The Worrying Reason Why Your Dog Gives You Its Paw (It’s Not for Play)

Each dog on this planet might be some sort of individual with its own character, but every owner knows a set of their pet’s actions that just can’t be explained in any other way.

This also concerns a common gesture of paw-giving when a dog needs their human’s attention and (allegedly) shows their need for some kind of affection. However, if you considered this nothing but a simple way for your dog to get some caress, you’ll likely want to read further.

Dogs Don’t Give You Their Paw to Play or Say Hello, Animal Experts Suggest

Even though quite few dog owners gave it a thought, scientists are reassured that dogs stretching their paw out to you is a pretty obvious reason for concern.

As experts have recently shared, dogs communicate with their owners via short and minimalistic messages like a simple stare, movements of their ears or tail and so on. As for the paw-giving, in most cases this gesture means that the dog doesn’t feel comfortable at the moment and wants their human to do something with it.

Still, seeing that there’s something wrong is easier than you may think: experts suggest you should look at your dog’s whole body and analyze whether the tail is high or low, the eyes are shiny or blinking, as well as if the muscles are visibly tight or relaxed.

How to Read Your Dog’s Paw?

The first thing you have to remember for this type of cases is that you shouldn’t grab your dog’s paw as soon as it stretches it out to you.

First, try to see through your dog’s emotional state and analyze their posture, look, even their breathing. If it’s clear that the dog is uncomfortable, soften your own gestures and offer them your hand palm-up.

Another solution is taking your dog to a known safe spot like their own bed or sofa, thus inviting them to get into their comfort zone, and offering them quiet communication (like chest rubs).