- Dogs do so many strange
things, don't they? Like licking their nose all the time or sneezing while playing or giving our crotch a sniff when we walk in through the door, dogs can be very odd. I often look at my dog, Starbuck, and wonder, why on earth
are you doing that? But well, it turns out that a
lot of these odd dog behaviours actually have hidden meanings that I would never have
been able to guess, but now that I know them, I understand my dog a lot more. One, why do dogs look at us all the time? Have you noticed that your
dog will often glance at you? Maybe they'll even stare at you. My dog, Starbuck, is
constantly glancing at me. It made me wonder if he was trying to keep an eye on me, almost like he was a bit suspicious.
- Hmm? - Well, it turns out he probably is trying to keep an eye on me, but not because he's suspicious. Instead, he is just trying
to communicate with me because it turns out that
dogs aren't very good at understanding words. On average, a dog can learn
a maximum of 165 words at one time. However, they are very intelligent and are experts at interpreting
human body language. They are so good that in some studies, dogs score higher on average than toddlers at interpreting adult human body language. They are amazing at it because they have been living
with us for a very long time. There are fascinating
art pieces from Egypt of domesticated dogs working with humans. And by living with us for so long, they have become incredible at reading us. That is why it is faster to
teach your dog a new command by pairing it with a hand gesture. Once I started using hand
gestures with new commands, Starbuck learnt them so much faster. Two, why do dogs sniff our
crotches when they say hello? So recently I took Starbuck to a dog park, and while there, we met some
beautiful French bulldogs. They came up to say hello, and as they did, they each gave my crotch a sniff. And I know that a lot of
people would be worried if a dog did this to them, they're worried that they must have a really strong body odour, but you don't have to worry about that. Dogs sniff our crutches
for the same reason that they will sniff another dog's butt. It is because for dogs, their apocrine glands
glands are concentrated in their butts, whereas for us humans, they are concentrated in our
crotches and our armpits, which is why I caught
Starbuck sniffing my armpit the other day. And dogs are very interested
in our apocrine glands because they release a
chemical called pheromones. And we can't smell pheromones, only our dogs can, because they have a special organ that lets them detect them
called the vomeronasal organ. And dogs like to use the vomeronasal organ to smell our pheromones because they can learn a lot about us, because pheromones change
smell for many reasons. For example, are you
tired or are you happy? That will change how they smell. Are you feeling sick or healthy? That will change their smell too. And so don't worry if you smell funny if a dog starts sniffing you, they're actually just trying
to get to know you better in their own special way. Three, why do dogs sneeze all the time? Have you noticed that your
dog sneezes a lot more than you do? Starbuck sneezes so much
that I began to wonder if he might have allergies. Well, we took a trip to our vet, and she confirmed that
he doesn't have allergies and that sneezing is
really normal for dogs. And a big reason why they
sneeze more than we do is because they use it as
a form of communication. Dogs will sneeze when
they're feeling happy or in a playful mood. They even sneeze during play fights. These sneezes are meant to
be funny to their playmate, and that their way of saying, "Hey, I'm just having fun. I'm not actually attacking you." I would never have guessed that. Four, why do dogs circle
before lying down? At night, Starbuck will
often do a little circle before lying down and going to sleep. You might have noticed
that your dog does it too, and like me, wondered what does it mean? And it turns out that they are doing it because they're instinctively
trying to protect us, because you see, their ancestors, the wolves, do it too. They circle an area
before lying down on it, and there are two reasons why
animal behaviour experts think that they do this. The first is that when
they circle an area, if there are any bugs or
snakes hiding in the area that the wolf plans to sleep in, they'll probably run away. But the second reason is that it helps the
wolf protect its pack. When they circle, they take note of which
direction the wind is blowing in. They can then lie with
their head in a position that will have their nose
be in the same direction as the wind. That way, they can smell any predators before they reach their pack. And so even though chances are there is no wind in your bedroom, your dog is still doing
its best to protect you, which is very cute. Five, why do dogs turn
away from us when sleeping? A lot of dogs when cuddling
will turn away from you and put their butt in your face. Starbuck does this all the time. Well, it turns out that wolves do it too, and they've left this
instinct in their DNA. When they go to sleep as a pack, they will lie away from each other and have their heads lined
different directions. That way, if a predator
tries to attack them, at least one of them will smell it and alert their pack to keep them safe. And so if your dog like
Starbuck likes to turn away and put their butt in your face, try to not take it personally because they're actually
instinctively trying to protect you, which I appreciate. Six, why do dogs eat grass? A common myth is that a dog will eat grass if they're feeling unwell
to make themselves vomit, but this is not true. Studies show the opposite. A dog will usually eat grass because like my dog, Starbuck, they enjoy the taste. Wolves also enjoy it. Up to 70% of wolf poop
samples contain grass. That proves that eating some
grass is normal for a wolf. They aren't carnivores,
they are omnivores. They have a diet of both meat and plants. It seems that wolves enjoy crunching on some grass from time to time, and they've left this
desire in our dog's DNA. Of course, if your dog
starts eating lots of it, maybe then talk to your vet just in case your dog is
lacking fibre in their diet and is instinctively eating
grass to add it back in. But when I talked to the vet
about Starbuck eating it, she just shrugged. She said not to worry about it. So I don't, he just likes the taste. Seven, why do dogs sleep at our feet? Do you ever look down and notice that your dog has
snuggled up right by your feet? Oftentimes I can't help but notice it because Starbuck will literally
be lying on top of my feet. It's very cute, but there are some people
that don't find it cute and instead worry that
their dog is doing it because they're anxious. But trust me, it is
unfortunately very easy to tell if your dog is feeling anxious. I had to take Starbuck for
a ride in the car recently, which makes him very anxious. You can see he was shaking, he was panting, and his ears were tight. But when he's lying at my feet, you can see that he is calm and relaxed. If your dog looks relaxed, they're just trying to be close to you. Eight, why do dogs lick
their noses so much? I'll be honest, this
one really surprised me. It turns out that they
do it for two reasons, and both of them enhance their smell. The first is that when
they lick their nose, they lick mucus all over it, making it wet and sticky, which means then that when
they go to sniff things, tiny scent particles from
it will stick to their nose, which enhances their odour. But the other reason
why they lick their nose is because when they lick it, they lick off the scent particles that are already sticking to their nose, and they eat them. And when they eat them, their tongue will run against
the roof of their mouth, which is where the bottom of
the vomeronasal organ sits, which again enhances their smell. Now, I'm gonna be honest, when I think about how Starbuck will sniff all sorts of icky things like poop, it's a bit disgusting that
he is basically eating it. But clearly it works, because depending on the dog breed, they can have anywhere from 10,000 times to up to 800,000 times the
sense of smell that we have, which is just amazing. I love dogs so much. So, does your dog do
any of these odd things? Let us know in the comments. Starbuck and I really
appreciate your support. We will see you in the next video. (bright music)
