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Spin around ten times and you'll stagger all over the place. A dog spins before a nap too, then lies down steady as a rock. Why does it spin? Doesn't it get dizzy? First, the why. The most common spin comes right before lying down. It's making its bed.
A scientist who studies dogs ran a test. Sixty-two dogs: half lay down on a smooth, flat rug. The other half, on a rumpled, shaggy one. On the flat rug, about one dog in five turned in circles. On the rumpled rug, more than half did, nearly three times as many. The bumpier the ground, the more they spin. A few turns press the bumps flat into a cozy nest.
Many people think it comes from their wild ancestors. Out in tall grass, you stamp out a nest first, then lie down. Dogs also like to circle before they go to the toilet. Scientists watched seventy dogs go more than seven thousand times. When Earth's magnetic field was calm, they liked to line their bodies up north to south. Circling may be how they find that line. But that part isn't settled yet.
So does it get dizzy? First, why do we? Deep inside your ear are a few tiny curved tubes filled with water. When you spin, the water spins with you. When you stop, the water keeps going. Your brain thinks you're still turning, and you feel dizzy. Dogs have these tubes too. So dogs can get dizzy. Lots of puppies get carsick because those tubes haven't finished growing.
But the one or two turns before a nap are slow and few. Like you turning slowly once or twice, the water barely gets going before it stops. So no dizziness. If it chases its tail round and round, it may wobble a little when it stops. Just like a kid stepping off a merry-go-round, it passes in a moment. One thing to watch for. If it can't stop, spins again and again all day, or its head tilts, it can't stand steady, and its eyes flick side to side, take it to a vet.
So spinning is how a dog makes its bed, finds its line, and has fun. Two little turns aren't nearly enough to make it dizzy. Next time it circles on your bed, don't shoo it away. It's making the coziest nest it can. What's the wildest spinning dog you've ever seen? Tell me in the comments.
Turning before a nap is making the bed. Two little turns aren't enough to make it dizzy.
Seen from above: it walks a circle and presses the rug flat.
Dog researcher Stanley Coren had 62 dogs lie down on one of two rugs: about 19% circled on the flat one, 55% on the rumpled one.
Dogs have these tiny curved tubes too, so dogs can get dizzy. Lots of puppies get carsick because the tubes haven't finished growing.
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