Bonk.

Lets protect that pretty head, 'kay?

Indiana has a habit which, while strange and completely new to me, is apparently fairly common among older dogs.  Jim and I will be peacefully resting on the couch, watching television, and we will suddenly hear the most brain-rattling bonk you can ever hope to hear.  For a while it confused us.  What was that noise?  Where is it coming from?  But eventually, we figured it out.

Our dog throws herself to the ground to lay down, and that loud noise we hear?  It's her head hitting the hardwood floor.

Jim and I were horrified at first.  Surely such trauma would cause brain injury?  Oddly enough, I guess it doesn't.  She continues to do it and doesn't seem to be any worse for the wear.

At my last vet appointment, I mentioned this odd habit to our vet.  I expected her to be as incredulous about the whole thing as we were.  But her response surprised me.  "Oh, yeah.  I see that all the time in older dogs.  In fact, I have seen a few come in with huge bruises on their heads."  Waaahhhh? 

I couldn't wrap my brain around why my own dog was whacking her precious skull against the floor, on purpose, let alone why a whole subset of a species was doing it.  And why didn't I know about this? 

My vet replied that there was no hard-and-fast explanation for this odd phenomenon.  Her theory is that laying down all the way is painful or uncomfortable for most old dogs.  They know this, and so to avoid it, or at least combat it, they approach laying down with the ripping-off-a-band-aid theory--the faster you do it, the sooner it's over. 

This theory makes complete sense to me.  I'm still horrified by it, and I can't help but cringe every time I hear that distinctive whack of skull against wood.  The best I can offer is a soft rug underneath, to at least turn that crack into a dull thud.