Does your dog have a tendency to lean on you? If so you’re not alone. Today we’ll take a quick look at why dogs lean and whether it’s a behavior be concerned about.
Why Do Dogs Lean on You?
First and foremost, dogs lean on you to show affection, seek security, and express their trust in you.
Sometimes a lean is just a sign of affection, their own version of a doggie hug. If you’re at home or not doing anything stressful when they lean on you it’s just their way of showing affection.
They’re showing that they love you and want to be close to you, and it might be their way of asking for affection back.
Now if your dog leans on you out in public or in an unfamiliar situation they make be seeking reassurance. Leaning on you, their most trusted companion, makes them feel safe. In these instances it’s important to let your dog know that “yes, everything is fine,” since they’re looking at your for guidance and comfort.
My dog often leaned on me during puppy training class, and I’m not gonna lie — it made me feel like a million bucks. She was a terrified, under-socialized pup when I first got her, but within a short period of time she began to trust me and look to me for guidance in scary situations.
And as long as I stayed calm while she leaned on me, her behavior calmed as well. Over time she learned that I was going to be there for her, and she could do a quick check in with me when she started to feel overwhelmed.
For extremely scary situations though, such as fireworks or thunderstorms, leaning on me is not enough to calm her down. In this instances I have to work on counter conditioning and boosting her confidence, aka teaching her over time that the scary thing isn’t so scary after all.
Is Leaning a Problem?
Can leaning be a problem? Only if you find it to be one. If your dog is routinely interrupting you by leaning and you find it bothersome I’d suggest working on redirecting their attention to another calming behavior like an interactive toy such as a stuffed Kong.
And one last thing — a dog that leans on your does not mean it’s trying to be dominant. The old dominance myths still persist, whether it’s about a dog leaning on you to show you whose boss, or assuming letting a dog win at tug means it’s going to become dominant. Neither are true.
Most often a dog just likes to lean to show you affection, nothing more, nothing less. It’s their own special way of showing you how much they trust and appreciate you being around.
Please share with your friends 🙂