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Thread: Dogs who lean

  1. #31
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    Very many of your dogs are however displaying dominance by leaning. It feels pleasant and yet the dog is getting reassurance on demand and preventing you from doing what you want to do, so who is controlling that situation? A dog that is showing dominance in this way may not be dominant in any other situation, but if any of you have dominance issues it may be food for thought.>>>>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>>>>>> >

    Carrie I have a question for you.
    When I am sitting on the lawn and my dogs are role playing, there is always
    one of them trying to lean on me.
    I always thought, that the dog who was leaning on me was a sign of strength
    (confidence)
    Like 2 against one?
    The only other time I think they lean
    is when there are strangers around/
    or fireworks.
    So I thought I was more of a security
    in this case?

  2. #32
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    Hi again,
    Certainly, when your dog is feeling insecure and unsure of what action to take then his natural instinct is to look to the pack leader for direction. When a stranger enters your area your dog is checking out what he should do by what you do and gaining security and reassurance by the contact.
    Excuse my ignorance, but I have never heard the term "role playing" applied to dogs before. Could you help me out a bit and explain it for me?

  3. #33
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    Excuse my ignorance, but I have never heard the term "role playing" applied to dogs before. Could you help me out a bit and explain it for me?>>>>>>>

    Sorry Carrie, I should have explained it.
    My male and female Akitas are constantly testing eachother when they play. (sort of role playing like wolves do in the wild)
    They are very primitive in
    there thinking/behavior.
    When they are playing almost every move they
    make means something to them.
    I just wished I new how to read all that
    body language like some of my friends do.

  4. #34
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    Excuse my ignorance, but I have never heard the term "role playing" applied to dogs before. Could you help me out a bit and explain it for me?>>>>>>>

    Sorry Carrie, I should have explained it.
    My male and female Akitas are constantly testing eachother when they play. (sort of role playing like wolves do in the wild)
    They are very primitive in
    there thinking/behavior.
    When they are playing almost every move they
    make means something to them.
    I just wished I new how to read all that
    body language like some of my friends do.

  5. #35
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    Salisbury Plain, UK
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    Hi again,
    O.k. without actually being able to see the dogs playing it is very hard to give you a definite answer but I would guess that you are right. It sounds like the dog leaning on you is ensuring it's own safety in the game knowing that the pack leader will not allow things to get out of hand. So essentially using you as safegaurd.

  6. #36
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    mt. pleasant, sc
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    I love to be leaned on. It makes me feel loved. My dog Sporty does it all the time. He always looks up at me with the beautiful eyes while doing it.

  7. #37
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    I've just read through this lot and I make myself so mad sometimes. I don't express myself very well so I am here to eat humble pie and apologise to you all.
    Leaning is not always a dominant behaviour as it looks like I was suggesting before.
    Touch is very important for dogs, that's why they like being stroked. In the wild pack touching helps to strengthen bonds and the pack will often sleep curled up together, not just for warmth but for comfort and security too. Dogs have retained the need for physical contact as a pleasure and a way of communication. Sorry again for being so dim.

  8. #38
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    I agree with Carrie on this one. I believe leaning is a sign of control and dominance, not necessarily aggression. The first time I noticed my black shepherd leaning was at dog obedience. It especially happens when he does not want to obey a command. I will tell him "sit", and finally he will but will lean on my legs as he sits. In this context it is a sure sign of dominance as I can tell he didnt want to listen to me but did reluctantly. Now that it is confirmed that leaning may mean dominance I will alter that behaviour. I found this leaning behaviour strange and now it makes sense.

  9. #39

    On "Dominance"

    So called animal "behaviorist" focus too much on "dominance" and not on the specific situations for pet's behavior, i suppose it has to do with todays crowded conditions, where pet owners dwell in closer quarters than in the past, as more and more people in the larger towns and cities own pets. Let me begin with an analogy; If a cable repair person comes into our home, and sat down on our couch, picked up the remote and helped himself, we would feel off-put by such a behavior and it is a behavior of dominance, the cable repair person feels he can get away with such a behavior. Now lets say your daughter came into your house, sat on your couch and helped herself to the accomodations, is she showing "dominance?" In a way, she is, she certainly thinks she can get away with such a behavior and rarely would a parent object. In the same way, if your pet leaned on you, for reasons she/he wants to play, be petted, or to have physical contact, is it a show of dominance? It certainly might be, but same as the daughter that came into your home does not do it for the sake of dominance, but to perhaps wait on you to join her for whatever reason, a pet will do for the same reason. They just want to play, be petted or have close physical contact with you.

