Little-Known Sign of Contentment in Dogs Is Touching Everyone's Hearts
We love this so much!
Dogs have plenty of ways to show us that they’re happy. Tail wagging, happy tippy-taps, excited barking, and nuzzling are the most common ways we know a dog will tell us they’re happy, but there’s more!
On Wednesday, September 5th, one fur parent shows us one of the more obscure signs of contentment:
I just adore Alf from @alfandbenji. How adorable is he?
In the video, we can see Alf curling his paws as he plays with the toy his dad had just given to him. This is behavior we see all the time: cats are notorious for “making biscuits,” but the behavior doesn’t just stop there. Cats knead when they’re content, and dogs do, too.
They’ll most commonly do this on top of a new toy, their favorite blanket, or you, their caretaker. If they’re going to knead on you, they often like to stretch out first. Dogs doing it hurts a little more: their claws are thicker and they’re heavier. If you see a pup kneading, there’s nothing you should try to do about it: they’ll keep going until they get bored.
Of course, not all dogs are kneaders. One of mine loves to do it, but the other one almost never will. Though it’s a sign of contentment, it’s certainly not the only sign that they’re content. A wagging tail is just as good!
If you think it’s cute and would like to teach them to do it, you can start by modeling the behavior for them when they’re puppies. It’s shocking how many people don’t know that dogs are kneaders!