If your dog has a habit of coming to sleep between your legs, it can mean a lot of things. And all of them are positive. The only problem that may arise is if he acts this way all the time. Especially when you let him sleep in your bed.
The reason may vary from anxiety to showing affection. But it is still necessary to take into account the fact that very few studies have been carried out. However, the existing results are still the subject of much debate.
So, if you are wondering like me, ‘Why Does My Dog Sleep Between My Legs’, follow us while we try to unveil the topic.
Why Does My Dog Sleep Between My Legs: Reasons
Clues will likely accompany the different reasons your dog sleeps between your legs as to how he does it.
If your dog sleeps between your legs, as well as with many other actions, they have some hidden facts. They are surely due to the fact that due to learning during their upbringing, they have adapted to show you their feelings in one way or another. That is why you must recognize if your dog is possessive, dominant, fearful, obedient, or polite, among other personalities.
Below, I’ll mention a number of reasons your dog might go between your legs and how to make them comfortable.
To overcome Anxiety
When you ask, ‘why does my dog lay on my legs,’ the first thing to consider is anxiety.
The reason your dog got between your legs could be that he is anxious. If he’s anxious, going between your legs might help him feel more secure and calm his nerves. This would be more likely if he does it when something might make him anxious. For example- another person or a dog who doesn’t know.
He may also be doing it because he has some separation anxiety. This is where being alone causes anxiety in your dog. This would be more likely if he only seems to do so before he knows you are going out. And if he shows signs of anxiety when you leave, reassure him that you are coming back.
If your dog seems to be doing this due to his anxiety, it would be helpful to try to understand. Try and figure out what is causing him to be anxious and to stop it. You might find that desensitization training will work especially well. This is where you slowly introduce the thing that makes her anxious and reward her for not being anxious.
To Overcome Fear or Jealousy
Another reason why your dog sleeps between your legs may be due to fear.
However, sometimes, if you have not raised him, he will try to sleep next to you. In this case, he will do this only when he seeks help to overcome the canine fear.
Then again, sometimes, if you have more than one pet, he may feel jealous. He may sleep in that position simply to show his affection more than others. Although, in this case, it is more common for him to seek accommodation on your torso or beside you in bed.
Submission
He may do it because he is submissive. In the wild, more dominant dogs will show dominance by riding other dogs in a non-sexual way. It could be that getting between your legs is her way of showing that you are the most dominant.
If it is a possessive animal, it is probably because it considers itself your leader within the pack. So, it wants to make sure that you are close to obeying. This is due to having spoiled your pet a lot, giving him what he wanted obediently.
On the contrary, an obedient dog, who recognizes you as the leader, can also sleep on your feet. This also occurs due to the over-protection of the dog.
Protection
The reason your dog sleeps between your legs could be because he is doing it. After all, he is protective. It would be more likely if he seems to be doing it more at times when other people are around. It would also be more likely if he growls at people when they approach.
Seeking attention
It might sleep between your legs because he’s looking for attention. This would be more likely if he does this at times when you haven’t paid him much attention. So, he’s trying to get you to pay him attention.
In this case, it would help pay attention to it throughout the day in training, exercise, and play. However, if you do not want it to go between your legs, it would be important not to reward him. Don’t give him attention with attention when he enters your legs.
You Reward Behavior
Your dog may have learned that sleeping between your legs allows him to get the things he wants. It would be more likely if you tend to reward him with things like attention, tummy rubbing, or other things.
If you want him to stop sleeping between your legs, avoid rewarding him when he does. Instead, try to reward him when he behaves well.
My Dog Sleeps on My Feet in My Bed: Is His Bed Not Comfortable?
When we talk about dog sleeping positions, meaning, there are some truths and some myths. It is essential to overcome the preconceived idea that a dog sleeping in his master’s bed seeks to dominate him. This is not always true. A dominant dog is dominant because he has been trained in this direction. Or at least it is because his master has allowed him to act as he pleases from an early age.
By coming to sleep between your legs, your dog will above all seek a comfortable even in your bed. He needs a warm and restful place where he can sleep in all serenity. He can just as easily adopt this position when you are on the couch. It finds your smell and the heat of your body.
But why not on his own bed?
There lie the solutions. Maybe his bed is not as comfortable as he finds yours. There may be some problems in his bed regarding warmth, comfort, and security. So, the first thing you need to do is inspect his bedding ad to find out what is wrong. Change it if need be.
How do you do it?
However, you will need to take certain hygiene precautions to make his bedding comfortable.
In fact, if you regularly walk it outside, in the forest, or in parks, it can carry ticks or even fleas. If the latter is not a priori dangerous for humans, only unpleasant, ticks represent a real danger. They are indeed carriers of Lyme disease, which strongly impacts the health of human beings who are carriers.
