Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Why do dogs lean on you?

I HELD LADY SO HOLLY COULD GET A PICTURE.
I was just thinking about dogs leaning on you. Some dogs lean on me, and it's obvious they want attention. Maybe they want petted.

 Or maybe they're hiding from a person or another dog, and they feel comfortable (and safe) around me.

I've always wondered if it's partly about dominance.

We've had Lady since October 2002, and she's never once leaned on me. But she lets me know when she wants petted, fed or let outside. She gets lovey; she just doesn't lean.

 Lady has run to me when she was afraid, but there's no leaning. She'll burrow between my legs or lay down underneath where I'm sitting.

 I just found an online article about dog leaning. I also found a YouTube video that says a dog is looking for attention when it leans on you.

Any ideas on the subject?

NOTE: Lady passed on Sept. 17, 2016.
EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK



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Thursday, February 18, 2016

Misc.: Back at the dog park with Dixie

(NOTE: I won't post often; just occasionally.)

SMILING LADY AT THE DOG PARK
Sept. 28, 2016: I haven't gone to the dog park lately, mostly because I was afraid Lady wouldn't survive it. She didn't die at the park, but she did pass at home on Sept. 17.

 Holly and I tentatively adopted a beagle yesterday, just 10 days after Lady's passing. I took her to the dog park this morning (I saw Jim and Willow but no one else I recognized), and we've already taken three short walks in the neighborhood.

 They were calling her Lacy at the Forsyth Humane Society, but I think we'll call her Dixie.

 July 3, 2016: Today at the dog park, I ran into a man I recognized, but I didn't recognize his dogs. Weird.

 I also recognized John and his sweet dogs Daisy and Gracie.

 I was chatting with a woman through a fence when a couple came in with three children and two dogs. A puppy went YIPE! and made Lady jump back, but nothing came of it.

 I couldn't stand all of the noise and activity on the little-dog side, so we soon came home. Besides, it was drizzling.

 June 24, 2016: I was scared today when I saw Lady on her side in the living room and noticed that her water bowl nearby in the kitchen was bone-dry.

 First, I roused her, which wasn't that hard. Relieved, I quickly filled the water bowl.

 For some reason, though, she didn't drink immediately; I heard her drinking later.

 Since then, I've made certain she had plenty of water.

 May 8, 2016: Today has special significance for me; it would have been my mother's 101st birthday. Happy birthday, Ma.

 Lady and I went to the dog park this morning (8:30), and John was there with Daisy and Gracie. There was also a young woman with a sweet puppy named Marley. So we joined them in the big-dog side.

 We went down to the shade, and soon Jim showed up with Willow, and we saw Bo and several other dogs (and people) we recognized.

 Lady had to show her displeasure a few times when dogs tried to play with her, and she got knocked on her butt once (I didn't see how it happened). But overall it worked out well (although it was odd being there on a Sunday morning). We stayed about two hours and came home.

 March 31, 2016: We went to the dog park early (8 a.m.) today, and, yes, they finally had turned on the water. It ran slowly, but it ran.

 We went to the small-dog side because a loud dog was in the big-dog side. As soon as we got settled, the man took his dog and went away.

Then two guys took lawn mowers into the big-dog side, and we listened to that racket for awhile. One of them stopped and opened the gate between the two sides, and Lady naturally went through the gate into the big-dog side.

I'd left her leash on the fence, so I went around the long way. I hooked her to the leash because I knew the guy who was mowing the little-dog side would soon came back to the big-dog side and then open the fence to leave the park. I didn't want her to get out, so I held her near me until he left.

We saw a few dogs we knew, including Willow, Buster and Daisy. Daisy was giving this bigger dog (maybe Gracie) a really hard time. We stayed about an hour and a half.

March 26, 2016: Amazingly, the water is still off at the dog park.

 We went at 7:45 today miss the crowd that came after 9 a.m. There was a man an his Pekingese puppy on the small-dog side for a few minutes, but they never came over with us.

 Lady just did her normal walking, sniffing, looking, peeing, etc. When she laid down, we left.

 March 21, 2016: Spring is here, but there's still no water in the fountains at the dog park. There were no poop bags in the station up front, either.

 A woman had her dog Gewehr (German for rifle; pronounced Guh-VEER) at the park today. She tried to get him to run and retrieve a ball, but he wasn't into it.

Lady just walked around and looked, as usual.

March 15, 2016: Still no water in the fountains at the dog park. A woman was bringing a water jug from the big-dog side to the small-dog side, but I told her no water. She said she thought she saw someone use the fountain, and I checked it; no water.

 They used to turn on the water around March 1. Last year, it was around March 10 or 11.

March 14, 2016: I noticed today that they still haven't turned the water back on at the dog park. It's not likely to freeze at this point in the year, so it's time.

March 4, 2016: We went to the dog park today, but we never actually went into the dog park. We walked around the outside of the dog park.

There were some active dogs in the big-dog side that Lady could not have handled, and I wanted to take her into the little-dog side. But there were little dogs in there.

 When people left the little-dog side, I thought we were in. But as we walked toward the little-dog side, two cars pulled up. A man quickly took a big dog in there, and the other car drove away. That dog was hard looking but seemed friendly enough. But I was worried, so we came home.

Maybe I was overcautious, but I worry when someone takes a big, rough-looking dog into the little-dog side. They're keeping the dog away from similar-sized dogs for a reason.

 We'll try again tomorrow. 

March 3, 2016: It rained today, so Lady had to content herself around here. This evening, I was going to Food Lion, and she wanted to go, too. So I took her; she had to stay in the car.

When we got home, I hooked her on her line on the carport, and she got wet. We had to towel her off.

Today would have been my dad's 99th birthday. He was born March 3, 1917.

March 2, 2016: We hadn't been to the dog park for awhile, partly because of snow and partly because of cold. We went today around 4:30 in the afternoon, and I was cold.

We saw lots of people and dogs, and we recognized at least one dog, Chase. He didn't even try to jump up on me. One brown dog named Jackson barked at me a bit, then later came over to say hi. I had my hood up, and I think it puzzled him. He sniffed my glove, and I suspect he caught Lady's scent.

Feb. 19, 2016: I was worried at the dog park today. A woman had three small children, who were trying to pet dogs. One kid was trying to hug Lady, and she was trying to get away from him. Fortunately, they didn't stay long.

 But then a couple showed up with a baby. I took Lady over to the small-dog side, and they were still there when we left.

 I did run into Joe, someone I know pretty well, and we talked a few minutes.

Feb. 18, 2016: Lady and I went to the dog park today. Two women brought a King Charles Cavalier puppy into the little-dog side, and it was afraid of Lady at first. It was afraid of me, too, but it finally came by to say hi; I was glad it did.

His name is Georgie, after King George.  I told them I would have named him Charlie, after King Charles (Cavalier).

 I also saw Wanda Sorah and her dog Spyder.
EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK



More entries from The Dog Blog











Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal


(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)


(the book of great NASCAR stories)




More blog entries by Tom Gillispie







Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

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