There are several reasons why a dog shakes himself by vibrating his body completely, some of them are totally natural while others require our attention.
If your dog shakes too often or you think he may have a problem that makes him shake more than usual, take a few minutes and we’ll show you what the main causes are.
Index of contents
- 1 Shaking due to temperature changes
- 2 My dog shakes when it gets wet
- 3 Parasites in hair or skin
- 4 Jerking when you change states – stress
- 5 Dirt also causes them to shake
- 6 My dog shakes his head
Shaking due to temperature changes
When a dog is warm at home and goes for a walk on the street, the change in temperature causes it to have a strange sensation on its coat, which at the same time causes a jolt.
The same thing happens when it is very cold on the street and we enter the house, which is very warm, our dog will shake to “let go”, so to speak, the cool that accumulates in his hair.
My dog shakes when it gets wet
Surely you have already noticed that when your dog gets wet, it shakes to dry, thus eliminating much of the water it has in its hair. This they do when they get out of the shower (when we bathe them) or when it is raining in the street and they get wet.
Even if they enter a river or lake to cool off, when they leave it is common for them to do one or two shakes, as this way they get rid of the water that accumulates in their hair and skin, or at least much of it.
Parasites in hair or skin
Parasites such as fleas, ticks and even some mites are capable of causing so much discomfort in our dog that it feels the need to shake itself to try to get rid of them.
Actually any parasite or insect can cause that tickling or discomfort, so if we appreciate that our dog jerks excessively for no reason Apparently, it would be interesting to check their fur thoroughly for possible parasites or insects.
Jerking when you change states – stress
Have you ever seen your dog angry? They generally bristle (a small crest protrudes from their backs), giving us and other dogs a sense of stress.
When that state wears off, it’s totally normal for a dog to shake, lowering completely that little crest that previously showed on his back. Jerking off on these occasions is how to change your mood.
Dirt also causes them to shake
Dirt, dust, or general dirt can cause our dog to feel like shaking multiple times until he feels cleaner.
It is something totally normal since they do it by mere instinct, their body is completely covered in hair and a strong shake can help them get rid of that dirt.
My dog shakes his head
In the previous cases we have mentioned the reasons why a dog shakes its entire body, but…. What if you just shake your head?
When a dog repeatedly shakes its head, the reasons can be quite different, from an ear or eye infection to more serious problems like internal inflammation.
You can see all the causes from: My dog shakes his head a lot.