Leaning against a human’s legs is one behavior that is typically observed among dogs and one that tends to leave a considerable number of dog owners perplexed. So, why do dogs lean on you?
The common reasons behind dogs leaning on humans can include showing affection, asking their owners for something, or simply due to fear and stress. In the same vein, leaning in dogs can be associated with a loss of balance due to an existing medical condition.
As inferred from the answering paragraph, dogs lean against humans for a variety of reasons. And the ability to discern whether your canine buddy simply needs a pat on the head or is in pain from a medical condition is key to keeping your pooch happy and in good health.
Whether or not you should encourage leaning by your dog and the steps to take when you observe your canine buddy leaning against your legs are discussed extensively in this article. But before we go further, let’s take an in-depth look at the various possible reasons for your dog leaning against you.
What Does It Mean When Your Dog Leans On You?
Common reasons your dog may be leaning against you include, as a display of affection, a way to seek attention, out of fear, an attempt to protect you, or due to an inherent medical condition.
To Show Affection
Just like the human desire for physical contact with loved ones, dogs have a need to constantly be touched by their favorite humans. And, by far, the most common reason for a dog leaning against its favorite human is an attempt to show the pooch’s affection and care.
Smaller dogs have the luxury of being scooped up and petted by their humans, but larger dogs aren’t as privileged; Hence, they resort to leaning against their human’s legs to show affection.
Attention-Seeking
Attention-deprived dogs also commonly lean against their human’s legs as a means of drawing their owner’s attention and soliciting either a pat, belly rub, or kiss – they absolutely wouldn’t mind receiving everything together too!
Additionally, leaning on you can be your dog’s way of asking for playtime or dinner.
Once a dog finds out that it can easily gain your attention and elicit a pat by leaning against your legs, you can expect to witness more of this behavior in the near future.
Be careful though, this form of leaning behavior can develop into an obsessive-compulsive disorder for your pooch, and you may discover that your pooch will persist with leaning against you, even if you start giving it all the attention in the world.
Fear
If you have a dog that is scared of something in its immediate environment or a pooch that is anxiety-prone, such a dog will lean against you for protection and reassurance.
Leaning against you in fearful situations not only signals a dog’s trust in you to keep it safe, but this particular action also triggers the release of certain chemicals and hormones that have a calming effect on dogs.
Stress
If your dog suddenly starts leaning against you after you’ve recently:
- Moved to a new environment.
- Introduced another dog or a baby into the home.
- Made drastic changes in the dog’s daily routine, such as feeding or exercising.
The chances are that the pooch isn’t comfortable with these changes, thereby inducing stress in the dog. Consequently, such a dog may take to leaning against your legs as a way of seeking reassurance that everything will be fine.
As A Form Of Protection
Dogs are fiercely protective of their treasured items, and a pooch may lean against you, its favored human, in a bid to protect you from a perceived or real threat.
Is Leaning Done To Establish Dominance?
In sharp contrast, and rather than being an attempt to protect you, some argue that leaning by a pooch can be an attempt by the dog to invade your private space and show you who’s boss. Leaning to establish dominance is typically done by dogs that display an extremely high tendency to dominate, and although highly unusual, this reason can’t be ruled out.
Due To An Underlying Medical Condition
Most of the reasons stated above for dogs’ leaning tendencies are completely psychological, but if your canine buddy suddenly develops a habit of leaning against you, it’s also possible that such a pooch is suffering from an underlying medical condition, such as an ear infection.
Ear infections typically cause dogs to suffer a loss of balance and body coordination, thereby resulting in a pooch’s inability to stand or walk straight; Dogs suffering from this condition may lean against walls or a human’s legs for some form of support.
Your Dog May Be Feeling Cold
You might be surprised to hear this, but dogs also feel cold, even with all the fur. And your canine buddy may be leaning against you in an attempt to share some of your body’s warmth.
What Should You Do When Your Dog Leans On You?
If you notice your dog leaning against you, contact your vet to rule out a possible ear infection. You should also put efforts in place to make the pooch more comfortable, pay more attention to the dog in question, and employ training tactics to build up your pooch’s confidence and eliminate leaning tendencies.
Contact Your Vet
We’ve mentioned the possibility of your dog leaning against you being due to an ear infection; Hence, the first thing to do when you observe your pooch leaning against you is to phone your vet and explain the symptoms, if any.
Based on the symptoms provided, your vet will decide whether or not your dog’s leaning tendencies are something that can be fixed at home or whether you’ll have to visit the clinic with your pooch for further examination.
If it is decided that the cause of your Fido leaning against you is purely psychological rather than medical, you can employ any of the methods outlined below to stop this behavior.
Make Your Dog Feel Comfortable
If there’s any occurrence in your household that may cause your dog to feel stressed, it is important that you ensure that the dog continues to feel loved and safe.
Reach out to pet the dog, rub its belly and offer words of praise whenever the dog leans against you. And if you’re introducing a new pooch into the household, make sure to properly introduce the new dog to your resident Fido.
If you observe that your dog seems anxious while on walks due to the presence of too many people, you can also move to areas where there’s less activity. By doing this, you’re avoiding your pooch’s stressors, thereby helping to make your canine buddy feel safe.
Pay More Attention To Your Dog
Additionally, if due to work or for one reason or the other, you’ve been unable to pay adequate attention to your canine buddy, then it’s time you amend your schedule and start paying more attention to your Fido.
Apart from just feeding your pooch and changing its water, take the pooch outdoors for more walks, and also engage the pooch in exercises and games such as fetch.
Training
On top of assisting a dog in its physical development, further training can also be of immense mental benefit, and you can train your canine buddy to face and handle fearful situations better.
In the same vein, if your dog leaning against you makes you feel uncomfortable, you can teach your dog other methods of asking for what it wants; This includes teaching the pooch to sit or lie down as a way of saying ‘please’ when it wants to go outside or play.
When Is Professional Help Needed?
In situations where your dog’s leaning tendencies have degenerated into an obsessive-compulsive disorder, you will need to employ the services of a professional animal behaviorist or dog trainer to break this behavior pattern in your canine buddy.
