Why does a dog shake so hard? (labs, shih-tzu, clean)
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My dog shakes her body so hard that she makes pretty loud noises. It sounds like clapping, or like someone smacking someone.
She does this often. Is there a meaning to the shake?
Sometimes I wonder if her brains are smacking against her skull the noise is so loud!
It's not that she is trying to shake off water, because she does it even when dry. She consistently does it when she gets wet, or walking in wind, but does it other times as well. Has nothing to do with hair or fur, since she doesn't have any.
Perhaps hairless dogs shake more, since they will feel more stuff on their skin. Dogs shake to "clean" themselves, and their ears will sometimes make a racket. If it's not a hairless dog thing, have a vet check your dog for fleas or mites or even dry skin can irritate a dog to where they'll shake off.
Is she a breed that has longish drooping ears? If so she may have an ear infection or a simple fungus irritating her ears. If so, a trip to the vet might be in order. Fungus is pretty common among long eared dogs. the ears get wet and don't completely dry, thus fungus grows. Fungus can be a big source of itching for dogs hence the head shaking.
As an aside, if your vet identifies the problem as fungus he will sell you a pretty expensive cream and ear wash to cure the problem, use it to cure the initial problem and then do routine follow up preventive care with common over the counter ear wash solutions from the drug store. For fungus treatment you might want to try Monostat 7, also an over the counter inexpensive anti-fungus medicine.
(I have had Labs as my gun dogs for 20+ years and I've had a lot of experience with fungus in dog's ears)
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Artie does this when he gets wet (like you said) but also every time he gets up from sleep. It's like he's shaking himself awake, complete with lip flapping and ear flopping.
Artie does this when he gets wet (like you said) but also every time he gets up from sleep. It's like he's shaking himself awake, complete with lip flapping and ear flopping.
Yes - also consistent when she wakes up.
Her ears aren't long & floppy, so I doubt that's it.
Maybe it is the hairless thing - she feels more than other dogs do.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Ha! Artie just did it and he didn't even just wake up. It was just a random "OK! I'm here!" shake.
I didn't mean to imply that it was ear-related when I mentioned the ear flapping -- it's just that Artie's ears flap when he does it.
It IS loud, though. It's like all the bones shake loose and then find their places again.
Oh, another time that Artie does it is when he's playing with his friends. After they have a "I'm bigger, badder, and better than you!" rough-and-tumble, all the dogs do it. It's like they're shaking off the pretend animosity and clearing their heads. Super-cute.
My Shih-Tzu does this about 10 times a day sometimes. I lost count today. I didn't think much about it until someone else saw her do it and asked..."What was that?" Then I started counting the times she did it. I wonder if it is some sort of nervous habit because she seems to be doing it more and more frequently.
Hello Shirley, you stated "My Shih-Tzu does this about 10 times a day sometimes. I lost count today. I didn't think much about it until someone else saw her do it and asked..."What was that?" Then I started counting the times she did it. I wonder if it is some sort of nervous habit because she seems to be doing it more and more frequently."
My Shih-Tzu is also doing this a lot. Did you find out why this occurs?
Hello Shirley, you stated "My Shih-Tzu does this about 10 times a day sometimes. I lost count today. I didn't think much about it until someone else saw her do it and asked..."What was that?" Then I started counting the times she did it. I wonder if it is some sort of nervous habit because she seems to be doing it more and more frequently."
My Shih-Tzu is also doing this a lot. Did you find out why this occurs?
Our labs would both shake off after coming out of a car wash..........they thought they were wet.
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