Breed Trait Or Dominance?

[Bodi's Mom]

Every time I take Bodi anywhere in public, he greets all newcomers the same way - he wags his tail, turns in a circle and proceeds to sit on the persons feet and lean into them, looking up with warm, brown eyes. Almost everyone comments on how demanding and dominant he is, but I really think it's just a Bernese Mountain Dog trait.

This past weekend at a local BMDCA meet, there were about 50 Berners all doing the same thing. Are they all dominant and demanding, or is this something just bred in the dog. Do any other breeds do this?

[Melissa_W]

I think that's silly. It sounds to me like he's just trying to get some loving. lol

[Maxy24]

Dominant!! Apparently everything a dog does is dominant nowadays. If he ignores you, lays on your bed, pees on your bed, begs, walks in front of you, goes through the door in front of you, or now sits on you he is called dominant. Very few dogs actually try to dominate their owners. I think your dog is just looking for some love and attention, he's not dominating anyone I don't think. I love when dogs sit on me. I actually thought Great Danes do this a lot too or perhaps they sit on laps and I've met quite a few Labs who do it.

[Georgygirl]

My grandparent's rottweiler does this. She also tries to grab your shoes in her mouth if you stop petting her and start walking away.:D Needless to say, she's not the most polite dog, but she LOVES to get attention. I would say it's a little demanding, as far as getting attention, but I don't think it's necessarily dominant. I definitely don't think it's breed specific either. I had a Saint Bernard and a golden retriever do this to me too.

[shadowfacedanes]

It's a breed trait. Every berner I've known does this.

And yes, danes are HUGE into leaning, and will sit on your lap or your feet in a heartbeat. Alot of giant breeds seem to share this propensity. I think it's special. It's certainly not dominance, more a show of affection. :)

[Paige]

Bandit does this. Demanding? Yes. Dominant? Nawwwh. Just a big love bug who wants some lovin'.

[corgipower]

i agree. he wants love, and some dogs are more inclined towards physical contact than others. in my limited experience with berners (three of them) they seemed to very much want physical contact, a lot of leaning against people, sitting on feet, so there may be a breed trait as well. which isn't to say that dogs of other breeds don't also do it.

[Xerxes]

It's a breed trait. Every berner I've known does this.


Same here. Most are just fuzzy love hounds.

[darkchild16]

I say breed trait for actually most of big fuzzy ones (newfs, Saints, Berners) Our Saint does that and it drives me insane. Most Saints, Newfs and Berners that I have met do this.

[PFC1]

Every time I take Bodi anywhere in public, he greets all newcomers the same way - he wags his tail, turns in a circle and proceeds to sit on the persons feet and lean into them, looking up with warm, brown eyes. Almost everyone comments on how demanding and dominant he is, but I really think it's just a Bernese Mountain Dog trait.

This past weekend at a local BMDCA meet, there were about 50 Berners all doing the same thing. Are they all dominant and demanding, or is this something just bred in the dog. Do any other breeds do this?

This is exactly what my Berner boy does to everyone. I don't think it's a dominance thing. It's just a Berner trait.

[Zoom]

Bandit does this. Demanding? Yes. Dominant? Nawwwh. Just a big love bug who wants some lovin'.

Ditto.

[elegy]

*eyeroll* why is everything dominance these days?

mushroom does this. he's not usually pushier than just that about it, but he's a lovebug and he would like to be adored thank you please.

[bubbatd]

This is a golden trait too ....sure isn't dominance !

[HarleyD]

Ours come over and sit right at your feet and do the same thing. It's just for attention, not dominance or anything like that. They want to be loved on and not be ignored.
They also walk right beside or behind us wherever we go. Which means we stumble and awful lot especially if we decide we need to take a step back or go back the way we came. LOL Doesn't mean they are dominant...just means they like you and want to know where you are going and what could possibly be more important than petting them. :)

[Denaluvscorgis]

I think he sounds like a big love!!!:) Those brown eyes would melt my heart right away.

[adojrts]

Petie doesn't do this with everyone that he meets, but for those he does....it means he is comfortable with them and he is willing to trust them. For a dog that started out being shy and somewhat fear aggressive, its wonderful to see him behave this way when meeting strangers...........he's come a long ways from the dog that stood back with his hackles up.

[Bodi's Mom]

Thanks everyone for your input. We were just at Petsmart where Bodi leaned so much into Santa when we were taking his picture that he knocked over Santa, the display and a few people!

[angelzeus]

i would say he is just a friendly dog that wants everyones attention

[borzoid]

lol - now what do you want for Christmas Bodi?

Sighthounds are big into leaning and standing on your feet at the same time. A friend of mine breedsd IWs and those big boys will stand on your feet than lean into you - almost like they know they need to keep you from tipping over LOL. Definitely a show of affection.

[Romy]

I'm glad you guys all posted about this. Strider does it too, and he also lays his head on our feet when he lays at our feet. A dog trainer friend of mine claims that he is quote "giving me the finger" and trying to dominate me as he is doing so. :rolleyes: Sure...that's why he does everything I ask him to.

[PixieSticksandTricks]

My grandparent's rottweiler does this. She also tries to grab your shoes in her mouth if you stop petting her and start walking away.:D Needless to say, she's not the most polite dog, but she LOVES to get attention. I would say it's a little demanding, as far as getting attention, but I don't think it's necessarily dominant. I definitely don't think it's breed specific either. I had a Saint Bernard and a golden retriever do this to me too.

My uncles Rottie does thing same thing. I always veiwed it as affection. I love me some dog butt on my feet LOL.

[LilyoftheValley]

Yah see this is Lily's problem. She will come and lay down right on my feet, but what she does not understand is a 80 LB dog does NOT feel good on your toes, I can only imagine what a Newf, or larger dog would feel like... ._.