The Wet Dog Shake

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A drenched canine vigorously shaking off water everywhere – it’s a reflex dog owners often dread. But beneath this chaotic movement lies a surprisingly complex neurological mechanism, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Harvard Medical School identified the neural circuitry behind the so-called “wet dog shake,” a behavior found in other furry mammals, such as mice and lions.

They discovered that a specific class of sensory neurons, known as C-fiber low-threshold mechanoreceptors (C-LTMRs), is key to triggering the shaking reflex. These neurons wrap around hair follicles and can detect bending caused by water droplets or other irritants, according to Popular Science.

In their experiments, the research team applied water and sunflower oil to the necks of lab mice, where the behavior is harder to counteract by licking. Nearly all unmodified mice shook off the stimuli within 10 seconds.

But when the team genetically modified some mice to remove most of their C-LTMRs, the shaking frequency dropped by as much as 58 percent. Blocking the spinal cord’s neural signals or interfering with the brain’s parabrachial nucleus – an area that processes pain, touch and temperature – produced similar results.

The findings suggest that the shake is not just for show: It’s an efficient way to prevent discomfort from too much water and protect the mammal from hypothermia, parasite infestation and other risks.

“Essentially, it’s a defensive system to get rid of potentially harmful stimuli that’s on their fur,” co-author Dawei Zhang told Live Science.

Thomas Knöpfel, a neuroscientist at Hong Kong Baptist University who was not involved in the study, told Nature that the behavior is a “very coordinated motor response.”

He added that the findings offer a good starting point to study how the brain sends commands to control the movement.

Meanwhile, the authors hope that the research could open doors to studying similar conditions in humans, such as skin hypersensitivity, and even the neural coordination behind other repetitive movements.