Quote:
Originally posted by daisydog3:
My family has a springer who loves to lean. It doesn't matter whether you're standing or sitting-he just wants to get as close to you as he can!!!My own dog, an English staff. bull terrier, also leans but only when someone is already petting her. My boyfriend's dog, a shepher/rottie/hound mix, leans to get you to pay attention to her. I don't think the behavior is breed specific-just specific to particularly "love-y" dogs.
My rottie leans also, mostly as an attention-getting strategy and because she's a huge suck. However I was also told that the leaning and pushing behaviour is partly instinctual in certain dogs who were bred for herding animals. I've noticed that my friend's Gordon setter gets nervous if people are too far apart (i.e. in different rooms of the house) and will try to "lean" on them to get them to move closer together.