You ever start playing with a dog and get him all riled up—you know, like really get him going with the old squeaky toy—and then he flips over on his back? Although dogs' rolling behavior might be adorable, it's probably not a sign that you've won the fight. In a new study, researchers analyzed the behaviors that accompanied rolling as dogs played with other dogs and came to the conclusion that rolling is actually a combat tactic, not a sign of surrender. Scientific American reports that a dog rolls onto its back during play as a defensive maneuver that allows it to avoid incoming bites, but then usually gets back up and resumes playing.
