Have you ever entered your home and noticed your dog gently leaning on your feet? It might be an indication of a few things. Follow this article to answer your queries: why does my dog sleep on my feet and what messages it conveys through different gestures.
If you have a dog or know someone who pets a dog, you must have observed that the dog communicates with its partner through different actions and facial features. Some of them are obvious enough to figure out a message, but some of them make you wonder about the message this dog is trying to convey to us humans.
Dog’s behaviors are a signal for you to identify what your dog is trying to convey and provide a way to communicate with your dog. Dogs use their body parts, including the tail, leg, and facial expressions.
Being a dog owner, you must be having a couple of queries regarding certain behaviors of your dog, so this article revolves around a few of the questions that can cross your mind, including what my dog’s way of showing affection, why does my dog sleep on my feet and why does my dog sleep on my clothes.
Table of Contents
Dog-owner relationship
Dogs are the most popular pets known for their loyalty and liveliness for many centuries. Previously, they were kept by people for practical purposes such as hunting or guarding, but in today’s world, this purpose is restricted to the official departments and forces to help them. Most people own cats for emotional and personal reasons.
The purpose of owning a dog includes establishing friendship and bond with another being so that one can gain benefits from it by increasing their physical activities and catering to emotional needs. Being a dog owner makes a man more active in physical activities such as taking the dog for a walk and catering to its needs to keep the owner on his toes. Moreover, it provides an opportunity for humans to provide care and love to another human being.
Dogs provide emotional support to humans through their liveliness and companionship. Owners consider dogs as a part of their family due to the emotional support the dog provides. The dog-owner relationship is dynamic, and the dog’s flexible behavior makes it appealing for the owner to rely on his dog for happiness and comfort.
However, it is easier to understand human’s affection towards their dogs as it is mostly in the form of snuggles, belly rubs, or verbal affirmations but dogs have different ways of showing affection and discomfort. The emotions of a dog can only be analyzed through different gestures.
These canine members are interactive and emotional beings that use their sense of smell as their caudate nucleus activates, which gives rise to the dopamine in their brain when they smell the aroma of their owner. They feel emotionally attached to their owners and react through physical and facial gestures to express their emotions.
When we bring a dog to our home and make it live with us, it is not only humans that get attached to the dogs emotionally, but the dogs get attached too. They rely on us not only for food and shelter but also for emotional comfort.
How do you tell if your dog loves you?
Pets can not verbally utter their feelings to their owners, so they communicate through gestures. Dogs seek comfort and safety in their relationship with their owners, and when they find this comfort, they get attached and give out signals through certain gestures, including following us, making faces, jumping on us, licking us, etc.
The message behind every gesture is not exactly known by many people, so we have listed some of the ways through which dogs show affection to their:
Follows you:
If your dog follows you around the moment you enter the house, it might be because they feel secure around you as you are their provider, and they are dependent on you, so they express their loyalty towards you by following you. It can also refer to them being scared and not wanting to stay apart from you. It can also be an indication of any health problem due to which they become less confident and cling to you.
Licks your face:
Licking dogs is purely a way to show affection or to ask for attention from other animals or humans. Puppies lick their mothers when they want them to feed them, but grown-up dogs use it to greet other canines and humans. Dogs might also lick a stranger because of appeasement so that the stranger does not harm the dog.
Rub their face on you:
Another way of showing affection is rubbing their face or head, through which they are marking you as theirs, as they feel a sense of belonging near you and do not want other dogs to approach you. Other reasons why a dog rubs its head include separation anxiety, seeking attention, feeling secure, etc. Being alone makes them feel anxious, so they end up rubbing their face on you when they sense that you are about to leave them.
Snuggle with you:
Dogs are living creatures, so if you see them leaning on you or cuddling with you, it is a sign that they like you. Physical contact helps to release a love hormone in their brain, so they enjoy it and build an emotional attachment with you. Through cuddling, they are showing you that they want to be close to you and expect you to pet them too. Young puppies cuddle with their mothers to show attachment, so if your dog cuddles with you, it implies the same meaning of love and affection.
