Do dogs get ticklish

By Isabella Storyclaire

last updated September 16, 2024

Contributions sourced from

Can Dogs Be Ticklish? (& Where Are Their Spots?)

When adorably pudgy puppy tummies are exposed, it's almost a pet parent rule to initiate soft tickles. Oftentimes, doggie belly rubs will make your pooch wiggle and jiggle with excitement, and rubbing a specific spot on your dog can make a hind leg happily kick out. With this in mind, you may be wondering: Are dogs ticklish? And can dogs be ticklish just like humans?

Many dogs respond positively to gentle finger movements on their skin and fur but are the squirms from internal laughter and joy? Do they like the sensation? And, most importantly, where are the best spots to give your dog extra tickles for maximum enjoyment? Let's find out.

Are Dogs Ticklish, and Do They Laugh?

Studies examined by Stanley Coren PhD, DSc, FRSC in an article for Psychology Today discussed that animals can indeed be ticklish, and they may even laugh during the experience, just as humans do. But when dogs laugh, it's a bit different. They make more of a panting, breathy sound (without barking) created with a slightly open mouth that resembles a smile.

Dr. Marty Becker, DVM at Vet Street says during a pet exam in his office he will purposely tickle dogs along their sides, back of the rib cage and on the belly. A healthy dog will respond with an uncontrollable movement with their leg known as the "scratch reflex." You might notice this reflex combined with dog-style laughing during a tickle session with your pet.

Dogs do enjoy this attention, as long as they're feeling good overall and not injured or exhausted. So, tickle away! But, be warned: If you tickle a dog with a full bladder, you might see some happy dribbles of urine.

Which Parts of a Dog are Ticklish?

Any part of your pet can be ticklish. Surprisingly, dog feet are even more sensitive and ticklish than human feet, according to Caroline Springs Veterinary Hospital in Victoria, Australia. They say this explains why many pups don't care for nail trims. It's not the clippers, but the touching of their ticklish paws that drives the pets crazy.

To find the ticklish spots on your pup, give them a gentle petting head to tail. Don't forget the belly and behind the ears two top pleasure spots. Does one particular area make your dog respond with swaying head movements, tail wags, leg movement and the breathy laughs mentioned earlier? That may just be the this-feels-good tickle spot.

Still, just like people, not all dogs enjoy being tickled. If your pet turns away from you, pins their ears back, stops smiling or begins to nip, stop touching and verbally let the dog know that they are safe.

So, can dogs be ticklish? Can they laugh? They sure can. Before you get your tickle on, be sure your pet is in the mood for this activity. If your pet isn't feeling well or is tired from a long hike, let them rest. You wouldn't want to be tickled in those situations either. But if your dog is making eye contact, rolling around and inviting playtime, let the tickling fun begin!

Contributor Bio

Angela Tague

Angela Tague is a pet mom and writer living in the Midwest. When she's not making a mess in the kitchen, exploring nature trails with her dog, or attending a yoga workshop, she's writing full-time for multiple lifestyle and technology brands. You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn @AngelaTague.

Are Dogs Ticklish? And Why Do Dogs Kick When You Scratch Their Belly?

Its hard to resist a dogs adorable exposed belly without giving it a good rub or scratch. When you do this with your pup, does she become excited, wiggly, or kick out her hind leg? We know most dogs enjoy a good belly rub, but what exactly are they feeling? Can dogs be ticklish like humans?

Are Dogs Ticklish?

Yes, dogs can be ticklish, just like people, primates, and other mammals. Humans and dogs feel two kinds of tickling sensations. One is called knismesis, which is alight, feather-like type of tickling that often feels slightly itchy or like a bug crawling on your skin. The other type of tickling is called gargalesis, which involves heavier, laugh-inducing pressure to certain ticklish spots.

Why Are We Ticklish?

The exact reason isnt fully understood, but there are several theories. The most dominant theory is that the tickling sensation is the bodys way of defending vulnerable, sensitive areas (like the bottom of our feet). And the automatic response we have to pull away from whats causing the tickling helps protect us.

How Do I Know If My Dog Enjoys Tickling?

Research has found that tickling stimulates both the touch and pain nerve endings in the skin. This may help explain why some people find tickling unbearable. Is the same true for some dogs? Our canine companions share our varying sensitivity and responses to tickling. Some dogs are simply more sensitive to touch than others.

