Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to be taught extra about me and my 5 humorous canine, Poppy, Bailey, Kodah, Ned, and Fred.
I don’t assume there’s any doubt that, regardless of having many shared meals pursuits, canine and people don’t all the time see eye to eye about what ought to go in a single’s mouth. There are canine that take pleasure in partaking in poop (or in Fred’s case, choosing bits of carrot out of Bailey’s 🤮), cleansing different canine’ ears (I’m looking at you, Ned), and let’s not even focus on the hours spent cleansing their nether areas! One space that lots of my canine are notably keen on licking is our toes; Ned and Kodah specifically. Why?
With a way of scent at the least 10,000 instances extra highly effective than our personal, you’d assume that canine can be repelled fairly than drawn to issues we discover notably pungent, however maybe their super-sense permits them to choose up on extra interesting particles that our noses miss. If that signifies that I proceed to seek out smelly toes or ‘eau de poo’ repulsive, then I’m joyful to undergo life with my comparatively handicapped olfaction.
Each to Their Own
I don’t dedicate loads of time to investigating the olfactory high quality of our toes, however I do know that neither Husband or I’ve notably pungent tootsies, at the least from what our meager sense of scent can detect. Even so, as quickly as we slip our sneakers off and deploy the footstools of our recliner chairs, Ned or Kodah hone in on our little piggies with the passion of the proverbial ‘chubby child on cake.’
While I don’t notably need to encourage this exercise, I’m additionally reluctant to spoil their enjoyable, so I normally enable about 30 seconds of toe licks earlier than shooing them away (no pun meant). Husband, alternatively, lets the foot appreciation session persist some time longer. No, he doesn’t have a foot fetish (I don’t assume), neither is he attempting to foster any type of unnatural relationship between himself and the canine (I’m fairly positive), however I really assume he simply zones out.
I’m not going to lie, being that I’m not ticklish, the feeling of Ned’s tiny tongue isn’t precisely an disagreeable one; type of what you would possibly count on from the fragile lick of a kitten till you discover out that these tiny tongues really really feel just like the spiky aspect of a velcro strip. By comparability, Kodah’s beneficiant slurps should not fairly so candy!
What’s the Attraction?
So the large query is why are our canine so taken with our toes? What’s behind the attraction to our arches? Their hankering for our heels? Would their adoration intensify if we began sporting sweaty artificial sneakers all day, or is our relative lack of foot odor the idea of their attraction?
It is commonly hypothesized that many animals take pleasure in licking at human pores and skin for its considerably salty taste, however would our toes be the saltiest of our uncovered physique components? Perhaps, however I’m not keen to seek out out.
Maybe it’s a bond-strengthening grooming ritual? But you don’t usually see canine devoting a lot of their downtime to cleansing every others’ paws.
Whatever the case, I’m not notably involved about this little behavior. Perhaps I must be extra involved – or offended – in the event that they immediately cease!
Do your canine have any bizarre, fantastic, or lovable quirks? Let us know within the feedback beneath.
