I walk into a McKinney client’s kitchen for a midday visit and catch Lola mid-zoomies, tearing laps around the island, ears pinned back, paws skidding on the tile like something invisible is chasing her. Eleven years and thousands of visits into this job, dogs still crack me up daily. Here are 15 of the funniest, silliest things I see dogs do, and the real reasons behind each one.
1. Zoomies
Lola wasn’t having a meltdown. She was having a FRAP: a Frenetic Random Activity Period. Dogs build up mental and physical energy, and it has to go somewhere. It usually erupts after a bath, after time in the crate, or the second I walk in the door for a visit. The sprint, the hunched posture, the sharp turns are pure release. No stopping it once it starts.
2. Tail Chasing
Biscuit chases his tail every morning like it’s brand new information. (It’s not.) Puppies do it because they’re figuring out their own bodies. Adults usually do it from boredom or because it gets a laugh out of somebody in the room. In a few breeds, like Bull Terriers and German Shepherds, nonstop tail chasing can be a compulsive behavior (canine compulsive disorder) worth a vet visit, especially if it starts suddenly.
3. Pawing at the Water Bowl
Some dogs whack the water bowl like they’re checking for landmines before they’ll drink. The habit goes back to wild ancestors disturbing water surfaces to check for debris or danger before putting their face in. Puppies treat the bowl as a toy. Speaking of water bowls, here’s what your dog can drink beyond the tap.
4. Rolling in Something Smelly
Every pet sitter has a post-dead-thing-roll bath story. Mine involves more skunk and worse. Dogs live in a scent-first world, and scientists have two theories on the rolling: it masks their scent the way wolf ancestors did before a hunt, or it brings information back to the pack. Either way, to your dog, that terrible smell is basically a museum exhibit. To you, it’s a bath. Immediately.
5. Howling at Sirens
A fire truck rolls through a McKinney neighborhood, and every dog on the block joins in, one after another, like a phone tree. Sirens hit frequencies close to wolf howls, so dogs read it as a distant pack member checking in. It’s not pain. Their painful frequency threshold sits well above siren range. It’s old wiring, saying “I hear you, I’m here too”. And sirens barely crack the list of things that scare dogs.
6. Sleep Running and Twitching
Paws paddling, quiet muffled woofs, legs kicking at nothing: your dog is dreaming, replaying the day’s park run or squirrel chase in REM sleep. A built-in system usually keeps muscles still during dreams, but small bursts leak through. Overnight clients sometimes call me worried it’s a seizure. Here’s the quick tell: twitching that stops and starts is normal. A rigid body with rhythmic jerking that won’t stop is a vet call.
Normal Twitching or Something Else?
Most sleep twitching is harmless, but a true seizure looks and sounds different. Here’s how to tell them apart.
Normal Sleep Twitching
- Paws paddle or ears flick for a few seconds
- Soft, muffled woofs with no distress in the sound
- Stops as soon as you touch them or say their name
- Body goes loose and relaxed again within a minute
Call the Vet If
- The whole body goes rigid and jerks in one steady rhythm
- The episode runs past a minute or starts right back up
- Your dog doesn’t wake up or respond when you touch them
- You notice drooling, a clenched jaw, or loss of bladder control
7. Play Sneezing
On a multi-dog walk, sneezes fly constantly, and every one of them is on purpose. Dogs sneeze mid-play to say this is still fun, I’m not actually mad. A play sneeze is small and light, with barely any head movement, nothing like a real sneeze from actual irritation. After years of walking dogs, I read those sneezes the way you’d read body language at a party: everyone’s good, keep going.
8. Head Tilting
Sophie does this exact move every time I say her name in a certain tone: head cocked, ears up, like she’s deciding whether I’m worth the effort. Dogs tilt to adjust their ears and pinpoint a sound, or to see past their own muzzle and read your face better. Research on “gifted word learner” dogs found the smartest ones tilt the most when you ask for something by name. Sophie’s just showing off.
9. Chewing on Everything
Puppies chew because new teeth hurt, and pressure helps. Adult dogs chew because their mouth is basically a hand: it’s how they check things out, relieve stress, and get some jaw exercise in. Chewing releases endorphins, the same as a good workout does for you. If you’ve got a chewer, the fix isn’t stopping it; it’s redirecting it to something that isn’t your baseboards.
10. Barking at Their Reflection
Dogs fail the mirror test completely. They don’t recognize themselves because their whole world runs on scent first, and a reflection has none. It looks like an intruder standing in the exact same spot they are, copying every move, with zero smell to explain it. Young dogs bark and lunge at it. Most older dogs eventually get bored and walk away, like the mirror finally lost the argument.
11. Butt Scooting
Every pet sitter has had the your-dog-just-scooted-across-my-carpet conversation. It looks ridiculous, but it’s almost never behavioral. The number one cause is full anal glands (their scent glands): when stools don’t apply enough pressure to empty them naturally, they back up and get uncomfortable. Parasites, allergies, and infections can cause it too. Scooting means a vet visit, not a laugh and move on. There’s more on why dogs scoot if you want the full picture.
A Pet Sitter’s Rule on Scooting
On daily walks, I always take a second look before writing off a scoot as a one-off. A single scoot after a big meal usually isn’t worth a call. Scooting that shows up more than once in a day, or keeps coming back week after week, means the anal glands need attention before it turns into a full infection. Mention it at the next vet visit instead of waiting for it to clear up on its own.
12. Digging
McKinney and Melissa yards take a beating every summer, and heat is half the reason. Dogs dig down to reach cooler dirt when the Texas sun turns the yard into a skillet. It’s also leftover denning instinct from wolf ancestors, plus prey drive (something’s moving under there) and boredom. Terriers and Dachshunds are especially wired for it. If your dog is a digger, more exercise usually means fewer craters.
13. Fetching Unusual Objects
A used sock isn’t trash to your dog, it’s concentrated you. Items worn close to the body carry the strongest scent, and dogs find that irresistible, especially retriever breeds hardwired to carry things in their mouths. The real trap is what happens next: your dog grabs the sock, you chase, and congratulations, you just taught them that stealing socks starts a game.
14. Licking You Excessively
Their mothers groomed them as puppies, and that memory sticks. Licking as an adult dog is the grown-up version of that same comfort. It also raises oxytocin, the bonding hormone, in both of you, plus your skin is salty, and dogs like the taste. Anxious dogs lick to self-soothe, too. Mostly, though, it’s just affection with a side of “you taste interesting.”
15. Stealing Food and Objects
Peanut has counter-surfed more sandwiches than I can count, and every time, she watches me watch her do it. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Dogs steal food and objects because it works: it’s opportunistic, it gets a reaction, and any reaction, even an annoyed one, counts as entertainment. Grabbing something forbidden and getting an immediate response from a pet parent is, from a dog’s perspective, a win.
None of it is bad behavior. It’s just pups being pups, and pet parents get a front-row seat to the silliest, funniest things dogs do every day.
Need a pet sitter who actually gets why your dog does what they do? Visit topdogpetsitters.com.
Looking for a pet sitter in McKinney, Melissa, or Celina? Call 214-244-1629 or visit our contact page.
Susan Gary owns Top Dog Pet Sitters in McKinney, Melissa, and Celina, TX, with her husband, Erick. She has been a professional pet care provider since 2015. Susan is a member of Pet Sitters International, is a founding member of the Texas Pet Sitters Association, and certified in pet CPR/First Aid. Susan is a long-time McKinney resident and a retired minister. Learn more about her here.
