Allow These Experts to Explain Your Dog's Behaviors – Good Housekeeping

Every pup has their quirks — here are some reasons behind them.
Your pooch has a personality all its own. The full-face kisses they give you when you come home — as if you’ve been gone for a lifetime and not an hour. Or how, at 90 pounds they’re totally unaware (and don’t care) that they’re not a lap dog. These quirks are lovable parts of the package. Of course, along with all the endearing things your dog does, there are some strange behaviors that you can’t help but question (pacing in circles, anyone?).
Whether your pup has a few idiosyncrasies or is just plain weird (in the best way possible), there’s usually an explanation. For example, if your pup isn’t getting the right kind of nutrition, all kinds of odd behaviors can crop up — excessive barking, begging, difficulty house-training, anxiety, etc. And while you should always check with your vet first, sometimes switching up their food can be the perfect solve, since every pup has different dietary needs.
In trying to fulfill those nutritional needs, consider a custom-made kibble like .css-aaiere{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#d24432;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-aaiere:hover{color:#d24432;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Just Right, which doesn’t limit you to what’s on the shelf. First: Take their quick quiz about your dog’s breed, size, age, health, and ingredient preference. Then their experts will craft an individual batch to meet your dog’s every nutritional need — such as weight management, skin & coat, and digestive health. Then, they’ll deliver it monthly to your door. And if anything changes, the formula can be tweaked at any time.
While the right diet won’t necessarily cure all of your pup’s quirks, it can help. Here, experts take a crack at decoding some of those common oddities once and for all.
Sniffing is a proper and natural greeting for dogs, even though it may seem odd to owners, says Erin Askeland, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA, an animal health & behavior expert. Dogs’ sense of smell and scent memory is very powerful, so sniffing, is their way of sizing each other up. “Dogs secrete many odors from their rear end, and they can also tell if they’ve met before simply by smell,” she says. “It can be a way to exchange information such as where they’ve been and their emotional state.”
While it might seem like stage fright, Askeland says it’s more likely they’re trying to protect their food by taking it away from the main area. Though this can happen in solo dog homes, it may occur more frequently in a house with more than one pup “because of the desire to protect a valuable resource like food [from siblings] and eat it in a safe space,” she explains. Then again, some dogs do this because they simply prefer another surface, such as carpeting, hard wood, or tile, Jamie Whittenburg D.V.M, a licensed veterinarian in Lubbock, TX, points out.
Without fail, your furry friend has their own unique bedtime routine that goes a little something like circle, dig, plop, repeat. “Dogs walk in circles and dig at their bedding in an attempt to form a sleeping burrow,” explains Dr. Whittenburg. In fact, the instinct is genetic. “Their ancestors would dig and flatten out an indentation in the dirt to sleep inside to help them feel secure and stay warm in winter and cool in summer.”
One second your pup is lazily lounging on the couch, the next they’re zipping around your living room at top speed. Sounds like a case of the zoomies. These random bursts of intense activity happen when a dog has pent-up energy, Dr. Whittenburg says. “This may be the case if the dog has been resting or confined during the day, or if they were alone and now have human company,” she says. Askeland notes that the zoomies can also be a way to shake off stress after a bath, brushing, or a vet visit. Most importantly, zoomies are a normal (albeit strange) behavior for most dogs.
You feed your pup on a regular schedule and always have treats on hand, yet you still catch them gobbling grass on the regular. “Contrary to popular belief, dogs are not carnivores; they are in fact, a type of omnivore,” Dr. Whittenburg says. What’s more, plant material is a completely normal part of a dog’s diet. “Dogs use plant material for fiber, which aids in digestion and allows for regular, healthy stool,” she adds. Some dogs may munch on grass often, while others may only eat it when they are not feeling well. If yours is mowing the lawn too often and experiencing gastrointestinal discomfort, the doc suggests contacting your vet.

You’re happily walking your furry friend and suddenly you catch them gloriously gorging on dog doo like it’s an artisanal pâté. There can be a deeper meaning behind this next-level grossness. “In cases of malnutrition, dogs may eat feces in an effort to gain the missing nutrients in their diets,” Dr. Whittenburg says. Other culprits include stress, separation, anxiety, and boredom. Young dogs are especially prone to eating feces and may exhibit the behavior because they just don’t know any better, she adds. Try adjusting to a personalized kibble, like Just Right, to see if your dog may have been missing key nutrients.
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