Submissive Response to children !
 

I was walking Suzi the other day, and we were accross the street at a apartment complex. There is a little playground , where children were at. A young child , around 3 yrs old was there, and had a bag of chips in one hand .Suzi jumped up on her. The little girl was scared and I stopped Suzi from this behavior right away. However, the little girl kept coming over to Suzi, and i had to keep Suzi at a distance.
I was also keeping an eye out for my teenaged disabled son at the same time, where their wer ea group of boys.
The next thing I knew it, saw the little girl came up again over to Suzi, this time Suzi , instantly rolled over onto her back! Suzi stayed on her back too, and the little girl bent down and pet Suzi's tummy, the child was full of smiles, delighted ! I was stunned that my dog had behved like that towards such a young child?
Every time the little girl came over, Suzi would roll over ! I never had seen her do this before. The child never tried to pick Suzi up or anything. And Suzi allowed the little girl to pet her.
It was touching that my Dog was was behaving in such a submissive manner, or was she scared of the child? Isn't rolling on the back a sign of the dog , saying, "don't hurt me?"
Suzi did the behavior again towards an older child the same day, when the girl pet her. Is it that Suzi just likes belly rubs, or is it that she is a little scared of kids?

Laci always rolls over when someone approaches, I can figure her out either , sometimes she cowers as she goes up to people , I swear it looks like we beat her:eek::eek:
I have recently learned she doesnt care for small children or maybe is the way the move so quickly and put thier hands on her so fast..

No..I don't think it means don't hurt me. The dog **knew** the girl was scared and pup wanted lovies and handled it the perfect way!! You should be very proud of your baby!!

This is so interesting, I'm reading a few books on dog body language at the moment. I've been a bit distressed to discover that Thor has been making a lot of conciliatory gestures towards me that I've missed.

Here are some other things I believe that you can look for:

- Is her body tensed or relaxed?
- Are her eyes wide (uncomfortable), or soft and blinking?
- Is she looking at or away from the child? Are her eyes pointed in the same direction as her nose (relaxed), or away (uncomfortable)?
- Is her mouth relaxed and slightly open, or is it held closed, indicating tension? Is she licking her lips? This indicates a "personal space violation".

Hope this is helpful!

I dont think they always do it when they are afraid Jewels does it when I go to pet her sometimes and I know she wants her tummy rubbed

Thank you! I need to further observe Suzi more closely to see what is excatly going on .
Can you reccomend some good books to read/buy ? My little Suzi is a highly energetic, friendly dog towards humans . SHe is a kisser too. I'd love to understand more on dog body language.

Jackson does this ALL the time to my 6 foot tall, deep voiced, step-dad. He never looks scared or anxious or anything. I think he just knows he's in charge (and that he'll get a belly rub! :p) He does this to me too all the time! He's being submissive.

Roxy is real quick to do a belly up in a submissive, happy, no tension, mouth slightly open relaxed, eyes soft & wiggly with the approach of dogs. To date, she hasn't been approached by any who were anything but friendly. Around home this same behavior is for a belly rub. I think if Suzi had been in a fear state, she wouldn't have been so cooperative w/the little girl.

Here is a very short one:
On Talking Terms With Dogs:...">On Talking Terms With Dogs:..." />On Talking Terms With Dogs:...
And here is a hefty one:
Canine Body Language: A...">Canine Body Language: A..." />Canine Body Language: A...

It's fascinating. The author of the second one emphatically states that our dogs talk to us all the time, and it's true! I am not an expert by any means, but now I see dozens of little things that Thor is doing to talk to me. Unfortunately, a lot of them seem to say "please give me a little more space." Me picking him up and burying my face in his fur? Apparently not his favorite thing in the world. :(

I remember a training show with a tiny poodle where the trainer said that little dogs get their personal space invaded a lot, and I think I see what she means now.

Oh thank you. I've been wanting something like this. Have always wondered if I'm reading dogs correctly. Thanks!