In addition, your dog, with his hair, carries dust, earth, or even grass. It is important to brush it regularly and occasionally to give it a good bath.
If your four-legged friend is interested in sleeping between your legs, you can always place a bedspread to protect your bedding. In addition, remember to deworm your animal regularly so that it is not attacked by various parasites. Especially if it tends to eat grass anywhere.
Also, avoid licking your bolster or pillow. Because when you know everything a dog puts in its mouth, you don’t want to lay on its drool!
My Dog Sleeps Between My Legs: Why Shouldn’t I let Him?
Sleeping with a dog can be nice, but there are also a lot of rather unpleasant reasons. Here are a few:
Lack of hygiene:
Having a dog on the bed will require more cleaning; you will have to change your sheets more regularly. You will find plenty of hair there, especially during the shedding period.
Health:
If your dog has parasites, you are more likely to be infected. They can be fleas, worms, but even more dangerous, I am thinking of ticks. It will be easier for them to pass from your dog to you, and you may get Lyme disease.
The size of the dog:
It seems logical to think that your place in the bed will decrease accordingly if the dog is large. On the other hand, if your dog is very small, be careful not to run over him during the night.
The age of the dog:
If you have a puppy, it may defecate on your bed. And conversely, if you have an old dog, it can become incontinent over the years.
Personal life:
You will lack privacy in your married life. The dog on the bed can become a subject of conflict.
Travel:
If you sleep away from home, dogs may not be allowed to sleep on the bed.
9 Tips to Teach Your Dog Not to Sleep Between Your Legs:
Tip no 1:
Your dog must have HIS place, his basket, his place of refuge. He must always have a place and know how to go on your request. It doesn’t matter whether you sleep with him or not, whether he has access to the sofa or not. Even if it is more often on your sofa or your bed than in its basket, it must have its place!
The sofa or the bed will remain places of sharing. But he will not be able to sleep there for obvious reasons of safety! Thus, offer him a basket where he will know that he can never be disturbed when he is there.
Tip no 2:
The first thing after deciding to regulate access to the bed is making him listen. Always be aware that your dog should be able to get off when you ask him to. He should do it without growling, staying there, or even showing his fangs!
If this is the case, it is because your dog considers this place as his and not as a place of sharing. And therefore, the solution: no access to the bed at all!
Tip no 3:
Know that the dog is an opportunistic animal. So, he will go towards what is pleasing to him, without asking too many questions. In fact, if your bed is more comfortable than his basket, he certainly preferred to climb on your bed.
So, make his basket very comfortable for him to enjoy going there. And conversely, make your bed unpleasant. Do it in the sense that he gets a verbal annoyance from you every time he tries to get there.
Tip no 4:
Also, don’t hesitate to hide some treats in his basket, congratulate him when he goes there, etc. In short: make the action of going in your basket but also the action of staying there very positive!
Tip no 5:
I was talking about consistency at the start. If you decide not to / no longer sleep with your dog: you have to stick to it! Especially if you want to relearn your dog not to sleep between your leg at all, be consistent.
It will be easier to ban him completely rather than sometimes saying yes and sometimes saying no. So, as soon as your dog gets on your bed, indicate a verbal annoyance such as “hush” or “no” firmly. Ask him to go in his place.
Tip no 6:
Concretely, it even seems appropriate to me to completely ban access to the room. First, the door closed, then the door opens with a learning process to give up each time.
Bonus: It will always be easier to prohibit or stop an intention to do rather than an action already in progress. Thus, anticipate your dog’s attitudes as much as possible. This will be easy, especially if he has acquired habits. It will be easy to anticipate them and therefore modify them.
Tip no 7:
At first, sleep with your bedroom door closed. If your dog is crying or barking, ignore him completely. If you talk to him, then you will only reinforce and validate his behavior.
Tip no 8:
Set it up at night in a smaller room, so it feels more secure than the rest of the house. It is often wrong to think that leaving a maximum of space for a dog when he is alone. It is not true that it secures him and makes him more serene. It is, on the contrary, the more space he has, the more vulnerable he will be.
Tip no 9:
Teaching your dog to sleep alone is like teaching him to stay alone without stressing. So, make sure to teach him that being alone: it’s great!
Do it by leaving him a comfortable basket, leaving him toys, etc. You can also leave him an item of clothing that has your scent. So, he will feel soothed and reassured by your olfactory “presence.”
Conclusion
We know many of you winder, “why does my dog sleep between my legs.” We assure you it’s nothing serious. But having your dog between your legs, in your bed, can be problematic if he is very small. If your nights are restless, you can crush it in the middle of the night by suddenly turning around.
Loving and educating your dog also means protecting him against the vagaries of life. This is why we strongly recommend that you teach him to sleep alone.