Pets|Neurobiologists proved in a Harvard University study that violent shaking of fur is in dogs’ genes.
The summary is made by artificial intelligence and checked by a human.
Dogs like to shake the water properly out of their fur. The researchers found out the cause of the phenomenon.
Shaking removes not only water, but also mud and possible parasites from the hair on the back and neck. A dog can hardly clean and care for these parts of its body by other means.
There are receptors on the surface of the dog’s skin that are activated by light stimuli, for example when the hairs bend.
Dogs’ manners have developed over time in the dog’s evolution. That is why it is difficult to remove it through training.
Dog owner know that the dog wants to shake the feeling of moisture and wetness from its fur.
Sometimes the pet shakes itself like crazy.
Then, of course, the owner hopes that the scene will not take place in, for example, the living room. Or that he himself is not right next door.
Now, neurobiologists have found the reason for what actually compels dogs – and many other furry mammals – to vigorously shake water out of their fur.
Canine shaking wet fur has been preserved in evolution.
Shaking removes water and possibly other irritating substances from the dog’s back and neck hair and skin.
For a dog, it is an area that is difficult for the animal to reach. You can’t lick your back and neck, for example.
Behavior typical of dogs was studied by a group of neurobiological researchers at Harvard University’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the United States.
The phenomenon has not been studied much before, he says, for example published by Phys.org.
Researchers identified a complicated mechanism in the dog that controls its shaking, says Popular Science magazine.
The dog’s skin has low-threshold receptors. They detect movements and light forces directed at the hairy skin.
Receptors are proteins that are located in the cell wall and respond to various environmental stimuli.
The receptors on the surface of the skin and in Turkey detected a light touch. They help guide the hairs of the coat and can thus trigger shaking.
In the case of a dog’s fur and skin, the stimuli are precisely water, the movements of insects and parasites and other light stimuli.
The habit has developed ages ago in the dog’s evolution. That is why it is difficult to remove it through training.
Researchers tested several different stimuli using mouse experiments. Mice also shake themselves if their fur gets badly wet.
For example, researchers applied oil to the back or neck of mice. They also let the air stream into the places of the mouse that are difficult for the mouse itself to take care of.
They irritated the fur and skin of the mouse by different means, for example optogenetically with the help of light.
In the study, the beginning of the shaking of the mouse was monitored with a high-speed video and thus it was found out both the frequency of the shaking and how long the shaking lasted.
When external stimuli bend the skin hairs, the receptors become active, which in turn leads to rapid movements. They are similar to a dog shaking water off its fur.
The fur vibration response was generated in mice even without physical contact. It showed that the receptors do not only react to water or liquid.
In humans similar receptors are associated with more pleasant sensations, which we get, for example, from touch.
For example, gentle hugs and light stroking of the skin belong to them.
The difference in sensation may be due to the fact that we are hairless.