Hey Guys!

I have a 2 year old male husky who is intact. He behaves well when it comes to me but doesn't listen to other people as well.

Anyways I had a question, whenever I rest my hand ever so GENTLY on his back he absolutely hates it! He would try to move away or use his paw to remove my hand. And I would do it over and over and he would do the same thing. He also has tried to hump some people in my family a few times.

He is perfectly healthy and has not been abused or had any bad experiences involving this, and he not dog/human aggressive at all! Weird thing is at every other times he would let me pet all over, even if he is on his back or standing.


But I have seen dogs put their paws on top of another dogs back as a sign of dominance...Could this be it? This has been really irritating me because I don't want him thinking he has authority over me, and doesn't respect me.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Interesting question --- to which I Have no answer. Of my three, Avalanche will put himself under my hand and just stand / lay there. I don't have to be petting him, he's apparently just happy with my touching him. (At night when my hand is hanging off the edge of the bed is when he does this mostly, but he's done it a few time during the day as well...)

Why would you continue to do something that your dog does not like when it is not necessary for his or your health/safety?

Various dogs have various levels of comfort with human topic. I have a grandpuppy that happily sleeps squeezed between my husband and myself all night long. Another who likes to cuddle. Sort of. For about 10 minutes. And the third. Being closer means in another room. Yes, a belly rub is divine but don't touch me while I'm resting he says.

Your dog does not give dominance signals to you in that manner.

The humping? An intact male. Probably a scent he smells.

amymeme wrote:

Why would you continue to do something that your dog does not like when it is not necessary for his or your health/safety?

Various dogs have various levels of comfort with human topic. I have a grandpuppy that happily sleeps squeezed between my husband and myself all night long. Another who likes to cuddle. Sort of. For about 10 minutes. And the third. Being closer means in another room. Yes, a belly rub is divine but don't touch me while I'm resting he says.

Your dog does not give dominance signals to you in that manner.

The humping? An intact male. Probably a scent he smells.

I guess you're right, thanks!!

I was frustrated as you can imagine when I went online and people were saying this was a sign of dominance
.....And after treating him so well and giving him the best things, I thought in his mind he thinks he has more authority over me and that he doesn't respect me.

I get now that I have to accept there are certain things he won't like and I should just let those go, and avoid trying to change or correct every little thing.!

Given that he is a wonderful dog who follows me everywhere and is always excited to see me and listens every time.....I guess I sorta overreacted and overthinked.

I wouldn’t worry to much my husbands dog Cash he hates being touched full stop, he’s happy to sit next to you and lay on your lap but your not aloud to touch him

Happy to here your relief. Way too much emphasis placed on dominance theory in some sectors of dogdom. V your dog sounds like a lovely beast following you around and welcoming your return.

Squirt hates her back end touched. It's why she ends up shaved several times a year.

Spider is just different. With jerry she takes a completely dominant stance. She will not listen to him in the slightest. Tjat said, when he is about to have a seizure, she will push him into a chair or seat and pin him to keep him from falling. She expects jerry to obey her

Hi dinf22. I think you're smart to address this seemingly minor issue. I'd worry that as he ages, he may be less tolerant and could snap at you - or worse - someone else.

When I adopted Watson 7 months ago, he hated when anyone touched his paws at all. Obviously, this was a problem when I needed to trim his nails. So, I knew I had to train him to let me touch his paws. Most dogs are easily taught to shake hands, anyway. The answer was to associate holding hands with food.

When I first tried to teach him to shake, Cayenne, my 5-year-old Husky, would volunteer to perform every task. It helped to have her demonstrate. He understood the command, but would throw vocal tantrums every time I commanded him to do something he didn't want to do. He's quite obstinate. He even tried to outsmart me by offering to boop my hand with his nose instead of giving his paw. With progress, he moved on to booping my hand with his nose and then tapping with his paw. Slowly but surely, he learned to shake hands properly because the food was motivation. Now I can hold his paws even when he's resting and nail trims have become so much easier.

I'd try the same method with petting your boy's back. Just show him the treat, tell him you're going to pet his back with a simple command like "touch" or whatever word makes sense, then touch his back and feed him. Make it brief in the beginning. As he begins to accept the brief touch, leave your hand there longer. All the while, give him praise and use your other hand to give him whatever kind of scratches he enjoys. He'll get there.

Spicy Sauce wrote:

Hi dinf22. I think you're smart to address this seemingly minor issue. I'd worry that as he ages, he may be less tolerant and could snap at you - or worse - someone else.

When I adopted Watson 7 months ago, he hated when anyone touched his paws at all. Obviously, this was a problem when I needed to trim his nails. So, I knew I had to train him to let me touch his paws. Most dogs are easily taught to shake hands, anyway. The answer was to associate holding hands with food.

When I first tried to teach him to shake, Cayenne, my 5-year-old Husky, would volunteer to perform every task. It helped to have her demonstrate. He understood the command, but would throw vocal tantrums every time I commanded him to do something he didn't want to do. He's quite obstinate. He even tried to outsmart me by offering to boop my hand with his nose instead of giving his paw. With progress, he moved on to booping my hand with his nose and then tapping with his paw. Slowly but surely, he learned to shake hands properly because the food was motivation. Now I can hold his paws even when he's resting and nail trims have become so much easier.

I'd try the same method with petting your boy's back. Just show him the treat, tell him you're going to pet his back with a simple command like "touch" or whatever word makes sense, then touch his back and feed him. Make it brief in the beginning. As he begins to accept the brief touch, leave your hand there longer. All the while, give him praise and use your other hand to give him whatever kind of scratches he enjoys. He'll get there.

I'll start doing this. Thanks for the detailed post!