You may be wondering why your dog starts laying on his back the moment he sees you? Does he do this out of instinct, or are there other reasons for that?
He does it for various intentions, such as to express his submission to you, to let his guard down and have a good rest, to show you his happiness, requesting a belly rub from you, demonstrating his respect for you and to cool himself.
He Is Expressing His Submission To You
When your dog exposes his belly (which is the most vulnerable part of his body) to you, it is a sign of his trust and love for you.
It is a signal that he is ready for an affectionate cuddle and wants you to give him a nice warm scratch on his belly.
Do not be surprised if your dog starts to snore when you pet him, as he is feeling stimulated and happy.
It also shows that your dog is being submissive to you, and he knows that he is in a safe hand.
He is trying to say “I’ll know you will take good care of me!”
What you should do is to give your dog a nice warm scratch or rub on his belly and tell him “Good Boy” in a happy voice.
When you perform this, you are showing him that you care about him and that he is important to you.
This will fill him with lots of happiness and good feelings and will help to improve the bonding with him.
He Is Letting His Guard Down When He Sees You
This is a sign that he is feeling secure and comfortable seeing you.
He feels your presence is a comfort to him and by rolling over on his back, he is showing you that he is letting his guard down as he believes you will keep him from any threat.
In many cases, this occurs when you have trained your dog to see you as his leader, and as one he can count on for protection.
This is his sign of relaxation and his desire for you to come near to him and give him a nice rub on his belly.
When you see this behavior in your dog, give him a reassuring pat on the head and rub his belly and tell him how much you appreciate his trust in you.
Dogs are very intuitive, and they can sense if you are happy with their behavior.
He Is Happy To See You
Laying on his back is one of the ways your dog shows that he is happy to see you, and is a gentle request for a belly rub.
This is likely to be the case when you are away from home for a long period of time, and he is missing you.
You may be surprised to know that an hour of your time is equivalent to 7 hours of a dog’s time.
Thus, if you are away on a business trip for a week, your dog will see that you have been away for 1,176 hours!
So it is no wonder that he misses you so much, and he is happy to see you again.
In this situation, you should get reacquainted with him and let him know that everything is going to be okay.
Gently scratch behind his ears, rub his belly, stroke his head and spend some quality time with him.
This is a great moment for you to “catch up” with him.
Any slightest attention from you will make him feel good, and it will be like getting a treasure from you.
He Is Requesting For A Belly Rub From You
You may have given your dog a belly rub before, and he likes the feeling of having your hand gently massaging his tummy.
Here’s why:
1. Massaging your dog’s belly makes him feel calm, relaxed and comfortable.
2. It lets him know you are paying attention to him and that you care for him. In fact, it is one of the best ways to bond with your dog.
3. It gives him an opportunity to feel more secure in your presence.
Belly rubbing is an effective way to show your affection for him and to build his trust in you.
He Is Showing His Respect For You
A dog will often show his respect to a pack leader or dominant dog by lowering his head to touch the floor or laying over his back to expose his belly.
This is a sign to show you that he means no threat and is showing his submission to you.
He acknowledges you as his alpha and trusts that you will take good care of him, which is why he is willing to expose his most vulnerable part of his body (which is his belly) to you!
As you are giving him that gentle scratch, you are telling him that you accept him for what he is, and you are the boss in this relationship.
This is in fact a very positive sign, because it tells you that your dog knows that you are the “pack leader”, and he will follow your lead obediently.
He Is Telling You That His Back Is Itchy
When your dog has an itch on his back, and wants you to give him a scratch, you will see him keep rolling his back over the floor when he sees you.
As he couldn’t scratch his back just like a human, he had to depend on you.
Keep a lookout on his coat to check if there are any fleas or ticks.
If there are, you need to remove them using a fine-tooth flea comb.
These parasites can cause your dog a lot of discomfort and may result in serious infection.
He Is Trying To Tell You – “I’m Feeling Too Hot”
The environment is too hot for him and he is trying to cool down.
Because his belly has less fur, lying on his back will be an ideal posture for him to stay cool.
Exposing his belly to you is his way of telling you he is feeling hot and also to help him get away from the heat.
You will also see him panting away as that helps to cool him down as well.
What you should do is to prepare a cooling mat for him so that he has a place to go whenever he needs to cool down.