Dogs have an instinct to seek out warm and secure places to sleep. By sleeping between their owner's legs, dogs can stay warm and feel safe, creating a cocoon of warmth. This behavior is rooted in their wild ancestor's need to keep warm and protect themselves from predators.
Why do dogs like to sleep with you? If your pup likes to sleep with you, it means they feel secure and comfortable with you. When your dog was a puppy, they cuddled up with their littermates for warmth and comfort, so now they want to do the same with their people.
Sitting in your spot when you get up shows your dog's affection for you, but the chosen spot comes back to the master with no unwanted behavior. Your dog may also feel the need to protect you and sitting in your spot gives him the edge over the other animals in the household.
Animal Instinct
Canines who do this are referred to as “Velcro dogs,” due to their desire to be attached to your side. They may follow you around, even to the bathroom, to protect a part of their pack.
If your dog does this, it means they trust you. And, if they keep their bum toward your face, it shows that you make them feel safe. Your dog also wants to keep you safe and secure, which is why they plant their rumps where they do. This allows them to monitor the entire room and be ready for action if it's warranted.
Signs of a Strong Bond
There's a real light in their eyes; they smile, wag, rub into you, and makes great eye contact. When you come home, they brighten up, becomes animated, and may even vocalize their joy. Other signs of a strong bond include: Keeping tabs on your location when they are off leash.
Dogs choose their favorite people based on positive interactions and socialization they have shared in the past. Like humans, dogs are especially impressionable as their brains develop, so puppies up to 6 months old are in their key socialization period.
“The main reason dogs follow us to the bathroom is because they like to be where we are,” Dr. Coppola explains. “Dogs are obligate social animals, which means socialization is a genuinely natural behavior for them. This is part of what makes them such fantastically loyal companions.”
If your dog follows you everywhere then it's a sign that they trust and love you and that you make them feel safe. Following you very closely can be a sign that they're bored, they want something, they're feeling scared or are just being nosy.
Bed-scratching is a natural behavior in dogs as a way to create comfortable bedding. This is an inherited behavior that dogs might do unconsciously. This is why dogs like to build a fort in their blanket and dig in with their nose to prep for bedtime. Bed-scratching can also be territorial.
A dog tilts his head to show that he is engaged much the way a human would nod during a conversation to indicate that he is listening. Social dogs that enjoy human interaction usually tilt their heads more often to encourage the continuation of the conversation and prolong the human contact.
Seat-Stealing as a Sign of Affection
As social animals, dogs want to be part of a safe and secure place in which they feel they belong. This goes back to the pack mentality of their wolf ancestors. Back then, the strength and support of the den was a matter of life and death, and they'd stop at nothing to protect it.
Wild dogs exhibit similar behaviors, opting to sleep in small, confined areas with pack members they trust to protect against predators. When your dog sleeps right next to you, he is demonstrating trust in his “alpha” human.
A dog who needs a lot of attention and affection, for example, will run to the person who provides the most belly rubs and affectionate ear rubs. If a family member is stand-offish, your family dog will most likely be less interested in hanging out with him, and more likely to sleep with the more affectionate person.
Think about it — your dog's instinct is to protect. They will let you know immediately if anything is amiss while you are asleep. While this can be problematic for overly-protective or sensitive dogs, many people find that knowing their dog is protecting them helps them sleep more soundly.
According to Svartberg's data (PDF), a pinscher, a Bernese mountain dog, or an English springer spaniel might be the most disloyal since each ranks very low on playfulness, with moderate sociability.
Known as “Velcro Dogs,” Aussies may form an almost fanatical attachment to their family. This can lead to his mistrust of, and misbehavior toward, strangers.
Breed Specific
Whether you have a big mutt or a pure bred, a dog's ancestry may influence their temperament and impact how they form bonds with humans. Breeds that tend to choose favorites include: Akita, Chihuahua, Dachsund, Sheepdog, Shiba Inu.
Guarding – Your dog adores you and wants nothing more than to make sure you are safe. This unconditional devotion can mean that they need to be there in order to protect you from outside threats (not like there is any likelihood of someone lurking in the bathroom, but hey, anything can happen).
Point: Dogs carry certain intestinal parasites, fleas, and ticks that cause human illnesses. Sleeping with a dog increases human exposure to these parasites and vector-borne diseases. Very young, very old, and immune compromised people are particularly at risk of infection.
Often, this is simply a case of access, or lack of it. If one person spends more time at home with the dog, naturally the dog will want to see and spend time with the other partner, too. When the absent partner rewards that behavior by handing out treats upon return, reinforcement and hardwiring occurs.
Dogs Prefer Adults — Particularly Women
A dog's preference for one person — or type of person — over another has a great deal to do with socialization. Dogs don't, as a rule, dislike men, but most dogs are cared for by women, and are thus more comfortable around them.
When you are petting your dog, and he puts his paw on your arm or leg, it is kind of like petting you back. While most dogs can't do an actual stroking action, laying their paw on you is a sign of affection, closeness and trust This is his way of creating a special bond with you.
So, yes, a puppy can definitely think of you as his “mother” — that is, his provider and protector — and develop as strong an emotional bond with you as if you were blood-related. Your puppy will also quickly learn to pick you out among strangers, both by sight and through his powerful sense of smell.