Taylor Reardon, Certified Dog Trainer

🌟MYTH BUSTER: “Dogs only roll onto their backs when they want a belly rub.”

➡️ We will post a NEW reel soon to dig more into this fascinating topic!

🌟What do we see in THIS video?

✅ A “tap out”

A “tap out” is one way that a dog may choose to communicate their discomfort, stress, or lack of interest in being touched (IN THAT MOMENT).

Just before this video was taken, we had been walking for about ten minutes in 50 degree weather.

What the video doesn’t show is that moments beforehand, this dog began to emotionally shut down due to stress.

🚩Notice how he leans away when his mom lovingly offers him a piece of hot dog?

➡️ In *some* cases, a lack of appetite may indicate that the dog’s stress levels are too high for any proper learning or effective socialization to take place.

You may see a dog do this and think something along the lines of “You’re already overheating? You just want to lay there and let me pet you?”

If so, you’re not alone in this thought process/accidental misinterpretation. The large majority of my clients are unaware of the many ways that their dog communicates their desires and discomforts until it plays out in real time during a training lesson.

✅ This dog rolled away from the hand reaching out, closed his mouth, and licked his nose (this is referred to as a “tongue flick”).

At home, he LOVES to snuggle and enjoys eating snacks, just like most Lab mixes! 🚩However, in this INSTANCE, he was quite worried about his surroundings.

The client’s goal is to build his confidence w/ unfamiliar people and dogs. As *part* of the training process, it’s my responsibility to educate his family about dog body language. In doing so, our sweet friend will learn that his space will be respected by unfamiliar people without growling at them, and his family will learn how to advocate for his best interests. Trust and confidence take time to build!❤️

📚A FEW of the other reasons dogs roll over:
1). Relax during petting

2). Appease an unfamiliar dog who may pose as a potential threat

3). Self-Handicapping: Accommodate their playstyle for a smaller dog

#dogtraining #labradorretriever #dogcommunication #dogbodylanguage #blacklabsofinstagram