Bring their toys to you:
Dogs are playful creatures and are often found playing with their fellow dogs or owners. They can not verbally ask their owner to play with them, so they bring them toys. If the dog brings its favorite toy to you, it is probably a sign of trust and love as they trust you with its things and want to share them with you. However, you can also experience your dog bringing a dead bird or any other animal to you, which can gross you out. Basically, it is their way to please you and present it as a gift.
Eye-gazing:
If you ever find your dog staring at you for a longer period of time, it is a sign of affection, as in that moment, they are valuing your presence in their life. Just the way humans want to gaze at someone they love, dogs do it too to bond with their owners. It releases the oxytocin hormone, which is associated with the feeling of trust and emotional attachment. If you are in the middle of an activity, they can gaze at you to seek your attention or ask if they can join too.
Tail wagging:
When a dog moves its tail in the upward direction or in the back and forth motion, it can imply few meanings. Dogs, like cats, use their tail to express emotions, including fear, happiness, excitement or comfort, etc. If the dog moves its tail in a gentle manner, it indicates a relaxing feeling, but if the dog wags its tail, it can be an indication of its excitement. Dogs show both of these aforementioned emotions to their owner when they trust them.
Jump on you:
Jumping is a common expression among all breeds of dogs. They will not only jump on their owners but also on others. However, you will observe your dog jumping on you when they see you after a while when you enter your home after a long day at work or has been away for a day. They are excited to see you and jump on you to lick your face to greet you.
Jumping on a stranger can be a sign of anxiousness or fear, as jumping on the person makes them feel less threatened. This is not harmful but can scare or irritate the other person, so many owners train their dogs not to jump on other people.
Why does my dog sleep on my feet in bed?
If you are a dog owner, you would have encountered a situation where you are sitting or lying, and your dog comes near you and leans close to you or sleeps on your feet. It can be an indication of a few things.
Comfort and security:
Your dog might find the spot comforting as the feeling of being near to the owner in a comfy place is pleasant to them. This is most likely to happen in colder seasons, where they treat you like a fluffy companion when they feel a bit chilly and want to cuddle with you. They find your touch cozy, even if it is only your feet. It can further lead to nuzzling and wrapping around you if the dog is clingy. However, if the dog is not huggy or clingy, then he will enjoy sitting on your feet. Dogs also find the scent of their owners relaxing and comforting, so they might be leaning on your feet to smell you closely.
This behavior can also be triggered if the dog is anxious about anything. For instance, if they hear a thunderstorm, have separation anxiety, or visit a vet. There are other additional signs that your dog might exhibit while being anxious such as pacing, panting, trembling, drooling, etc. They will find comfort lying on your feet and might sleep there.
Shelter:
Dogs look at you as their provider and pack leader, so when they feel insecure about anything or in the presence of something, they will come to you for protection. The breed of the dog does not make any difference in this situation. It will come running to you in any intimidating case, such as a frightening sound, the presence of a stranger, or being surrounded by another animal.
In this situation, they require your touch to make them feel safe and looked after, so they will sit or lay on your feet to feel protected. If they are lying on their side, then they feel safe, but if they are exposing their belly it can be due to a submissive display. However, dogs are not always seeking attention but being a selfless creature, will try to protect you too. This can also be a sign of them providing you protection against danger.
Closeness:
If you have entered your home after a long day working outside, your dog will not only jump on you but will also come near you and might lean on your feet to convey the message that they do not want you to leave their side. They bond with their owners in different ways and develop an attachment with them, just like babies develop with their mothers and want to cling to them every time.
Dogs consider human companions as their parents and want to stay closer to them. When you are lying in front of them, they will lean on your feet so that they get to know about your location and prepare themselves to follow you if you move to a different position.
Moreover, it can be a sign of emotional support for you if they sense you being upset or crying in front of them, as dogs are sensitive creatures and can easily feel their owner’s emotions through their facial features. They will try to comfort you by leaning on your feet to make their presence obvious to you.
