Here are six bizarre dog behaviors that can be explained by EVOLUTION.
#1.) Eating their own poop: Back when dogs were wild, predators would use the scent of droppings to track down a dog’s den. So, in order to protect their puppies, mother dogs started cleaning up the evidence by eating the waste left by their offspring.
#2.) Sniffing each other’s butts: A dog’s sense of smell is about 100,000 times better than a human’s, and each dog secretes its own unique scent through glands in its no-go hole.
–Anyway, by sniffing another dog’s backside, a dog can tell everything it needs to know . . . like the other dog’s sex, how healthy it is, what it eats, and even its mood.
#3.) Turning around before sitting: Before dogs were domesticated, they would twirl around a few times before lying down in order to flatten any tall grass.
–Turning around a few times also served the purpose of making an area more comfortable by exposing a cooler layer of dirt, and was a great way of scouring the underbrush for unfriendly creatures like snakes.
#4.) Licking: In the dog world, licking serves several different purposes. For example, while humans rub or scratch at sore or itchy spots, dogs lick at them.
–And for dogs, licking can also be a submissive gesture. So when your dog licks you, it’s not because he loves you and wants to give you “doggy kisses,” but because he knows you could probably kill him if you chose to.
#5.) Wagging their tails: When a dog wags its tail, it isn’t necessarily a sign that it’s happy. In fact, the position of the tail matters a lot more than the wagging itself.
–For example, if a dog’s tail is held low and in the shape of a “U”, it’s probably a sign that the dog is content. But if the tail is raised and wagging frantically, it’s a sign that the dog is upset.
–In other words, tail-wagging is a primitive form of communication.
#6.) Humping your leg: Dogs use humping to establish dominance over other animals. So when a dog humps your leg, it’s not necessarily because he’s horny, it’s because he’s trying to show you who’s boss.
(Cracked)