there are some behaviors dogs do that look innocent like staring at you wagging their tails or smiling but may actually be warning signs you'll see what these behaviors really mean but here's the creepiest one first some dogs stare at walls the best case scenario here and probably the most common reason is that they're just tired or daydreaming but it could also be a compulsive Behavior they feel the need to do like how dogs randomly spin in circles or you could have an infestation of rats or bugs in your wall dogs can hear sounds four times
farther away than we can so they could hear something scurrying in there that we don't the worst case scenario is that it's a health issue cognitive dysfunction syndrome which is kind of like Alzheimer's and humans and focal seizures are both health problems where One symptom could be blank staring then there's always the possibility that you have a ghost in your house and your dog is trying to communicate with them now a dog staring at you is another potentially scary warning sign but first let's talk about the behavior that might be the most confusing one of
them all wagging their tails most people think dogs wag their tails because they're happy but that's not always true they could also be wagging their tails because they're feeling nervous curious or even aggressive here's a helpful image from pet MD about interpreting a dog's tail wax if they're nervous their tail is usually low and may be tucked in between their legs and wagging slowly if they're curious their tail may be straight out and wagging slightly and if they're feeling aggressive it's often up over their back and may be wagging stiffly the weirdest thing about dogs
wagging their tails though is that scientists have found the direction dogs wag their tails might also be an indicator of their mood one study showed that dogs wagging their tails more to the right might be in a friendlier mood while dogs wagging their tails more to the left might be more anxious now this next Behavior can be very normal or a sign that something's wrong that is licking their paws yes dogs do groom themselves and licking their pause is part of that process but they could do it for another reason if they suddenly start licking
one paw it could be a sign of injury or something is stuck between their paw pads like a splinter or a pebble if they're licking their paws as if they're itchy then it could be allergies skin problems or parasites then again it just might be that they're bored anxious or it's a compulsive Behavior if your dog is licking their paws a lot then it's probably a good idea to check with your vet but this next warning sign is even more innocent looking than potlucking and that is panting there are many reasons dogs pant the most
harmless reasons and thankfully the most common ones are that they're hot or excited but it could be a sign of something else if they're in an uncomfortable environment like the vet's office or there are fireworks going off then it's likely that they're panting because they're scared but if they're not hot they're not excited and they're not anxious then you might want to do some digging to see what could be wrong because it could mean that they're sick or in pain next up is the weirdest behavior in this video but first if you want your dog
to be happiest healthiest dog they can be subscribe to Doggy digs so you never miss out on any of our future videos now one of the strangest behaviors dogs do is scooting their butts on the floor it's Goofy and embarrassing but is actually a sign that their butt itches which could be a big problem they can't scratch it so they have no choice but to drag it on the floor dogs have two anal glands on each side of their bottle that sometimes can become blocked and full of fluid when this happens it's very uncomfortable for
them and that's usually when you see them rubbing their butts on the floor talk to your vet if you see them doing this because it could lead to an infection if they don't get this problem fixed plus there's a chance that some other booty issue that you'll want your vet to take a look at next we've got a behavior that may or may not be a deadly warning sign a dog showing aggressive behavior may not actually be feeling aggressive you might come across a dog that's barking at you and think wow this is a scary
aggressive dog but it's possible that they're more scared of you than you are of them and what looks like aggression to you is actually fear dogs might also bark and appear aggressive because they're in pain and that's the only way they know how to express it but either way a scared dog or an injured dog can still bite so definitely be careful if a dog is barking at you but this next innocent looking behavior is kind of like the total opposite of barking yawning yes dogs May yawn because they're tired but if it's not bedtime
and your dog is yawning it could be a sign that they're scared I know it doesn't make sense at first but an out of place Behavior like this is common among all animals and it's called a displacement Behavior they usually do displacement behaviors when they're scared or uncomfortable because they're just not really sure what else to do here's an example of a displacement Behavior that's even more confusing sniffing everybody knows dogs love to sniff but sometimes it can actually be a warning sign if you're walking outside and they're sniffing the ground yeah they're probably on
a good scent and they're happily checking it out but if they're in an uncomfortable situation sniffing the ground distractedly can be a sign that they're scared or anxious it's a pretty random way for a dog to show that they're scared but this next innocent looking warning sign actually makes a lot of sense once you realize why they're doing it and that is dogs shaking their heads dogs often do this because they have an itch or they've got something on their head or in their ear but if you see a dog constantly shaking their head it