    Getting back to our current living conditions, it certainly will be beneficial for you to have a well behaved pet when you are around strangers, so the behaviorist focus too much on obidience with no specifics, you can see why they might not be giving the best advice to us, when they focus on "dominant behavior" and not enough on specifics. I hope every pet owner learn their pets behavior and give them plenty of attention and love to your pets to really understand them better.
    Last edited by jennyjen; 12-18-2009 at 02:39 PM.

  10. #40
    Rocky (10 wks) will lean on me or stand right in between my legs. and if he sees me sit indian style on the floor.. then no matter what he is doing he runs to me and jumps in my lamp and will just either walk all over my lap or just sit there. lol

  11. #41
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    Just had to revive this one, as I met a Golden Retriever mix the other day who gave me a quite obvious "lean" when I stopped to skritch some ears. Her owner instantly apologized, but was obviously new to the whole "dogs who lean" phenomenon, as I explained it was no problem for me one bit!

    So current doggies of Pet Talk - do you lean? And no, Angel, flopping on top of Dad's lap the moment he sits down doesn't really count!
    I've Been Frosted

  12. #42
    Lady was a leaner.

    Angel makes her presence known in other, less subtle ways.....like trying to be a lapdog while I'm having my coffee.

    She does, however, have Lady's jealous streak........in spades!
    The one eyed man in the kingdom of the blind wasn't king, he was stoned for seeing light.

  13. #43
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    Illinois, USA
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    In a previous position, I had an opportunity to train with a nurse who worked from home. She was owned by a Great Dane who was actually a big teddy bear. She had limited mobility, so when I got to her house, she would let Max out. That worked out really well - I would get there a few minutes early, and she would send him outside while I kept an eye on him. Then she would call him from the window and he and I would come in together. When we got inside, he would bark and lean against me, like, "Mom, I found this human outside ... can we keep her?" I made the cut because I'd been leaned on by the Max-ster! What a sweet doggie guy. She did a lot of telephone work, and she tried to keep him from barking when she was on the phone. However, almost everyone who spoke to her regularly knew about Max and asked her about him
    Praying for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine, and around the world.

    I've been Boo'd ... right off the stage!

    Aaahh, I have been defrosted! Thank you, Bonny and Asiel!
    Brrrr, I've been Frosted! Thank you, Asiel and Pomtzu!


    "That's the power of kittens (and puppies too, of course): They can reduce us to quivering masses of Jell-O in about two seconds flat and make us like it. Good thing they don't have opposable thumbs or they'd surely have taken over the world by now." -- Paul Lukas

    "We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays." -- Persius, first century Roman poet

    Cassie's Catster page: http://www.catster.com/cats/448678

  14. #44
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    Talking

    Zack is a leaner and loves to sit on my feet but he is over 12st and my poor feet are not amused.
    ZACK MY BIG BEAR.

  15. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by WILDCATS View Post
    Zack is a leaner and loves to sit on my feet but he is over 12st and my poor feet are not amused.
    Awww, Zack! I wish I could have you sit on my feet But you're there and I'm here, so i'll just have to look at your photo and smile

    ((HUG)) and some for Scooby and Tilly, too!
    Praying for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine, and around the world.

    I've been Boo'd ... right off the stage!

    Aaahh, I have been defrosted! Thank you, Bonny and Asiel!
    Brrrr, I've been Frosted! Thank you, Asiel and Pomtzu!


    "That's the power of kittens (and puppies too, of course): They can reduce us to quivering masses of Jell-O in about two seconds flat and make us like it. Good thing they don't have opposable thumbs or they'd surely have taken over the world by now." -- Paul Lukas

    "We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays." -- Persius, first century Roman poet

    Cassie's Catster page: http://www.catster.com/cats/448678

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