Cute Dog Guide

  Your Dog Is Kicking and Whimpering in Their Sleep — What's Actually Going On? Here's how it started. Last week, I got up in the middle of the night to get some water. I walked past the couch and found my golden retriever fast asleep — all four legs pumping in the air, making these muffled little whimpers, eyelids fluttering. Like he was chasing something. Or running from something. I just stood there, frozen. He never woke up. Eyes shut the whole time. But his entire body was moving — legs, mouth, eyebrows, all of it. My first thought was: is he dreaming right now? What on earth is he dreaming about? My second thought, right on its heels: should I wake him up? I didn't. I stood there for maybe two minutes until he settled back down and kept sleeping, totally unaware. Like nothing had happened. But I couldn't fall back asleep. Dogs kicking, whimpering, even letting out low half-barks in their sleep — there's actually a pretty solid scientific explanation ...

 Why Do Dogs Always Sniff Each Other's Butts? Here's how it started. A few days ago I was out walking my Labrador when we ran smack into a Golden Retriever coming the other way. I braced for a barking contest. Instead, the two dogs circled each other once, and then — very naturally, very matter-of-factly — each one buried its nose in the other's rear end. I just stood there, holding the leash, watching these two dogs go face-first into each other's backsides, and I genuinely did not know what to do with myself. And then I started wondering: why, though? You've definitely seen this before. You probably never thought much of it — dogs just do that, right? No big deal. But think about it for a second. When humans meet, we shake hands, hug, make eye contact, exchange pleasantries. When dogs meet, their first instinct is to go straight for the most "private" part of each other's anatomy. If you actually sit with that for a moment, there's a lot ...