# "The dog is shaking." What do you immediately picture when you read this? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 20, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462 "2018-06-20T20:19:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/21 "2018-06-21T15:01:27Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My Grady is a non-Chiuhahua, 50-lb mutt. He shakes with excitement all the time, even when there doesn’t seem to be anything THAT exciting going on. His back end shakes. > > He actually doesn’t shake in the same way when he’s afraid of thunder. That’s a different, whole-body shake. > > Anyway, I voted “other” just because I’ve got a trembly dog. [White dog shaker syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_dog_shaker_syndrome) is a thing. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/22 "2018-06-21T17:00:52Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > My first thought was “the poor thing has epilepsy.” ♫ _Somewhere there’s a Golden Retriever. Who’s having a seizure. Somewhere there’s a pup seizing up. And there’s a labrador. Who’s shaking on the floor. Think about the epileptic dogs. … Come on and make a donation. To save a shaking dalmatian._ ♫ ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/23 "2018-06-21T17:03:12Z")
I read that when a dog shakes to get water off her fur, scientists have estimated the first shake removes about 70% of the water. It’s surprisingly efficient. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/24 "2018-06-21T18:12:43Z")
I have a chihuahua-dachshund mix, so shivering is kind of her go-to “poor pitiful me” gesture. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/25 "2018-06-21T18:31:21Z")
[This dog is shaking.](https://giphy.com/gifs/alcohol-booze-bartender-ZmJBjPdd44gXS/fullscreen)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/26 "2018-06-21T18:45:07Z")
The choice of tense “is shaking” is the present progressive, and suggests a \*continuing \*action happening now. I suppose it \*could \*mean a dog is shaking off water, but that action is so short it’s usually over by the time you could say it. If instead the question were about “the dog shook” it would be more ambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/27 "2018-06-21T19:12:51Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > The choice of tense “is shaking” is the present progressive, and suggests a \*continuing \*action happening now. I suppose it \*could \*mean a dog is shaking off water, but that action is so short it’s usually over by the time you could say it. > > If instead the question were about “the dog shook” it would be more ambiguous. In crafting the OP, I was less concerned with the tense, and more generally asking what you think of when a dog shakes. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/28 "2018-06-21T19:18:50Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > In crafting the OP, I was less concerned with the tense, and more generally asking what you think of when a dog shakes. Yes but, as people have pointed out, the tense influences the answer. Kind of like, if you said “The dog barked,” some of us would imagine a dog giving one solitary yap; but if you said “The dog is barking” we’d have no choice but to imagine something longer and more ongoing. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/29 "2018-06-21T20:11:33Z")
Fair enough, and dig as deep into it as you’d like when casting your vote, it’s entirely up to the person casting the vote how they choose their selection. Just know I didn’t intend for that. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/30 "2018-06-21T21:31:10Z")
1. My dog “water shook” all the time - it was her calling card- and that’s the first one I thought about. 2. But then, here in San Antonio, chihuahua’s are popular and those little shits are always shivering. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/31 "2018-06-21T21:32:29Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I was sure this thread was going to be about Chihuahuas. My first mental image was a Chihuahua quivering as it barked in an attempt to sound tough. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/32 "2018-06-21T22:02:25Z")
I knew a dog who had seizures. It wasnt so much shaking as jerking and flopping. Alot of foamy drool and vocalizations. Scary. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/33 "2018-06-22T01:32:03Z")
The wind is blowing real loudly, or it’s the 4th of July. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/34 "2018-06-22T02:23:33Z")
My first thought was the old saying “Shaking like a dog trying to shit a peach pit.” ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462/35 "2018-06-22T13:59:16Z")
Between reading the title and the page loading I thought 2 and 3, so I voted other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dog-is-shaking-what-do-you-immediately-picture-when-you-read-this/816462.md?page=1)