Doing This Will Get Your Dog High in Minnesota– But It’s a Good Thing

Get our free mobile app

Dogs are man's best friend, so here's one thing we can do for our best friends to REALLY make their day here in Minnesota.

If you have active dogs, like ours (That's our Australian Cattle Dog, Asher, shown in the picture above; we also have Juniper, the Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix), getting them some exercise outside when the temperature has barely made it above zero the past few days here in the Land of 10,000 Finally Frozen Lakes has been kind of tough to do.

Which is why I noticed THIS article about how doing this ONE little thing we can do that will send our pooches into a euphoria-induced trance. Okay, that may be overdoing it little bit, but it IS something that will help your dog really relax. (Which is definitely a good thing!)

ALSO INTERESTING: Too Cute! Minnesota Wildlife Folicks on New Trail Cam Video

So just what are we talking about doing to your canine companion? It's rubbing your dog's ears! That's right, the simple act of rubbing your dog's ears can be really beneficial to them-- and, in turn, to you.

Care.com has the skinny behind just what rubbing your dog's ears will do for them:

Your dog’s ears are loaded with nerve endings. When you rub them, they send signals to the brain that do everything from relax your dog to increase her production of endorphins, the feel-good hormone.

Meanwhile, the crew over at All Paws Massage notes that your dog has approximately 18 different muscles in their ears, so relaxing these hard-working muscles will help to relax the scalp and even neck muscles. It can even get them into a naturally-induced high. They listed four important steps to the perfect ear massage for your dog:

1. Gently hold the ear at the base and start making slow circular movements. (You’ll notice that your dog might have a preference for clockwise or counterclockwise, try to do both.) 
2. Using little pressure, feel the skin move under your fingers, and focus on making slow and perfectly round circles.
3. Then, gently grasp the ear flap between your fingers and gently run your fingers from the base to the tip of the ear, continue slowly and methodically until you cover the whole ear lobe.
4. Once finished, you can gently rub the ear and finish the session by stroking your dog along the back.

Good luck squeezing those dog ears! Plus, in case you didn't have your dog when they were a pup, keep scrolling to see what 50 of the most popular dog breeds looked like when they were puppies!

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 am
Weekday mornings on Quick Country 96.5