Pay attention to your pups vocalization and body language to know if she likes being tickled. Dogs dont laugh as we do, but some animal behaviorists believe that dogs express happy panting as the equivalent of our laughter. This happy panting often follows initial signs of an open mouth, stretching from ear to ear, with their tongue hanging out slightly to one side.

Tail-wagging is another good sign that your good girl or boy is just fine. If your furry friend doesnt try to pull away from you, shes likely enjoying your touch. But like humans, dogs can exhibit the same automatic reflex of twitching or pulling away when being lightly tickled (see video below).

Where Are Dogs Ticklish?

Dog tickle spots differ from one pup to another. But in general, some areas seem to be more ticklish than others. The most common tickle spots for dogs include:

Ears
Belly
Sides
Paws
Back (near the base of the tail)
Neck

How To Tickle A Dog

Find your pups tickle spots by lightly scratching or wiggling your fingers over different areas of her body. Keep it brief at first but take note of her reactions to each area. If your doggy moves away from you, thats a certain sign that shes not into your tickling game at the moment. You can try the same areas later to gauge whether a certain spot is always a no-go or whether your pup just needs to be in the right mood to enjoy your tickling.

Why Do Dogs Kick When You Scratch Their Belly?

Is your puppy one of many who rhythmically kick their hind leg when you scratch the sweet spot on their belly? Is this a sign of being ticklish? No, this reaction is called a scratch reflex. Its an involuntary response thats similar to a humans knee-jerk reflex when a doctor taps below your knee. When you scratch your pups tummy, it activates nerves under your dogs skin that send a message directly to the spinal cord.

The central nervous system then sends a message back that activates the leg muscles to scratch and kick off what the body perceives as an irritant. This doesnt mean your furball doesnt like having her tummy rubbed; its just a fascinating evolutionary means of self-protection.

Are Dogs Ticklish On Their Paws? (Video)

Next time your pup is fast asleep, try out this amusing way to find out if your pups paws are ticklish. Youtuber Mirca the Husky certainly seems to be!

Fun Ways To Bond With Your Dog

Tickling can be a fun way to strengthen your bond with your doggy. Giving your dog plenty of interaction and mental stimulation can alleviate boredom and anxiety, improve her behavior, and boost her self-confidence. Try playing some brain games with your pup. Introduce new toys to keep her stimulated. You may even want to get into agility training its an excellent bonding experience.

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Are Dogs Ticklish?

Summary: Can dogs be ticklish? Do they even experience that ticklish feeling the same way humans do? Learn about whether a dog can be ticklish here

We know our doggos love a belly rub or two from us, but have you ever noticed your dog twitch or kick their leg repetitively when you pet them in a certain spot? Does this mean that theyre ticklish?

Can Dogs Be Ticklish?

Yes, dogs can be ticklish the technical name is gargalesis. Alongside humans, rats and other primates share this response to certain touches too!

Can Dogs Get Ticklish On Their Paws?

Yes, and they can be ticklish anywhere on their body (like humans!) but the most common areas are their neck, ears, under their armpits, their back, and their tail. Like humans, every dogs ticklish spot (if they have one!) will vary from animal to animal.

However, just because your dog reacts to a certain area, this doesnt directly mean theyre definitely ticklish in that spot that area may just be sensitive and induce a scratch reflex which is completely involuntary. When this happens, it means the touch is essentially tricking the nerves to tell the brain the skin is irritated and the brain tries to get the limb to kick the irritant away. It can actually be very tricky to differentiate between the two responses.

If your dog reacts to a pet by twitching but then lean into it, wags their tail and opens their mouth, and pants, this is more indicative of a positive tickle response in canines. This indicates theyre enjoying themselves!

Ticklish Dogs

Dogs experience ticklishness for the same reason humans do. When we receive a ticklish touch, our body reacts because our nerves tell us to do it! Some even argue that the tickle response is a defense mechanism as people are often ticklish on sensitive areas of their bodies. But well never truly know why dogs are ticklish and even whether they truly are

If youre petting your dog and they twitch and walk away, hold or wag their tail low or between their legs and/or pin their ears back, this indicates they didnt enjoy the pet and you should stop petting them in that place. If they growl or snarl at you, stop your interaction immediately they are not having fun at all and want to be left alone.

