Dog Tap Dances Every Time She Gets Brushed

We are not kidding with the headline on this video. This dog really does sound like she is doing some serious tapdancing. Give him a beat and he could be on stage somewhere. It is actually pretty amazing to watch this dog’s reaction to a good back scratch. She loves a good brushing. Most dog do love it. It feels good on their skin and picks up and loose hairs that might be causing them itch. That said, we have never seen a dog react like this to a good scratch.

We have always known that dogs have a “sweet spot” somewhere on their bodies. For some dogs it is their belly or chest. For others like this pup, it is somewhere on their backs. It is that perfect spot that causes the dog’s foot to kick like crazy. It turns out that this reaction is called the scratch reflex. It turns out the reflex is an involuntary response that exists to protect dogs from bugs or irritants. It’s your dog’s spine sending the message.

Apparently, under certain areas of the dog’s skin there are collections of neural pathways that go back to the spine. If these are nerves are activated by a scratch the spinal cord instructs the dog’s leg to kick. Dogs with allergies tend to react more strongly because they tend to be itchy more often. The instinctual kicking is designed to potentially remove irritants like fleas. One article we read stated that it is kind of like the doctor testing your knee for reflexes. Most dogs enjoy the scratching and just instinctually react to nerve pressure. Just make sure you read your dog’s body cues when they start kicking.