1
00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

2
00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:10,120
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bomb. Here here's a question we

3
00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:12,719
Speaker 1: know has been keeping you up at night. Do dogs

4
00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,239
Speaker 1: have belly buttons? Of course they do, I mean they

5
00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:20,640
Speaker 1: do right well. The short answer is yes, dogs and

6
00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,840
Speaker 1: cats have belly buttons. All placental mammals do. Placental mammals

7
00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,480
Speaker 1: are those that give birth to live babies, as opposed

8
00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,960
Speaker 1: to oviparous animals, which lay eggs, and marsupials, whose babies

9
00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,919
Speaker 1: develop in their mother's pouch. While in the womb. Placental

10
00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,879
Speaker 1: mammals depend on their mothers to deliver nutrition and oxygen

11
00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,239
Speaker 1: and remove waste through the umbilical cord that goes for

12
00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,440
Speaker 1: puppies as well as humans. Each puppy in a litter

13
00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,360
Speaker 1: has its own umbilical cord that connects its mother's placenta

14
00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:51,040
Speaker 1: to the puppy's stomach. After giving birth, a mama dog

15
00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:53,800
Speaker 1: will chew through the umbilical cord, leaving a wound where

16
00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:56,960
Speaker 1: the puppy and cord were connected. The tiny wound on

17
00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,280
Speaker 1: the pup heals quickly into a small thin line, also

18
00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,480
Speaker 1: known as a navel or belly button, so essentially, belly

19
00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,720
Speaker 1: buttons are just scars. But where are these belly buttons

20
00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,880
Speaker 1: on our four legged friends? You certainly don't notice them

21
00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:12,679
Speaker 1: like you do on humans. The navel on a dog

22
00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,720
Speaker 1: it's often difficult to locate because of its size and

23
00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,760
Speaker 1: the fur that quickly grows over it. If you feel

24
00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,080
Speaker 1: compelled to find your dog's belly button, look for it

25
00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:23,759
Speaker 1: under the fur where the tufts meet around the base

26
00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,600
Speaker 1: of your dog's ribs. Sometimes there will be a noticeable

27
00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,320
Speaker 1: patch of darker fur in the area. And unlike human navels,

28
00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,600
Speaker 1: canine belly buttons are between their nipples, which are located

29
00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 1: at the base of the rib cage. So yes, dogs

30
00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,160
Speaker 1: and cats have belly buttons, they just look different than

31
00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:41,800
Speaker 1: human belly buttons. In fact, humans are the ones with

32
00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,080
Speaker 1: the unusual belly buttons. They're relatively large compared to those

33
00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:49,240
Speaker 1: of other mammals. The majority of human navels about are

34
00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,520
Speaker 1: concave and are often referred to as innies. A much

35
00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,920
Speaker 1: smaller number of people the remaining ten percent, have oudies

36
00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,320
Speaker 1: that protrude like a lump under the skin, and many

37
00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:01,960
Speaker 1: people incur actually believe that audies are caused by a

38
00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,400
Speaker 1: doctor's less than stellar umbilical cord cutting skills, but the

39
00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:07,880
Speaker 1: lumps are totally normal. It's just the way a person's

40
00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,520
Speaker 1: skin an abdominal wall come together. While the umbilical scars healing.

41
00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:16,520
Speaker 1: All placental mammals can get them. However, some audies are

42
00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:21,600
Speaker 1: caused by umbilical hernias. Hernias occur when muscles don't heal properly.

43
00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,880
Speaker 1: Instead of growing together, the muscles leave a hole where

44
00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,360
Speaker 1: tissue or a bit of intestine can poke through. Most

45
00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,399
Speaker 1: of these heal on their own without treatment and don't

46
00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,919
Speaker 1: cause any pain or other symptoms. But if a puppy

47
00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:35,920
Speaker 1: or kitten or a human baby has an audie that

48
00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,919
Speaker 1: becomes swollen or painful, take them to a vet or

49
00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:43,240
Speaker 1: you know, a doctor to get checked out and prevent complications.

50
00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,400
Speaker 1: So dogs and humans have belly buttons for the same reason,

51
00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,880
Speaker 1: but unlike humans, dogs don't have the extra convenience of

52
00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,520
Speaker 1: a built in lint catcher, and their belly buttons aren't

53
00:02:52,560 --> 00:03:00,520
Speaker 1: really good candidates for piercing either. Today's episode was written

54
00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,040
Speaker 1: by mix bar with and produced by Tyler clayg. Brain

55
00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,240
Speaker 1: Stuff is a production of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works.

56
00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:07,359
Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other catchy topics,

57
00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:09,880
Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff works dot com and

58
00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,200
Speaker 1: for more podcasts. For my heart radio, visit i heeart

59
00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,840
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

60
00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:15,560
Speaker 1: favorite shows