For mammals, shedding water from the fur is a vital part of survival in the wild, as staying dry is crucial in regulating body temperature. All mammals do it, but have you ever really noticed how differently the squirrels outside shake off the rain as opposed to a dog, or compared to a tiny mouse? They're all different.

With three pets of my own, and lots of walking dogs in wet weather, I've had my share of them shaking themselves dry—with me usually standing close by! Although us humans don't dry off so easily, furry animals do.

And because of that, washing machine designers want to know their secrets so that they can create a more efficient appliance.

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology decided to take a better look at the physics of this by using a slow-motion video camera to watch several types and sizes of soaking wet mammals—such as mice, cats, dogs and bears—shake, and then analyzed the movements.

What they found is that it comes down to centripetal force (which pulls the water out of the fur) and surface tension (the droplets sticking).

A shake of the head starts a "wave" that moves down the body. The animal's head, body and skin all move during a shake, but the body can't rotate as far as the skin, so the skin whips around as the animal changes direction, increasing acceleration—faster than the body and head can move.

Very furry animals, (like my dog, Gretchen) tend to have loose skin as well, helping to speed things up considerably.

But if you notice, smaller animals, like cats, must shake a lot faster in order for the process to be effective. That's because they have a smaller radius and must try to create more force to be as effective.

Without all of that gyrating, animals in the wild would have to expend a lot of daily energy to evaporate any water that's on their fur, plus risk reducing body temperature, which at some times of year could cost them their lives.

What better loose-skinned animal would be more fun to watch shake in slow-motion, than a bulldog?

Lorrie Shaw is a regular contributor to AnnArbor.com's pet section and wrote "Hospice care for pets: A viable option". Follow her daily adventures on Twitter as a professional pet sitter and dog walker.