Territorial behavior:
As humans call themselves dog owners, dogs also feel the same about humans. They will not want any other human or animal to get close to you, so they want to clear it out that you are their human. If you have a tamed dog, it will express that territorial behavior by gently leaning on your feet without showing any aggression.
Trained trait:
It is an instinct in the dogs to stay close to their pack leaders. Puppies behave the same as their mothers and lean on their feet to feel secure. They get trained from there and apply it to their human parents too. Additionally, they find it a positive trait when they find you giving them attention and rewarding them with a belly rub and cuddles every time they sleep on your feet.
Should I let the dog sleep on my feet?
If the dog sleeps on your feet more often or daily, then it is surely a part of their routine as they like to follow a routine every day, so they know what to expect. This is not something that you should be worried about as it can be your time to bond with your dog, so you can reciprocate the love with some belly rub or scratching behind the ear unless it irritates you.
However, suppose the dog does not usually behave in this way and has now suddenly started doing it. In that case, it can be alarming due to problematic reasons such as anxiety or health issues. This can affect their liveliness and confidence, so they are clinged to you for their safety. In this case, you need
To find out the reason and try to fix it either by eliminating the trouble-causing object or by providing social training to your dog so that it adjusts to the environment without fear. As you can not let it sit on your feet when you are working or busy with your house chores, this behavior can bother you in these times.
Hence, you can not encourage this behavior and need to train them not to do it by rewarding them whenever they agree to your words and do not lay on your feet. Furtherly, you can consult your vet, in this case, to help you find out the reason and resolve it through behavior training tips.
Why does my dog sleep on my clothes?
Dogs have a powerful sense of smell and can easily recognize the smell on your clothes, so they associate your clothes with you. There can be a number of messages that your dog wants to convey to you by lying on your clothes:
They find the spot cozy:
The texture of your clothes or the scent of your clothes can be comforting for them, so you want to lay on them. Moreover, they might also find it warm in the chilly season, so they find it the perfect spot to relax as the clothes are soft and warm. They find a pile of clothing on the floor a perfect bedding, so they prefer to sleep on it rather than on the floor, which is comparatively hard and not so comfy.
Asking for your attention:
Attracting your clothes or your scent can be a signal of them asking for your attention. Your unique scent on the clothes, even if they are dirty, attracts them when you are not at home, so they get close to your belongings until you come back. However, if you are at home, your dog will lay on your clothes so that your attention diverts to them and you give them some time.
Can not stay away from you:
Suppose you spot your dog dragging your clothes or your blanket to another location. In that case, it can also be an indication of separation anxiety where your belongings having your scent provides them comfort, so he wants to keep them nearest to them and even sleeps on them.
Should I let the dog sleep on my clothes?
It is not an alarming situation as this behavior is an indication of affection towards you, but if you do not want your dog to adopt this behavior permanently, then you can do a few things to restrain your dog from your clothes. You can provide your dog with a separate blanket, keep it in his spot and provide training to use it instead of your clothes.
Make sure that all your laundry is compiled in one place and not lying all over the place so that it is out of the reach of your dog and he learns about organized behavior. Moreover, you need to reinforce this behavior in your dog. Every time you find him approaching your clothes, ask him to use the blanket you have provided them instead of these clothes.
If the dog behaves in this way because of separation anxiety, you need to take care of his needs and make sure to follow a routine for feeding and playing. It will make him feel relaxed and reduce his separation anxiety.
Conclusion
Dogs are one of the most loyal and loving animals, and this is the reason why they are adopted by people for emotional attachment. It not only provides emotional support to humans when they have a dog beside them that they can cuddle and play with but also gives a sense of security and comfort to the dog as they have a human companion who can cater to their needs. This is why they will express their love towards you by following you, sitting or sleeping on your feet, and simply being near you.
However, some of the ways can cause inconvenience when they behave in an odd way, so the owner can always teach them his ways as they are flexible in nature and will easily learn through behavioral training.
