Flagging in a female dog is when she moves or holds her tail to the side, often curling it away from her vulva, to signal to male dogs that she's receptive and ready to mate during the fertile part of her heat cycle (estrus), a behavior that attracts males and facilitates breeding. This key behavioral sign, sometimes accompanied by tensing her back, shows she's "open" for business, indicating peak fertility alongside other signs like lighter discharge and increased flirtatiousness.
Estrus is also known as “standing heat.” A dog's vaginal discharge will become lighter in color, and she may lift her tail or hold it off to the side to “flag” that she's open to a male's advances. The estrus stage lasts between 7 and 10 days.
Humping is a totally natural and instinctive behaviour for both male and female dogs. Some of the most common triggers include: Sexual – it's perfectly normal for unneutered dogs to want to hump due to their hormones. Some hump other dogs, some hump people, and others hump their toys and blankets.
When a dog "cobs," it means they are gently nibbling or mouthing with their front teeth, resembling how a person eats corn off a cob; it's usually a sign of affection, bonding (like social grooming), seeking attention, or play, but can also signal boredom or anxiety, and while often harmless, excessive or rough cobbing might warrant a vet visit for potential skin, dental, or stress issues.
How do you Know if your Dog is Marking? When it comes to urine marking there are 3 main factors; duration, intent, and frequency. If a dog needs to relieve himself there will be a long, continuous stream of urine. Whereas, urine marking is typically fairly short in duration, a quick squirt and it's done.
Marking behavior is not a house-soiling problem and both Male and Female dogs can display marking behaviors. To resolve the issue, you need to address the underlying reason for your dog's need to mark.
To say "I love you" in dog language, use soft eye contact, raise your eyebrows, give gentle massages (especially ears), lean into them, and engage in play or shared activities like walks, which build trust and affection through shared experiences and physical connection, releasing oxytocin for both of you.
Dogs say "sorry" through submissive body language like tucking their tail, lowering their head, making "puppy eyes," licking, and rolling onto their backs to show they're not a threat, which are appeasement signals to diffuse tension after a conflict or misbehavior, often combined with whining or approaching and retreating. They recognize when their human (or another dog) is upset and use these signs to seek forgiveness, though it's more about reducing stress than human-like guilt.
🐶 What is Dog Cobbing? It's when a dog softly mouths or nibbles at a person, another dog, or even an object — and yes, it really does look like they're munching on a cob of corn. 💛 Why Do Dogs Cobb? ✨ Affection & Bonding – It's their way of showing love and strengthening connections, just like grooming in the wild.
A red flag dog behavior signals deep fear, stress, or potential aggression, going beyond normal misbehavior, and includes intense growling/snapping without cause, sudden aggression in a calm dog, persistent hiding, resource guarding (food aggression), freezing, destructive behavior linked to separation anxiety, or signs of extreme anxiety like trembling, lip-licking, and tail-tucking, indicating underlying problems needing professional intervention.
The Signs That a Dog is in Heat
You might ask yourself, Why does a female dog hump after being spayed? It can take as many as three months for a female dog's hormones to leave her body after being spayed. Remaining hormones may be the culprit for continued humping from your female pup after being spayed or neutered.
The calmest dog breeds often include large, gentle giants like the Saint Bernard, Newfoundland, and Great Dane, along with smaller companions such as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Basset Hound, Pug, and Shih Tzu, all known for their laid-back, affectionate, and easygoing temperaments, thriving on companionship over high activity.
The flag means that your dog holds the tail straight up in the air, then waves it stiffly back and forth. This occurs when your dog perceives a threat; the tail movement is his attempt to make himself look bigger and more threatening to ward off any danger.
The 3-3-3 rule for dogs is a guideline for the adjustment period after adoption, outlining three phases: 3 Days (decompression, feeling overwhelmed/scared), 3 Weeks (starting to settle in, learning routine, personality emerges), and 3 Months (feeling secure, bonded, and truly at home). It helps new owners manage expectations and be patient as their rescue dog transitions, emphasizing calm energy, routine, and space in the early days to build trust.
Generally, dogs dislike hugs, not being allowed to sniff, a lack of routine, and more. Even the most laid-back dog will hate some of the things we humans do—if they tolerate it, it's just because they love you or don't want to be dominant.
An hour for a dog feels much longer than an hour for a human because dogs perceive time more slowly due to their faster metabolism and heightened awareness of routines, so a 10-minute wait can feel like 70 minutes to them, and your hour-long absence feels like an eternity, though they don't grasp clock time but rather the intervals between events like meals, walks, and your return.
The "10 10 10 rule" for dogs refers to two main concepts: a potty training method for puppies (10 mins outside, 10 ft space, 10 mins supervision/reward) and the 80/10/10 guideline for raw feeding (80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 10% organ), both offering structure for training or diet. Another interpretation is the 10% rule for treats, limiting them to 10% of daily calories to maintain a balanced diet, ensuring most nutrition comes from complete dog food.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, treat(s) takes the top spot as our pooches' favourite word, having featured in 35% of all the videos analysed, followed closely by walk or walkies in second place (34%).
How to spot the signs of stress
Female dogs proved to be the most judgemental, preferring the most competent humans. They found the dogs were more interested in the humans who performed better at certain tasks. Notably, female dogs spent considerably more time observing the competent person, especially when food was involved.
It is worth noting that dogs are more repelled by the smell of vinegar than they are by lemons and oranges. It is no wonder that vinegar is a key ingredient in every dog repellent. You can use vinegar spray as a natural dog repellent in your home, but do not spray it directly on the dog.