could be a sign that they have an ear infection according to pet MD if your dog is shaking their head repeatedly and doesn't stop after a day or so then it's time to make an appointment with your bed this next behavior is the funniest one in this video but could still be a warning sign it's the classic Goofy the puppy behavior of chasing their own tail puppies often do this because they're playing they're wondering what this furry thing that follows them all day long is so they go try to catch it but it could be
more than just playing they could be bored and have too much pent up energy or maybe they're not getting enough attention it could also be a sign that their tail is injured or they have some sort of infection back there in their effort to scratch or lick it they're chasing it and unintentionally making you laugh this next innocent looking behavior is potentially even more confusing licking their lips of course dogs might lick their lips because they're excited about food and licking their nose which also looks like them licking their lips helps improve their sense of
smell but when researchers do studies about dog behavior they often look to see if dogs are licking their lips why do they do this because lip licking is a common sign that a dog is nervous or scared but next up is a classic innocent dog behavior that could actually mean something is wrong scratching we all get itchy sometimes in our dog Sue to so there's nothing wrong with the occasional itching of scratch or scratching an itch but when dogs do it too much it could be a sign that something is wrong or even cause something
to be wrong it might be a sign of fleas allergies pain or just boredom the unfortunate thing here is that dogs aren't the most delicate scratchers and they can cut themselves accidentally the these Cuts can sometimes get infected and be itchy and start the scratching cycle all over again so if you notice your dog excessively scratching you probably want to give your bed a call and this next behavior is strange because it could mean two totally opposite things shaking dogs might Shake because they're excited and they can't contain themselves or because they're terrified it could
also be because they're in pain they're sick or they're cold with all of the behaviors in this video it's important to look at the whole picture to get a more accurate idea of what's going on with your dog if they're shaking because they're excited you'll probably also notice a loose Wiggly body and a loose mouth if they're shaking because they're scared you might see their ears pinned back their tail tucked between their legs or their cowering now here's an incredibly confusing Behavior many dogs do smile the problem is that would sometimes look like a smile
to us might not actually be a smile at all for instance when some dogs pant it looks like they're smiling because their mouth is half open and curl rolled up at the corners but they might actually be panting because they're anxious if they're looking playful or content then it may be a genuine smile but if they're looking anxious or breathing faster than normal then what appears to be a smile might actually be a Grimace and you may want to do a little bit more investigating to see what's going on we've got a potentially sweet or
a potentially dangerous Behavior coming up but first here's the most innocent one sleeping dogs sleep about 12 hours a day a little more if they're puppies or Senior Dogs now a warning sign with your dog's sleep is if you start to notice a change in their sleeping patterns for instance if they used to take a three hour nap in the morning but now they're taking a six hour nap in the morning then it might be time to call your vet or start keeping a closer eye on how they're doing according to pet MD diabetes kidney
disease heart disease and arthritis are all issues that could cause your dog to sleep more than usual but this next thing is kind of the opposite issue if a dog has a tummy problem poops everywhere and makes a huge mess yeah it's pretty hard not to notice and it's obvious that something's wrong but the flip side of that not pooping could be just as much of a problem but a lot less noticeable it could be a sign of something as simple as being a little stopped up that will soon pass or it could be that
they've swallowed a toy or a rock and now it's stuck in their tummy and could turn into a major problem soon the only way to know for sure is to talk with your vet so always keep a little mental note of how frequently they're going and if anything changes this warning sign may be hard to notice if you're not paying close attention but the next warning sign is staring you in the face literally when a dog stares at you it could be either wonderful or deadly according to one study the more a dog stares at
their owner the more oxytocin AKA The Love hormone is released but just because the dog stares at you doesn't mean they love you in the canine World staring another dog in the eyes is often a threatening behavior if an unfamiliar dog is staring you down then you might want to give them their space as especially if you see some of the other threatening behaviors mentioned in this video on the flip side they might be staring because they're trying to tell us something or see if we're trying to tell them something which is much cuter than
the fact that they could be trying to threaten us now along with staring at you dogs might also go and sniff your butt and you can see the weird reason why they do that in this next video foreign
