One dog drops her rump across another dog’s shoulders during a wrestling match, and somebody immediately says, “She’s showing who’s boss.” The position certainly looks unequal. One dog is physically above the other, sometimes with enough body weight to pin her partner for a moment.…
At a dinner party, deliberately turning your back on someone would be questionable manners. Dogs have apparently declined to adopt this rule.
Your dog walks over, settles directly beside your legs, and then rotates until his face points toward the room and his back points toward you.…
There can be an entire stretch of empty carpet available, and your dog still chooses the backpack. Or the jacket you dropped beside the couch. Or the folded laundry you meant to put away twenty minutes ago.…
Your dog steps onto the fleece blanket you just smoothed flat, plants one paw, and drags a fold toward his chest. Then comes the nose underneath, a quick turn, two more determined paw strokes, and finally a flop into the rumpled little bed he has made.…