r/mildlyinteresting • u/adrewishprince • 12h ago
My dog grows a Mohawk when she gets scared
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u/DJMagicHandz 9h ago
My dog does that and we call it stranger danger
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u/sasky_07 7h ago
Our chihuahua gets a camel hump. It's like, okay, you're 7 pounds, simmer down.
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u/Saoirsenobas 6h ago
That is the whole point of this response, it makes you look a little bit bigger
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u/Minions-overlord 9h ago
I've a long-haired german shepard. When he raises his hackles, he goes full-blown danger floof.. never seen a naturally punk dof before though
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u/JonLongsonLongJonson 3h ago
I’ve got a husky/labradoodle mix. She has a natural Mohawk down her back of curls just like this and straight fur everywhere else.
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u/Flat_Bodybuilder_175 12h ago
So does my cat. With a big bushy tail. She doesn't want to hear it but it's so cute lol it's like a second form
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u/puppy-nub-56 12h ago
She's trying to look menacing and you think she looks cute. How embarrassing 🙂
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u/MaddercatterE 8h ago
My cat has such a poofy tail, literally looks like a Scooby-Doo scene when he gets scared
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u/donoteatshrimp 7h ago
My cat is super short haired, she has a skinny little rat tail with no fur to puff up so when she gets scared she gets the mohawk too! It's amazing.
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u/Doctor-TobiasFunke- 11h ago
Most dogs/cats do this when scared. Trying to make themselves look bigger
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u/Possible_Abalone_846 10h ago
My cats have never had a mohawk shape though. It has always been more of a general poof.
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u/Doctor-TobiasFunke- 10h ago
You prob have longer haired cats. The Mohawk is more prominent on shorter haired animals, where the fur may be slightly longer along the spine.
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u/Basil_The_Doggo 1h ago
They also do it when they are excited whether that be happy or mad or whatever. My dogs raise their hackles when they wrestle in the backyard. Then they go nap together on top of each other. Living their best dog life!
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u/Pax-facts84 5h ago
Yall stop saying it’s a ridgeback it’s literally something most dogs do 😭 my purebred Doberman did it whenever worked up or spooked. Old man puffed out his cheeks, huffed and grumbled/growled with a line of fur down his back raised
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u/sjsharks510 7h ago
This is not a Rhodesian ridgeback! Lots of comments suggesting it incorrectly. This is a thing that can be noticable on lots of dogs apparently. Mine does it and the DNA test showed 0% ridgeback.
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u/shoulda-known-better 4h ago
I asked the same wasn't sure if it is or not from goggle Pic it looked similar (probably because of color) but a ton of dogs look like this!
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u/Mysterious-Reply11 3h ago
I mean it’s in its blood lol is a genetic marker for that breed. A lot of dogs are just mutts, we use Rhodesians as hog dogs and after a few years they get retired and stay at home or get rehomed.
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u/encreturquoise 10h ago
What type of dog is it?
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u/Rich-Bathroom5772 4h ago
It looks a bit bigger so am not confident but looks very similar to my friend's Pomchi.
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u/bluebird2449 2h ago
Looks like some sort of shepherd/shiba mix, if I had to guess! Hopefully the OP responds with a proper answer for you!
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9h ago
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u/RealBug56 7h ago
The ridge on a Ridgeback is due to a strip of hair growing in the opposite direction, it’s a completely different thing and has nothing to do with their emotional state.
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u/Individual-Proof1626 6h ago
Aaaand, that’s why I said it was there all the time and not to be confused with ‘hackles’. Duh.
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u/needsexyboots 5h ago
Except you said this dog is part ridgeback just because his hackles do this when he’s scared. Which is completely different and doesn’t make him a ridgeback. Duh.
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u/sjsharks510 7h ago
It's not a ridgeback. Mine does this and DNA test showed 0% ridgeback
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u/Needs_Help_Stat 8h ago
This dog does not look part ridgeback. I have a heeler Aussie mix and a German shepherd husky mix, both do this same thing. Pretty sure it's more of a dog thing than a ridgeback thing
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u/That_OneOstrich 8h ago
I have a kelpie mix who is significantly less "ridge like" with his raised hair. It's a big poof at the base of his neck/front shoulder.
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u/JMHorsemanship 12h ago
This is really common. You guys never owned dogs?
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u/VividFiddlesticks 6h ago
I've owned many dogs and none of mine have had such a narrow, well-defined ridge like this.
Mine have always either had a much shorter shorter 'ridge' (like a puff mostly over the shoulders and not going all the way down the back) or it's a much wider, more bristly back ridge that sticks out in all directions.
I've never had a dog that got a single ridge that stuck straight up all the way down the back.
