Every evening, without warning, the dog loses her mind.
She spins on the rug, tears down the hall, takes the corner on two legs and races back with her bottom tucked under and her ears inside out. Moments later she collapses on the sofa, breathing hard, wearing the expression of a dog with no idea what just happened.
Vets have a wonderfully serious name for this: frenetic random activity periods. Everyone else calls them the zoomies. Nobody is entirely sure why they happen. Releasing pent-up energy, perhaps, or shaking off stress. Cats have their own version, usually performed across the landing in the middle of the night.
Then there is the head tilt. You say a word, and the dog cocks its head to one side, as if weighing your argument. Researchers have noticed that dogs who know many words tilt more often when they hear a meaningful one, and that each dog tends to favour the same side. So yes, there are left-tilting dogs and right-tilting dogs. I find this unreasonably delightful.
Every animal lover could extend the list. The rabbit who leaps and twists in mid-air for no visible reason. The hamster who stuffs both cheeks until its face doubles in width. The pet rat who learns its name faster than the children do. The cat who insists on sitting in any box smaller than itself.
Silly as it looks, play has a serious place in animal life. Young animals of many species play-fight, chase and pounce, rehearsing moves they may need as adults. Dogs drop into a play bow, front end down and back end up, often to restart a game after a pause. Fox cubs tumble over each other outside the den. Rats, famously, make high-pitched chirps when tickled, sounds far beyond the range of human hearing that researchers link to pleasure, and they come back for more.
Yet the most charming finding is the simplest. However useful play turns out to be, for the animal doing it, play appears to feel good. Nobody has ever had to bribe a puppy to chase its own tail.
A quick word on safety, because zoomies at full speed can end in a skid. Grass makes a far better racetrack than polished floors, stairs or anywhere near a road. And a frightened animal looks different from a joyful one: tense body, wide eyes, tail clamped down. If you ever see that, a conversation with your vet makes sense.
As for the happy kind, I'd leave plenty of room for it. Move the coffee table if needed.
Sources: Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, what are zoomies? · Head tilting in dogs (Phys.org) · Companion Animal Psychology, the function of play bows · Laughter in animals