Hey Guys

Just thought I would ask you guys a quick question!

Mitz is a happy well balanced dog and has never had any behavioural problems. (Apart from posted a while ago about being destructive!)
But when she meets other dogs, she tuns off to meet them, then she always lays on her back with the tip of her tail wagging like mad and then when they have sniffed her 'area' and she sees theyre ok, she jumps up and starts to play and have fun.

I found this on a webpage and wondered if anyone else knows this?

Answer: This type of behaviour is common in dogs with a gentle nature that don't want any trouble.
By laying down and keeping still, Meg can assess the intentions of the dog approaching and weigh up whether they may be safe to play with or not.
It also allows the other dog time to decide if they want to approach or not, and signals to them that she is not a threat and is safe to play with.
For dogs that are not confident about their ability to use aggression to see off another dog if it turns nasty, this is are very effective way of ensuring that they stay safe when encountering other dogs.

Does anyone elses dog do this? And is it normal?

Cheers in Advance! ;)

I would expect pups to do this if meeting a dominant adult, and certainly when I had my first two dogs of my current breed this was the standard approach for both of them, with the first as she was an only dog and her social skills only developing, and with her daughter because she was a very submissive sort as a pup.

With later dogs they were so well socialised with the number of adults here that they never felt the need to be so placating as they could read other dogs and behave accordingly much better than the first two.

I have found that pups that I have bred who have had the benefit of more than their Mum learn canine manners much better than my first litter who only had Mum.

Have to point out all my dogs are pretty confident individuals, like to keep the peace, but can stick up for themselves if the need arises, so never get bullied.

Oh I have also seen this behaviour on overly bouncy pups, who have learnt that their advances are often met in a negative way so they learn to appease this way.

The last example sounds a bit like Mitz! :rolleyes:

She has never been aggressive but has been on the recieving end of it a few times, never bitten as shes way too quick to be caught, but has been snapped at for good reasons and some for no reason, just a horrible dog on the end of the other persons lead!

When she was a puppy she used to wee just before meeting another dog, so that maybe why.
I am grateful that our girl is so placid, with Staffs you dont want a dog that will retaliate with force but woud be nice for her to show a bit of back bone! :D

Bonnie my 13 mth golden is very lively and playful and sociable with other dogs once she knows them. If an unknown dog approaches her she will either sit very still while they have a sniff at her or she will roll onto her back as you describe. It seems to work for her because the other dog either moves away or starts to play. I would much rather she behaved like this than just barge in and possibly get told off by other dogs. She also shuffles along with her bottom almost on the floor if she is coming face to face with a large group of dogs walking towards us ! Her other favourite thing to do if she's not sure is to run back to 'mum' and glue herself to my leg

Our 2yr old male Utonagan acts very similar to Rach85's dog. He stands 29" at the shoulder so I suppose could look a bit scary if he ran up to another dog but he's never so much as growled. He usually ends up on his back, legs in the air until the other dog has had a good sniff at him & realises he's not a threat. Wouldn't have him any other way, fantastic nature, one of the reasons we got him.

My current and past very submissive females only did this with people, not other dogs.  They both grew out of it but I will never forget one friend's first meeting with our rescue ESS.  Not only did she lie on her back and wag her tail, she also pee'd and with the tail wagging on the concrete floor pee went flying all over my friend.

Molly lays on her side & wags her tail very fast,  but only when she meets her friend Scooby, a male dog. She tends to do it when he is ignoring her, but it always gets his attention!
He is the dominate one, if he drinks from her water bowl, Molly does, if he starts digging, Molly does. When over the fields she follows him everywhere. They both cry & look back at each other when it's time to go home. I personally thinks it's lovely that she has a best mate.
If any other dog ignores Molly when out, she 'walks' on her tummy in front of them...I think she likes showing off!