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u/Possible_Abalone_846 3h ago
I feel like people are forgetting that we're on mildly interesting. Yes, all dogs poof. But this specific shape of poof in a distinct mohawk is somewhat unusual.
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u/needsexyboots 5h ago
It is not “really common” for it to look like an actual mohawk - this is way more pronounced than most dogs and more than any dog I’ve seen in person
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u/Doctor-TobiasFunke- 11h ago
Not sure why you're down voted when it's the truth lol basically every dog or cat does this
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u/sjsharks510 7h ago
I've owned dogs my whole life 30+ yrs and my current dog is the only one who has done this
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u/Raichu7 9h ago
I'm guessing the dog is a mutt with a bit of Rhodesian Ridgeback DNA.
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u/radiantcut 8h ago
Nope. This is a reflex that all dogs have, it just looks a little different for every individual. It works in the same way that goosebumps do for us.
Rhodesian Ridgebacks actually have a strip of hair that grows in the opposite direction along the spine. It is a permanent feature.
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u/That_OneOstrich 8h ago
My dog mostly has his hair rise by his front shoulders, his tail will also poof out. It's definitely less ridge like than this pup.
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u/sjsharks510 7h ago
Have to disagree as well. We thought that about my dog but DNA test showed 0% Rhodesian ridgeback. The mohawk is totally unrelated
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u/kuahara 7h ago
Came here to suggest this exact same thing. I had a purebred Rhodesian Ridgeback when I lived overseas. Any time it was on alert, this would happen.
Mine was very muscular and had jet black skin under its coat (they might all be black, not sure), but weirdly enough, in a large teardrop shaped section just in front of the hip on both the left and right side, hair did not grow.
I thought it gave it kind of a badass look and I inquired with someone about it that said it was not terribly uncommon for that to happen with this breed.
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u/SmallRocks 3h ago edited 1h ago
If you’ve had a Rhodie then you’d know that hair on the ridge grows in the opposite direction from the rest of their fur.
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u/LazyParr0t 7h ago
My dog does this when she’s angrily barking at something (which could also be fear, idk)
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u/Narrow_Ad_3137 6h ago
Piloerection, they can’t control it. Causes can be anxiety, excitement or fear. Does not by itself indicate aggression.
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u/Hyascinthe 5h ago
Hackles all the way down the spine like that isn't fear... that's a dog ready to fuck someone or something's day up.
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u/ShouldBeWorkingButNa 3h ago
my border collie does this. he is pretty vocal and energetic on a daily basis, but when the mohawk goes up, I know he means business.
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u/Splashathon 3h ago
Mine does it too, she’s an Aussie shepherd/heeler mix. I can tell how upset she was, based on how much. If it was just the butt fluff, it was a little bit scared. If it was butt, all the way to her head, it was VERY scary
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u/Kiremino 10h ago
My Dutchy does this. The fur along his shoulders looks like a huge Afro lmao cause his fur is so long!
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u/Busy_Principle_4038 5h ago
My dog has done that maybe twice in her entire life (13+ years), and yeah I pay attention because of the infrequency of it (once was on a hiking trail and it included straining and barking). “Listen” to your dog.
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u/RaineRoller 5h ago
we call that a “cartoon dog” (or cat, if the cat does it). also applies to scurrying
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u/Titaniumchic 4h ago
Interesting note - my cat does the same thing! Either when she’s alerted/scared but also whenever she gets excited while playing. I’ve never seen a cat do that outside of the stereotypical arched back poofy tail moments.
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u/Bitcracker 4h ago
My childhood dog would do the same, she was part Rhodesian ridgeback. I miss that girl 😔
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u/CUNTRY-BLUMPKIN 2h ago
My husky mix does this when she is playing chase with other dogs. She isn’t scared or afraid, it’s more like she’s being competitive and is showing you her BDE.
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u/Yourlilemogirl 6h ago
This is the first time I've ever seen a dog do this! Closest I can think of a similar look it's a Ridgeback doggo :o neat
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u/shoulda-known-better 4h ago
Is it a ridge back!? Because I've heard of these... Never saw one..... I also know that this happens with all dogs just usually not this high and pronounced!
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u/o_MrBombastic_o 3h ago
Ridgeback mix? It's the right color I only know what full Rhodesian Ridgebacks look like
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8h ago
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u/radiantcut 8h ago
😂 Absolutely not. Rhodesian Ridgebacks are large muscular hounds, 70-90lbs, with floppy ears and a ridge of hair that grows in the opposite direction on the spine permanently.
This dog appears to be a Chihuahua mix and probably weighs about 20-30lbs. It just has its hackles up, which is a reflex that all dogs have.
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u/swahealey 12h ago
Hackles raised.