Mind reading

[bendog]

What do you do when you just have no idea what your dog wants!?

Ben is sitting looking at me wagging his tail like he wants something. I've gone through the usual list "Do you want to go out?", "Come sit next to me", "Want to play" etc. But it's none of them.

I'm 90% sure he's just after the treats in my pocket! But I wish he'd let me get on with some work!

[Ari_RR]

I would put him to work!
Unless something is bothering him or he needs to go out, this may be an indication that he's bored, and ready for a game or a training session.

[ladybug1802]

That is what Dylan does when he wants something too....there are usually 3 reasons for him:-

1) Needs to go out to the toilet
2) Thinks it really is waaayyy past his dinner time now!
3) Fancies a play or a cuddle!

So first off I ask if he wants to go out....then if not and if it isnt food tie or if he has eaten we will then have a play, or a cuddle, depending, anf that usually satisfies him!

On occasions, very rarely he will just sit and watch me and wag his tail......if I do ignore him or tell him 'enough' he goes on his bed, but I usually play or cuddle him as I wouldnt like it if I was ignored all the time! Oh and I love playing and cuddling with him anyway!

[bendog]

Ari, I would, but he's on a diet and I don't want to use up his quota of treats too early in the day! He won't work for anything else!

[ladybug1802]

Cant you do a little short clicker training session or something? Give him some small treats or part of his food ration?

[bendog]

We use his food ration already, in fact the majority of his meals are as training treats, and the rest in a Kong or something.
Could use cucumber and do a little session, but I think we'll head out for another walk anyway shortly.
He's already had a half hour walk, lots of playing indoors, and some training.
I think it's just novelty because I'm not usually around in the day, and I was out for longer than usual yesterday (about 12 hours) so he's just attention seeking!

[ClareMarsh]

He wants to know what we think of his puppy photos

[jacksdad]

When I work from home, jack sometimes just wants a couple minutes of attention, i call it "my union rep making sure I get a break". he jumps in my lap for a minute or two of pets and rubs then goes back to his napping. an hour or two later it repeats.

[Suzette]

I think the clue to what he wants is in the last sentence of your post. Piper knows when I have treats in my pocket even if they are in a zip-lock baggie!

[Fundog]

LOL, I just had to play "show me" with Annie a minute ago (she was sitting in front of me, whining). Turns out she wanted another rawhide because she had given her half-chewed one to Dottie.

"Show me" is a very helpful phrase to teach your dog, though.

[minkee]

Tell me how, Fundog! :)

[Fundog]

Hmmm.... that's a very good question, Minkee! I honestly don't know HOW I taught "Show me" to Annie! But the way it goes is: she starts telling me she wants "something," through sitting in front of me and staring, pawing my knee, whining, and last resort, barking. So I stop what I'm doing, and I get up and say, "Show me." And I make a step or two toward the living room, watching Annie for indications--- kind of like playing a doggy guessing game. I take a few more steps and stop at the door, open it, see what she does... most often she will take a step backward, then when I close the door, she will move past me into the kitchen... then she will go to where whatever it is she wants is kept, and point her nose at it: the fridge (she wants cheese), the box pile (she wants a puzzle), the shelf where the rawhides are kept, etc.

It's been so long, I wish I could remember how this game evolved... Fortunately for me, Annie picks up human speech VERY easily. Show her once, and make a word connection, and she just adds it to her extensive vocabulary. (She's too smart for OUR own good!)

[bendog]

Fundog that sounds like a neat trick!

Ben kind of does similar though we don't have a phrase. Often when he comes and pesters us its because he's lost something under the sofa and needs us to reach it for him. So if I stand up he'll run straight to whichever chair he's for his toy/chew stuck under.

Same if he wants to go out. He stands and wags his tail and if I say "Do you want to go out?" then if he does he'll whine and run to the door. If he doesn't then he won't budge.

[Horace's Mum]

Horus has a sing for the same, so I can ask what he wants. It can be very useful at times!!

[minkee]

Okay I think the trouble with this for Scout is that if I ask her 'Do you want to go Out?', the immediate answer is always YES PLEASE. No matter what she was thinking about! And our house is in a U shape, with the front door being in the middle of the U, so any movement from one room to the other always heads towards the door - at which point it's LETS GO OUT! regardless of anything else again! Maybe there really are no other thoughts in her head

It's probably partly because we live in a flat - so going out of our door can mean going to the bathroom, meeting her extended family (all the other people that live in this building are like GOLD to her), getting to go for a walk, going to get bones from the butchers, going to meet friends at the door, getting to play ball on the stairs... It's a never ending stream of fun possibilities that she would never ever turn down.

So a 'What is it?' or 'Show me' would inevitably lead to the front door, as all roads lead to it, in our house and in pup's brain