If you have only just discovered your dogs ticklish spot after several months or years of ownership, then this might actually mean theres a health issue going on. If theyve never displayed being ticklish before, their skin may actually be irritated and it might be worth checking the spot out for signs of a problemand asking your vet to give them a once over.

Sources

Author Miller, Andrew MRCVS Are Dogs Ticklish? Pure Pet Food, Feb 24. 2021 https://www.purepetfood.com/blog/are-dogs-ticklish

Where Are Dogs Ticklish?

Dogs are ticklish in a sense, although it isnt the same as the reaction we get when someone tickles our skin. And just like us, some are more ticklish than others, and they have different tickle spots too. Technically your dog can be ticklish anywhere on their body, but your dogs neck, ears, tails and legs are typically thought to be more ticklish than other areas. And some reactions they give us when tickled arent actually as a result of them finding the sensation tickly at all!

Building a relationship and bonding with your dog is all about finding ways of playing and having fun together. And for us humans tickling is often an instinctive part of that. Consider your approach to meeting human babies as soon as youre sure their parents wont mind, you tickle their cheeks to try and raise a giggle, and make a connection. But what about puppies and dogs? Are dogs ticklish? And if not, why arent dogs ticklish? Is there a dog tickle spot and does it give them canine giggles?

Can dogs be ticklish?

In 1897, psychologists G. Stanley Hall and Arthur Allin took to The American Journal of Psychology and coined not one, but two excellent new words to describe the sensation of being tickled. The first, knismesis, is the sensation of very light tickling which gives us goosebumps. For example, knismesis is feeling when an insect lands on your skin and makes your skin tickle and twitch. Importantly, knismesis doesnt make you laugh.

The second kind of tickle sensation is gargalesis (I told you these words were good!). Gargalesis, or heavy tickling, is the feeling when your fingertips dig into your ribs or the soles of your feet and reduce you to hopeless laughter.

Can you tickle a dog?

Yes and no. Or perhaps yes and maybe. Knismesis is widespread in mammals, including dogs. Scientists have come to the conclusion that it is a natural reflex reaction.In fact its easy to imagine how that tickly sensation would be an advantage. An insect landing on the skin, or parasites like fleas, can be detected and brushed or scratched away. But as far as we know, dogs dont experience gargalesis in response to a vigorous tickle attempt from their human.

Gargalesis is a very strange reaction. Your laughter is generally in response to something that goes on in your head a joke, a happy thought. Gargalesis is the only time when physical touch makes you laugh. Even stranger is that we often dont actually enjoy the tickling that makes us laugh. And we cant tickle ourselves. This makes scientists believe that it is also a natural reflex reaction.

We know many other primates, like gorillas and some monkeys, experience gargalesis. At Washington State University, Jaak Pankseep, Professor of Neuroscience, is building up evidence that rats experience something, if not the same, then similar to gargalesis. But so far, theres been no evidence that tickling elicits a reflex response like gargalesis in your dog. However, some dog owners are adamant that their dogs laugh when theyre being tickled. Recent studies are providing a possible explanation for this.

Dog laughter

While youre tickling your dog he might make a breathy panting sound that convinces you that theyre laughing. Patricia Simonet researched the sounds that dogs make and one distinct sound she found is a breathy, forced exhalation. She described this as a dog-laugh because dogs only make it when theyre playing and it differs from a normal panting sound.

A study she did showed that when recordings of the dog laughter were played to shelter dogs they became less stressed. The dogs also showed increased social behaviors towards other dogs like play-bowing and lip licking. So you believe that your dog laughs when tickled? Youre probably seeing their play-laugh especially if theyre giving you a huge dog smile as well.

So are dogs ticklish?

Weve ruled out the gargalesis response in dogs. But weve still got knismesis (light tickling), so lets look some more at that. Can all dogs feel it, and do they like it?

Now heres another funny thing about tickling (because lets face it, everything about tickling is inherently a bit funny). We still dont fully understand the neurological pathways that control knismesis. Including, for example, how it ends. Have you ever felt an insect crawl across your skin, and still felt the tickle from it for a few seconds after its gone? We have no idea why that time lag happens. Nor do we know why some of us are more susceptible to tickling than others, but its safe to assume that the same is true of dogs.

So your dog might not be ticklish at all. Others might twitch at the lightest touch. And still others will fall anywhere in between.

Where are dogs ticklish?

