我的狗狗為什麼會用後腿踢地面？

November 9, 2016 • lucy

我的狗狗為什麼會用後腿踢地面？
許多飼主都對愛犬排泄後用後腳扒地的行為感到困惑。人們常以為這和貓咪的行為相似—狗狗是在試圖「掩蓋」自己的排泄物。然而，事實恰恰相反。排泄本身是狗狗標記領域的方式之一，而隨後的扒地動作也是如此。


用腳扒地是狗狗過往遺留下來的行為，當時牠們的野生祖先需要劃定廣大的領地。人類約有 500 萬個嗅覺腺體，狗狗則高達 1.25 億到 3 億個—這表示牠們的嗅覺靈敏度遠勝於我們。狗狗的腳掌有會分泌費洛蒙的腺體—費洛蒙是幫助動物彼此溝通的化學訊號—在泥土上向後扒幾下，便會將這些化學物質釋放到周圍環境中，讓其他犬隻聞到。當狗狗的親屬需要標記並守護大到無法每天巡邏的領地時，這項能力很可能十分實用。畢竟，糞便乾掉後氣味會消失，但狗狗腳掌留下的氣味持續得更久。這不僅可能幫助狗狗的祖先保護珍貴的獵場，也能守護處於生育期的同伴。
 
狗狗幾乎總是在排便或排尿後才會扒地；若考量牠們在這個儀式前後的行為，這就很容易理解：每位飼主都曾耐心等待自家狗狗挑選完美地點來完成牠的「大事」。排泄只是狗狗留下氣味的其中一種方式，而後腿扒地則是 Fido 加強領域訊號的方法。由於這是在標記自己的地盤，而非宣示支配地位，不論性別或個性的狗狗，都可能會用腳扒地。
 
後腿扒地是正常且不具破壞性的行為，因此無須試圖改變狗狗的習慣。事實上，唯一需要留意的是：若您的寵物平常會扒地，卻突然停止這麼做。行為上的改變可能表示有什麼因素影響了牠的行動能力，並可能在日後導致更嚴重的問題。不過，如果您的愛犬一切如常，您唯一該注意的，就是等牠停止後腳扒地後再清理排泄物—免得泥土或更糟的東西被踢到您臉上。

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評論(7)

  1. Dwight

    My dog does it after he urinates or defecate. I don't mind so much in our yard, but when I walk him he does it every time he stops and makes his territory. He just doesn't want to stop and can be pretty destructive. He is 8 yo and has only started it about a year ago.

  2. Bev

    Sure she kicks her hind legs after bathroom use, but tonight out of no where she started kicking her hind legs running around inside home then lay down for few minutes then run around and doi it again. She doesn't seem to want go out for bm .. feeling puzzled

  3. Kathryn Baylis

    OK, but what if my dog does this even if he’s not eliminating? And will sometimes do it on hard enough surfaces, and long enough, to sometimes make his feet bleed? Also, he sometimes does it on backwards circles. I took video of it and showed it to my vet, and he said he’s never seen behavior like that.
    It’s almost like it obsessive; like he zones out and does it until you physically stop him, then he just snaps out of it. He was a rescue straight off the street, so I don’t know his history. I suspect he may have either been born with a brain defect, or sustained a head injury that brought it on.
    Any ideas?

  4. Taddy

    My dog doing same thing and he started today

  5. Linda Bird

    We have a little (pug x chihuahua?) rescue dog aged 11 months who scratches her hind feet on the floor when you talk to her or if another dog has a toy she wants - almost as a frustration release. She has neurological damage from untreated distemper as a pup which has left her hyperkinetic and I think is why she displays this unusual behaviour......

  6. Lorrie Maiorano

    I love when my little Pomeranian does this! She does it when she is playing and getting Rowdy … she likes to do it when she wants something to like she wants to be the boss ! I love it so cute!

  7. Kathy

    My shishon does this when she wants attention. That is the ONLY time she does this. She is tearing up my carpet because the force is so strong. But like I say the only time she does this is when I am on the computer, telephone or watching tv and she isn't getting attention, lol

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