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Many Adults, 1 Boy & 1 Dog's Montessori Life in a Singapore flat

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Category: Behaviour Page 5 of 13

My dog loves her butt rubs! But why? – Dog Behaviour Explained!


Donna loves a butt rub!! (Enhanced) from weliveinaflat on Vimeo.

The dog’s rump and why it needs scratching from humans?

Well technically, that area at the base of her tail is called the rump, I think. It’s funny how rubbing that spot causes her to wag furiously, and how the wagging stops when the rubbing stops. And also how she would draw circles in the air with her nose when she really enjoys getting her rump scratched.

But why does my dog look sort of blissed out sometimes when she gets a butt rub? According to this Elizabeth Tumbarello article, the area of the dog’s rump at the base of his/her tail is filled with sensitive nerve endings. In Donna’s case the sensation of scratching is pleasurable because of this. However, this is not universal to all dogs. Some dogs may not like it so approach strange dog rumps with care ;)

And why does Donna blatantly present her rear end to the human and demand to be scratched her on the rump?

Besides the simple fact that it feels good, Dr. Bonnie Beaver, professor of veterinary medicine at Texas A&M University, explained on thebark.com that the rear is also ‘a very hard area for them to reach themselves… and how nice it is if someone will scratch that for you.’

Dog butt rub / scratch - itchy butt

Dog butts itch, human!

OK, so I get that Donna sometimes needs a hand. And when she doesn’t get it, she goes and rubs her side against the back of the sofa D: You can imagine the layers of hair she has left there – – Actually I lie. Even when we give her a hand, she still likes to go rub against the back of the sofa. Sigh.

How to tell if your dog wants a butt rub

Look at the video.

Step 1, Turn around and unceremoniously plant the rear end in the human’s face :P

Step 2, Turn head back and give human the look. You either demand it or you plead for it. In Donna’s case, she just takes it for granted that it’s gonna happen so she just stands there and waits.

Step 3, If you are satisfied with the human’s services, give her your toy as a reward.

Step 4, But remember to keep her focused on the task at hand. Humans get distracted by toys easily.

If the dog moves away or removes her rump from my hand, I would safely assume my services are no longer needed. ; ) Mission accomplished!

She could at least treat me to a coffee… :P

Does your dog like his/her butt scratched? What does he/she do to get your attention for that? 

Is your dog scratching too much to be normal?
If he/she is only scratching in 1-2 spots, it might be insect bites or hotspots. Here are some great itch-relief products on Amazon.com

1.     2.     3.
1. Earthbath Green Tea Leaf Three-In-One Deodorizing Spritz for Dogs, 8-Ounce
2. Earthbath All Natural Hot Spot and Itch Relief Deodorizing Spritz, 8-Ounce
3. Espree Aloe Vera Jelly for Pets

 

References
– The short tail of the rump scratch
What is the most sensitive part on your dog?
– Dogs and butt scratches – Boys vs Girls
– Why do dogs like to have the base of their tails scratched – the nest
– Why do dogs like to have the base of their tails scratched – ehow
– Why do dogs like to have the base of their tails scratched – daily puppy

Playing dogs – Donna and the Schnauzer

singapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzer

Donna has a few friends in the neighbourhood that she likes to play with. The trouble is, we don’t actually bump into these friends very often simply because the dogs get walked at different times by grandparents, by domestic helpers, by working humans, etc, etc.

singapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzer

Donna generally would love to approach any dog but I sometimes have to rein her in because some small dogs are very vocal about the mongrel and I have no idea whether these small dogs are just barking for joy or barking a warning.

Lassie the Schnauzer is a quiet dog that tenses and stands very still whenever Donna and I chance to walk past. We’ve chatted somewhat, but because the schnuazer usually seems so tense, Donna only gets a passing sniff of the schnauzer as we hurry past.