The sensation of being lightly tickled starts with nerve endings under the surface of the skin. Those nerve endings are all over your body, and your dogs body. But were rarely ticklish all over. So how can we tell which areas on your dog are tickle-prone and which arent?

I have ticklish ribs. My sister has a really ticklish neck.The places where were ticklish are the idiosyncrasies that make us all different and unique. And the same is true of our dogs. Your dog might have ticklish ears, and your neighbors dog might have a ticklish tail. Every dog is different.

Is there a dog tickle spot?

You might already have identified a special dog tickle spot on your furry friend. Youve noticed that your dog reacts in a very specific way if you scratch or tickle a certain spot on their body. It changes from dog to dog, but theres often a spot on their back, sides, or tummy, which makes one of their legs twitch rhythmically when your scratch it. Their reaction makes it seem like finding your dogs own dog tickle spot. So whats going on?

Youve found your dogs scratch reflex, thats what!

Ticklish dogs: the dog scratch reflex

The scratch reflex is when nerve endings under the skin pick up a signal and send it straight to the leg muscles via the spine, completely missing out the brain. Its a bit like tickling, in that its an involuntary reaction. Its the same type of response as the knee-jerk reflex in humans when a sharp tap just below your knee bone makes you straighten your leg.

Dogs also sometimes make the same scratching movement when a flea or something else is irritating the dog tickle spot. Just like doctors use the knee-jerk reaction to test our reflexes, vets can use the scratch reflex to check for signs of spinal damage in dogs.

Whether your dog likes it or not is entirely down to the individual experience. In a minute well look at how you can use his cues to tell whether hes having a good time or not.

Are dogs feet ticklish?

Does your dogs paw twitch and pull away if you pick it up? Perhaps wiping your dogs paws after a muddy walk turns into a game of speed and quick reflexes to get the job done. When this happens your dog is probably feeling that knismesis sensation of tickling on their paws. They jerk their feet away in an involuntary reflex just like when someone tickles our feet. But not all dogs feet are ticklish. Just like ours, some dogs feet are more ticklish than others.

If ticklish toes do make cleaning your dogs feet difficult, a specialized paw cleaner like this one from Dexas(paid link) might help. Its had good reviews from owners whose dogs resisted the sensation of having their feet cleaned.

So weve seen that most of the reactions we get from tickling a dog tickle spot are involuntary reflex reactions. You may be wondering now whether your dog likes being tickled and how to tickle your dog so that they enjoy it.

Do dogs like to be tickled?

Tickling, as weve seen, is a funny old business. It makes us giggle, but a lot of us would say we dont enjoy the sensation. Especially as we get older. Charles Darwin believed there was an important social component to tickling.

When I play tickle games with my daughter I like the sensation of being tickled. But if someone Ive never met tickled me without warning, Id recoil, and probably feel quite upset by it. And it is likely to be the same for your dog. A playful tickle from someone they know as part of a game, or during grooming, might illicit a happy tail wag. But catching them unawares might be altogether more startling and unpleasant.

How to tickle a dog

The actual mechanics of how to tickle your dog are hardly rocket science. But just like humans, not all dogs feel the same about being tickled. And a tickle that starts out as fun can turn into a nuisance quite suddenly. Our dogs cant use words to tell us when their patience has run out. So its up to us to look out for the behavioral cues which show theyre done being tickled.

Watch for signs of irritation or that they dont really enjoy it, such as flinching or pulling away during the tickle or shaking off afterwards. And when your dog begins to lose interest, always call it a day and let them have their own space for a bit.

(paid link)

Where are dogs ticklish?

Dogs can technically be a little bit ticklish anywhere on their bodies. Tickling is made up of two components, light tickling called knismesis which makes us shiver, and heavy tickling called gargalesis which makes us laugh. Dogs feel light tickling, but dont react to heavy tickling in the same way we do. How sensitive they are to tickling, and how they feel about it varies from dog to dog.

Finding a dogs ticklish places is a fun and satisfying part of feeling like you know them better than anyone else in the world. Youll soon learn what they like and how to tickle a dog so that they enjoy it. Just be sure to watch their behavior closely during tickle games and be respectful of signals that theyre not enjoying it or are losing interest.

Does your dog like to be tickled? Are they ticklish in a surprising place? Please tell us about your dog tickling experiences in the comments section below.