Static electric shock from dog's back !?

Anyone else had/got this? Only happened today - twice - surprised us both!

Happened when I stroked her back.

(She did have a really good groom the other day with a 'shedder', and its just got unusually cold, but that's about all I can think of that's changed.)

Weird - has never happened before, and no new blankets, furniture etc.

How does it happen? Can it be dangerous at all

When I put the heat on in the winter, the air is much drier inside so the same thing happens over here. The only way to avoid this is to use a humidifier in your house. I'm not sure that it's dangerous, but it sure does give us both a surprise when it happens over here.

happened to me the other day. Princess was laying on my bed, I came along with clothes (I was doing laundry). Stopped to pet her. I touched her nose and we both got shocked! She jumped, scared her.

It's normal and I can't think of any reason for it to be dangerous. It happens a lot with cats! It happens every once in awhile with mine. Shiva acts startled, Bimmer just flinches a bit, and Kharma barely reacts. I'm glad she doesn't react, considering that when she was just 12 weeks old she got into the electric cattle fence (it packs a hellacious wallop, too - I know! ) and her immediate reaction was to turn around and bite it twice!

this just happened to me, too....and had never happened before in prior winters. Addie jumped up on the bed, started to snuggle down...ZAP!!! I think we both jumped a mile cause it hurt like heck. She then gave Hammie 'that' look.......I have a feeling she blamed him.........I kinda let her. LOL Truly, this is the first winter we've experienced this.....it is so harsh sometimes that you really do HEAR it as well as feel it. I have been brushing them before they come in...I might stop for a couple days and see if it doesn't help. (I use dryer sheets for all our laundry and we don't have any other problem)

The same thing happens with me & Farley but what's weird is that it doesn't happen when I pet Chloe. Someone told me once that how they solved the static electricity with their dogs was to take one of those dryer sheets for laundry & just wipe them down with it. I've never tried it but if this keeps up I just might!

Its been such a weird winter here, this has happened to us as well. A groomer suggested I spray conditioner on the dog's coats and comb it through. Seems to have stopped, but idunno...

Oh, oh, oh, Debi, that's too, too funny! Poor Hammie! Addie probably does blame him, after all EVERYTHING is Hammie's fault, isn't it? He's turned Addie's world upside down, but at least he's brought some order and rationale to it - now she knows why things go wrong . . . HAMMIE DID IT!


A light mist of that Johnson & Johnson No More Tangles for babies' hair helps if it gets too bad.

My blue cat, Gonzo, used to enjoy the static. When I'd pet him you could see the sparks as I'd run my hand down his back. He'd arch into it and purr; if I stopped he'd rub up against me until I started again, but what he really liked is the static duster. I kept one I only used for him and he'd go nuts over it. He liked for me to stroke it down his back, from head to tail, sparks just flying until his hair and the duster fibers stood straight up. He was a strange one; he liked to ride the vaccuum cleaner when it was on too.

When I took my grandaughter to Mcdonald's play area she had on a long sweater with threads that looked like fur..as she went down the slide you could hear the static! She came out at the end and all the threads were sticking straight out and so was every hair on her head. I asked if she saw sparks and she said oh yes!!! We are all shocking each other!