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There's no way I'm the only one with a dog who thinks I have absolutely nothing better to do than to spend all of my free time petting her. Forget about stopping to use your hands to do anything else after petting her for a few minutes—she will quickly rebel and begin to headbutt her head into my hand.
This is something plenty of dogs out there do, including Bentley, the Golden Retriever.
Bentley's mom is petting him on the head, but every time her hand goes still, he moves his head to put it under her hand, as if he's telling her, "No, start doing that again!"
Dogs can't exactly ask us to pet them in words, so it makes sense that they'd find a way to communicate that need by putting their head in the right place.
If she's not going to do anything else with that hand, she might as well be petting him... and I'm pretty sure that Bentley would agree with me on this one.
Related: This Golden Retriever Has Strong Feelings About the Dishwasher
Why Do Dogs Put Their Heads Under Our Hands?
A lot of times, the gesture Bentley is doing does mean the dog would like you to continue petting them... but sometimes, it has a totally different meaning (and all the options are super sweet).
According to the dog training website K9 Basics, your pup might be looking for affection, but they also might be headbutting you like a cat (otherwise known as nuzzling) because:
- It's their way of telling you that they love you and trust you.
- You smell really good (dogs do have that strong sense of smell, after all).
- They're scared of something and going to you for comfort.
- They're marking their territory.
My favorite reason for this behavior is that it can sometimes happen when a dog picks up on our emotions. Knowing how precious dogs are, it wouldn't be surprising if they were just trying to cheer us up at every opportunity they get.
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