Six heartwarming signs your cat adores you more than catnip
Learn to recognize the signs that your cat truly cares for you, strengthening the bond between pet and owner.
Money Talks News
- Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter answers your pet-related questions and highlights the pets of the week.
- A reader noticed her husky keeps licking at a certain spot on the ground inside his outdoor kennel.
- CVAS shares an interesting study in response to a reader asking if dogs can dream.
Q: I’ve noticed my husky has been licking dirt. When the days are nice, we have a big outside kennel he likes to stay in, and I’ve caught him licking the same spot of ground. What’s up with that?
A: In researching this question, it seems that huskies are a breed that have a tendency to do this. The first concern I would have is that he’s looking for nutrients that he’s not getting. You may want to talk to your vet about the food you’re giving him to make sure there isn’t something he could be deficient in.
Because it’s just that one spot on the ground, I’m wondering if there might be something he’s actually after that’s buried there. One suggestion I found is seeing if you could have the soil tested.
It sounds a little ridiculous, but I’m betting with the colleges we have in the area, you might be able to find a lab to do it for free as a student learning experience. Determining what’s actually in the ground could also give you an idea of why your boy licks it.
If you really want him to stop, could you cover up the spot he’s been licking so he can’t get to it anymore? That might be one way to determine if it’s spot-related or something he needs from the soil. If he doesn’t lick any other section of ground after the spot is covered, it was likely something there he wanted to get to.
I’d just be careful and watch how often he does this – you don’t want him ingesting too much soil because it could block up his digestive tract. To alleviate any fears, you might want to give your vet a call and at least make him or her aware of what’s been going on. Thanks for asking!
Q: When my dog is asleep, she twitches, and we think she’s dreaming. Is that true?
A: I found some very interesting research on this topic. Scientists believe that dogs do dream. In fact there was a study done with rats that really blew my mind.
Apparently electrodes were put on the rats as they went through their day and electrical impulses were monitored, including when they were in a maze. Then, when the rats slept, researchers discovered the exact same electrical impulses as when they were in the maze.
All of the brain patterns correlated to human brain waves and dreaming. The idea is that if rats can dream about being in the maze, it’s likely that dogs dream as well.
In fact, it’s believed that animals dream about what happened to them during the day, so if your pup was chasing squirrels and you later catch him twitching in his sleep, he may be dreaming about the romp he had taken earlier in the day. While we can’t be absolutely certain what dogs dream, there’s evidence to suggest they are capable of it. For those of us who witness the eye flutters and feet jiggling when our animals are fast asleep, we don’t necessarily need the scientific equipment to confirm it.
Ask the Shelter is a weekly feature aimed at pet education. If you have a question, contact Jennifer Vanderau, public relations coordinator for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter, at cvascomm@cvas-pets.org or 263-5791.
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