You’re sitting in your home, doing your own thing, when suddenly you feel a gentle weight press on your leg. You look down to see your precious floof’s paw resting on your lap. Sound familiar? Why does my dog put his paw on me? While most of us find this pawing behavior adorable, you may have …
Understanding Your Dog
Understanding Your Dog
What a dog owner would do to capture a glimpse into our canine’s mind’s complexities and inner workings is insurmountable. From a steady paw on your knee to your dog’s nibbling ways, your bubbly barking buddy’s behavior can sometimes leave you stumped.
Understanding your pawed partner is a great way to engage in a non-verbal conversation with your pets by placing meaning behind their silly or unique actions. This relates to both positive and negative behavioral cues from your pup.
When your furry friend is suffering in any way, placing the weight of their pain and discomfort on your own shoulders almost always happens. This is why monitoring your pet can be good practice for pinpointing any abnormalities in their behavior.
So, how can you get to know and understand our dog better? By gaining a deeper understanding of certain dog behaviors and signs, you’ll have a well-equipped toolbox to shed some light on identifying and potentially diagnosing their condition.
Dog Behaviors Explained | Things to Look Out for
Whether it is your dog rolling on its back or more concerning practices such as chewing on its feet to indicate an injury, pet behavior can often seem incomprehensible to the human eye. Here, you’ll find a quick and easy cheat sheet of common dog behaviors and the possible meanings behind each action.
Common Behavior
Dogs can have a tendency to possess a few quirky traits that’ll have you scratching your head. While strange behavior has the potential of being something more, other unique behavioral quirks are simply how they’re built.
A variety of dog breeds are deeply fascinated by the surrounding smells and tastes in their vicinity. Your adventurous pups tend to be explorers of their senses in many ways. This sought-after tasting platter includes licking a human’s face or licking the ear to sample it.
In the same way, there are some smells dogs hate. If you ever come across your dog rolling in the grass after a bath, this could be a potential identifier that your canine favors the scent of the wild in his fur.
Interesting Fact: While tail wagging is often seen as a cute way for dogs to show affection, this is also a method of spreading their scent around for other canines to sniff and enjoy. So dogs have tails for more reasons than you may think.
Affection
As all newbies and veteran dog owners know, sometimes it can feel like your pet doesn’t like you. This could be due to banishing the ratty remains of toys or simply uttering the word ‘bath’; dogs have a way of making you feel like you’ve done them a great injustice.
While many might feel like their relationship with their barking buddies is tarnished, there are a variety of behavioral cues to look out for that could show the spark of forgiveness. A playful dog wink or even a tentative doggy hand lick can often be seen as a clear indication that your dog cares for you.
Other typical dog traits and behaviors have a way of tugging at our heartstrings and for good reason. Dogs have a unique way of expressing their love and affection to their human counterparts.
If your dog seems to enjoy your company (sometimes beyond your own degree of comfort), this can be seen as a sign of true companionship and love. From following you into the bathroom to crushing your organs by laying on your body, their affection can hurt in the most wonderful ways.
Anxiety
One surefire way to activate your maternal instinct is by noticing your pet is feeling stressed or suffering from anxiety. While you can try and comfort your petrified pup as best you can, it’s essential to take note of their behavioral changes to alleviate the cause in any way.
From seemingly barking at nothing or a simple insistence on licking their paws, there are a wide variety of tell-tale signs to provide insight into their anxiety levels. Some anxiety symptoms, which include behaviors such as licking their noses, are harder to pinpoint.
While your pet choosing to lie on your feet can be identified as a sign of affection, it could also be a behavioral change that indicates anxiety. This theory can also be attributed to when your dog follows you everywhere.
So, how would you know when your dog’s behavior becomes a red flag? Firstly, you know your dog, which makes you the best person to indicate whether it’s a rapid change from their normal behavior. If you’re concerned, you can always make a trip to your local veterinarian for a second opinion.
Health Issues
While little things, such as your dog rubbing its face on the ground, could be seen as a temporary pesky itch, it could be indicative of something bigger. Whether it’s an allergic reaction to teething problems, a considerable variance of seemingly ‘common behavior’ has the potential of being a warning sign for health problems.
If you’ve experienced a number of changes in your canine’s behavior, it’s advisable to consult a professional in case of emergencies. These ongoing symptoms can potentially include seemingly harmless behavior such as licking their lips or sticking their tongue out.
