If you’re wondering, why does my dog always sit on me, these are the most common causes of your pup’s behavior:
- Your dog is craving attention
- It’s bored and needs mental stimulation
- Sitting on your lap makes your dog feel safe
- Your dog is trying to douse you in its scent
Why Does My Dog Always Sit On Me?
Dogs never cease to amaze us with their weird. With that in mind, have you ever wondered, Why does my dog always sit on me?
What could be the cause of this behavior, and more importantly, is your dog trying to tell you something?
Furthermore, do all dogs behave this way, or is it just your pup? Keep reading to find out.
Why Does My Dog Always Sit On Me: Common Causes
The first thing you should know is that your dog’s behavior is not an attempt to establish dominance over you.
If you own a large breed, I know how easy it is to think that your dog is trying to show you who’s boss. However, that’s far from the truth!
In fact, there are four reasons why dogs like to jump onto our laps every chance they get:
- Your pup is trying to tell you to give it some attention
- It’s bored and needs mental stimulation
- Your dog feels safest when it’s on your lap
- Your doggo wants to mark you with its scent
Why Does My Dog Always Sit On Me: The Attention-Seeker
Overall, dogs are social creatures, and they love to form close relationships with their owners and do their best to form an unbreakable bond with you.
Most of the time, that means sitting in your lap as much as possible!
Furthermore, if your pet feels neglected by you., and it’s trying to tell you to feed it. Or, maybe you forgot to take it for a walk? Whatever the case.
For example, if your dog wants to draw your attention to something you missed (let’s say an empty food bowl), it will most likely jump onto your lap, and then run to its food bowl and back onto your lap again.
Why Does My Dog Always Sit On Me: Lack of Mental Stimulation
Canines need plenty of exercises, no matter how old they are, to stay mentally stimulated.
If there’s one thing I’ve come to learn throughout the decades of being a dog owner, it’s that a bored dog will jump on anything and everything in its path.
If your pup starts frantically jumping on your furniture, then onto your lap, and all over your house, it should be clear that it needs to get some exercise.
Dogs depend on their daily walk to stay happy and healthy, so don’t let your puppy down!
Why Does My Dog Always Sit On Me: Safety Reasons
Your dog will always consider you its protector. You’re there to give it food, water, shelter, and, most importantly, plenty of love.
This gesture is incredibly sweet. What’s more, it’s also one of the purest forms of love in the world.
For one thing, your dog feels safe in your lap is that it’s covered in your scent. Furthermore, while it’s sitting on your lap, your dog feels safe because you’re watching over it.
Keep in mind that even if you’re not a big fan of your dog jumping onto your lap every chance it gets, sometimes you have to take one for the team.
What’s a few dog hairs and a bit of mud compared to your dog’s well-being?
Why Does My Dog Always Sit On Me: Learned Behavior
Dogs start learning things as soon as they’re born. Some things are taught to them by their mothers, such as proper grooming and survival skills.
However, as a dog owner, that means you’re in charge of its behavior.
Basically, if you teach your puppy that it’s perfectly fine to jump onto your lap, it will grow up thinking that this behavior is acceptable.
In fact, your dog will likely seem bewildered the first time you shoo it off your lap! It’s perfectly understandable if you look at it from your dog’s perspective.
Furthermore, you may be wondering whether this behavior is limited to only small breeds, or what some people like to call lap dogs. Unfortunately, it’s not.
One of my good friends owns a long-haired German Shepherd that weighs about 90 lbs.
You would think that the dog is aware of its size, but that’s not the case, his incredibly fluffy, 90-pound dog tries with all its might to sit on his lap.
Obviously, if the dog managed to actually jump on the lap, he’d end up injuring my friend. , and its rear legs remain on the ground.
This results in a hilarious half-sitting, half-standing position, but it looks adorable!
Ultimately, my friend admitted to me that he doesn’t mind when his dog behaves this way and that it started doing so while it was still a puppy.
Why Does My Dog Always Sit On Me: Smells Like Doggo Spirit
Your dog feels safe when it can smell your scent. However, your dog feels even safer when it can smell its own scent on you.
So, while your dog is lounging about on your lap, it’s also leaving its scent on you, thus marking you as its owner.
Moreover, if you have another animal’s scent on you, your dog will want to get rid of it by rolling around on your lap. Love it or hate it; this is just something that dogs do!
Why Does My Dog Always Sit On Me and How to Deal With It
If you’re not a fan of your dog’s behavior, there are a few things you can do to discourage it from sitting on you.
However, before I get into it, I would like you to keep in mind that none of these methods will change your dog’s behavior overnight.
In fact, teaching your dog not to sit on you can take anywhere from several weeks to months, and in some cases, you may not be able to do so on your own, but preferably with the help of a dog trainer.
Teach Your Dog to Sit and Stay
If you haven’t done so already, it’s best to teach these commands to your dog while it’s a puppy. However, it’s never too late. Once your pup learns both commands.
After a while, your dog will get used to this command. Ultimately, it will stop jumping in your lap as soon as you sit down.
Comfort Your Dog With and Old Sweater
If you suspect that your dog feels anxious and jumps onto your lap to feel safe, the best thing to do is put an old sweater into your pup’s house.
That way, your dog will feel safe.
Take Your Dog Out More Than Once a Day
As I mentioned, exercise is essential. , try taking it for a walk twice a day.
Final Thoughts
After reading my article, I hope you have a better understanding of your dog’s behavior.
Pretty much all dogs like to sit on their owner’s lap; the only difference is their reason for doing so.
For those of you who were wondering, why does my dog always sit on me, the main thing you should remember is that this behavior isn’t harmful towards you or your dog.
So never punish your pet for it. You can train it to stop doing so but always use positive reinforcement when doing so.