At first I thought this was inevitable, since my previous experience with senior dogs was that they just didn’t like to play with Donna. And yes, Lassie the Schnauzer is a senior dog about 10-years-old.

singapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzer

So imagine my surprise when the third time we encountered this particular senior Schnauzer, he seemed to have lost some of his tenseness. In fact, he became downright friendly and playful after a while.

And once they started, they didn’t seem to want to stop! :D

singapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzer

Here are photos of them playing and wrestling around. ; ) I can only assume that the small space may have influence they play behaviour to focus on wrestling rather than chasing each other around in wide arcs (which is something that Donna likes to do.)

singapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzersingapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzersingapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzer
singapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzersingapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzersingapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzer
singapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzer
singapore dogs - mongrel and schnauzer

I personally think Lassie the Schnauzer looks very debonair with his fringe over one eye. Donna just looks silly with all her weird and funny facial expressions caught in the action shots. :P


with 2 Brown Dawgs
and Heart Like a Dog.

[Video] Why the Kong Genius Leo makes my dog look stupid

Look what I’ve got here, Donna!!


(It’s the Kong Genius Leo treat dispensing toy for dogs.)

More videos ahead after the jump!

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These toys have abandonment issues

dog's abandoned bones in her bedding in her cratedog's abandoned stuffed rabbit on bootsdog's abandoned bear on the floor

Donna the local mongrel doesn’t have any hunting dog genes in her, I think. She doesn’t carry sticks when we are out for a walk or run. But this black and tan pup is pretty cute, the way she runs to grab a toy in her mouth to welcome you when you come home, or when she is so happy she is going out.

Toys? What are toys? They can remain where she threw them.

And Donna gets to go out too? Hooray! And then she spits her rabbit onto Mr P’s boots conveniently, wriggles about in joy before settling into a sit for the collar to go over her head.

Yes, Mr P, you’ll find that rabbit still perched there when you come home tonight. That is, if she hasn’t got it back in her mouth to welcome you home. ;)

P/s: Visit our home page to see what changes I have made to the site!


Related

It starts the moment you return
Re-homed dog abandons bear
dog welcomes human home with toy dog in her mouth close shot of dog's legs walking past abandoned toy bear

Reinforcing Heel and why she LOVES it!

I think all of our dogs have probably made the happy face at us when they know a treat is soon to come. This is Donna working on heel and trotting along beside me with her eyes shining up towards me in anticipation. A very silly yet endearing face. I call it the Treat Face.

Of course, she has this other face that Eko is demonstrating very well over here. I call that the Pathetic Face. I’ll show you Donna’s pathetic face another time. ;) Though I think most people will prefer the Treat Face to the Pathetic Face. At least, I do :P

Got a photo of your dog/pet’s Treat face or a Pathetic face or both? Give me a link in the comments and I’ll go see. ; )


Discover new blogs and pet photos!
 

Surrender that burger, human! – begging dog

Give up that burger, human!Sometimes, the more the treasure looks out of reach, the more precious it seems.

Over the Chinese New Year, we visited Gentle Paws the shelter that Donna came from and one of the people there said that they liked the Donna videos. So I’ve dug out an older video taken the same time as this photo to share.

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Christmas week, a year ago and today

sleeping dog for Christmas postHappy Christmas Eve and have a merry week everyone.
I have a short fictional piece for you because I don’t pretend to know what my dog is thinking. :P It is inspired by observations of Donna last year when she was still in the shelter and this year, Donna is sleeping as I typed this. Planning to get Donna a nice fat juicy steak for Christmas Day tomorrow, since we have to be off to our relatives later today without her.

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Whining goes the mounting dog

dogs saying helloGoing Cuckoo Over Haiku*

 

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Haiku – Get me out of here!

Donna goes to daycare and gets frightenedA series of haiku about Donna’s first day at dog daycare. The daycare centre said Donna made a few dogs angry because she kept trying to mount them. But she learnt to avoid those dogs angry at her and play with other dogs instead.

When she returned home, it seemed like dog daycare has made her more hungry than usual.

Read More

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