These behaviors are usually caused by common occurrences, such as dehydration or nausea, but a vet visit can express a better insight into your dog’s well-being.
The Mystery of Dogs Explained
With four paws, a wagging tail, and a keen eye for causing chaos – dogs can often be hard to understand and grasp. From your dog’s undying love for sticks to their fear of vacuum cleaners, these energetic enigmas can be portrayed as aliens in cute furry suits.
Much like snowflakes, every furry friend is different and special in its own way. This, however, can be difficult to navigate in new and unknown scenarios your pups haven’t experienced before. From traveling with your dog to introducing your dog to a Maine Coon, perusing a few pointers is the perfect way to ensure a safe and comfortable transition period.
Lip licking is a fairly common habit among dogs. It can be endearing to watch, but it’s also an action that can come across as slightly weird and concerning for dog parents who don’t understand why their dog does it in the first place. But why does my dog keep licking its lips? Lip …
Like most of our best friends, dogs are superb companions and have lovable quirks. Among them is the habit of sometimes wanting to rub their faces on the ground, whether it be grass, the lounge carpet, or your favorite garden patch at home. Remember, we’re not talking about dogs merely rolling in the grass here. …
Dogs can be funny creatures. Their behavior is designed to confound us or at least make us laugh. One of those behaviors is the seemingly random act of rolling over on its back and wiggling. Why do dogs roll on their backs and wiggle? It’s as if they have an itch to scratch, and sometimes, this …
Forming a bond with your dog is one of the most rewarding experiences that comes with unforgettable moments and happiness. But like all relationships, not every day is blissful, especially when your dog displays frustrating habits. For example, when your canine follows its tail for long periods and barks at sounds only it can hear, …
Sometimes your dog’s excessive barking will frustrate you when it seems like it is doing it for no reason. There are a lot of assumptions by so-called experts as to why dogs can’t stop this strange behavior. Why do dogs bark at nothing? Some trainers believe it’s your pet’s way of getting your attention, while others …
It’s frustrating when you need time alone after a long day at work, but your dog follows you everywhere you go. This includes even the bathroom, which is supposed to be your sanctuary for privacy. But why do dogs follow you into the bathroom? Since they can’t communicate as humans do, we can’t know for sure, …
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Dogs are the friendliest pets and share a strong bond with their owner. If you own a dog, you might have experienced your dog refusing to leave your side, laying by your feet, and even pawing at you. These cute behaviors are indeed adorable, but there are specific reasons behind their actions. So why do …
Known as the “dogs of the cat world,” Maine coon cats are a type of breed known for their friendly and gentle demeanor. They’re one of the biggest domestic cat breeds and have large, sturdy bodies. They can weigh between 8 and 18 lbs, and their height ranges from 10 to 16 inches tall. And …
Photo by Anastasia Petrova on Unsplash You’ve probably heard that travelling with a pet is one of the most stressful things. And you may think that you have to leave your pup at home with friends, family, or at a pet hotel while you’re travelling. But, travelling with your furry friend is possible, and I’ve …
It’s a truth universally acknowledged (amongst dog owners, at any rate) that your furry friend loves to lick you. From giant slurps to quick licks and slobbery kisses to nose boops, it’s hard to resist this particular form of affection. Whether they lick you on your feet, your hand, or even your face, you’d be …
It’s too adorable when dogs mimic human behavior. We love to see them giving high-fives, wearing big grins, or even giving us a cheeky wink. But why do dogs wink? It might be a cute trick you’ve trained your clever friend to do, or perhaps they do it of their own accord. In either case, …
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The internet loves a video of a dog with their tongue sticking out. It’s cute, it’s quirky, and it gives your pet a fun personality online. They may look a little goofy, but chances are they’re not doing it to give you a laugh. Why do dogs stick their tongue out? There are a couple …
We love our furry pooches but let’s face it, sometimes they can do some slightly strange things. It can be difficult to judge when these dog behaviors are normal and when they are a reason for concern. There are usually reasons that dogs exhibit certain behaviors. But considering our pooches don’t speak how do you …
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They say a dog with a wet nose is a happy dog. Anyone who has ever met a happy pooch knows that a pup’s excited nose licking means good feelings all around. So why do dogs lick their noses? In many cases, it’s a positive sign, but there are also those instances where you may …
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