Rub My Belly?!

Why do dogs like Belly Rubs? Maybe the better question is "Does your dog like Belly Rubs?" How often does your dog rollover to have their belly rubbed? My dog, Daisy rarely rolls over for that reason. In fact to take her picture, I had to ask her to Roll Over. If we are going to talk about a dog's preference. Daisy would say" A little more to the right" at the top of her tail. For contact affection (AKA Petting), she prefers a Butt Rub for lack of better reference!

Here are a few scenarios I would like to mention.

1. You come home from work and upon greeting your dog, she flops down and rolls over. You think it is cute and you pet her belly. Then you both move on.  This behavioral situation is happening because you both enjoy it and now it is trained.

2. You come home from work worried about your dog peeing when you see her. Sure enough she does what you expect: She cowers, pees, then rolls on to her back. You think she wants her belly rubbed so you do it hoping that helps her stop peeing. It doesn't and another training situation occurred because" touching" is a reward.

3. You come home and to stop your dog from jumping on you, you start yelling sit, Sit, SIT! She is so excited that she does all her tricks; sit pretty, lay down, then finally rolling over. You never really got what you asked for (remember it was Sit) so you stop the madness by rubbing her belly.

Because of the belly rub (AKA Petting), these situations are approval for the state of the dog's mind. When dogs rollover to have their belly rub they may enjoy it but they may be saying "I Give". Exposing their belly is a vulnerable position. This is also a Trust Moment. While being in this position the dog is at your mercy.

Last scenario:

4. You come home, your dog rolls over acting timid, you start to reach to pet her belly then she growls and snaps at you.

What happened there? You thought she wanted to be rubbed. She thought you would back off. Now you both are unhappy.

Belly Rubs are great if you have a well balanced dog who enjoys them. Not so great if your dog is unstable, lacks trust and is fearful. Realize how important of a role touch plays. Watch out! What you pet is what you get.

Out of the DogHouse LLC website www.ohiodogtrainer.net
Contact Dru therrian 440.286.9070