Signs Your Dog Wants To Play With You – Playful Dog’s Reactions

Dogs are funny creatures, and having a dog as a pet will give you a lot of excitement and rewarding moments, especially when your canine is in the mood for some games. Let’s find out the signs your dog wants to play with you.

They can sometimes be mischievous and make us angry. But no matter what, we dog parents know very well that all these acts would bring a smile to our faces.

But what are the signs your dog wants to play with you? Tail wagging with a relaxed stance, Play bows, open-mouth smiles, and letting you scrub his belly are only a few cues to identify a dog ready to play and get stimulated. When you grab the collar and the leash, a dog will get the idea and start running around, excited to go for a walk or play in the dog park, that’s another sign. 

Let me explain a little of the body language of a playful doggo.

Signs Your Dog Wants To Play With You

A dog’s body language changes according to different situations. So knowing how to identify a dog’s cues when he’s angry, playful, dominant, fearful, alert, etc., will help you understand your puppy in a deep sense.

Although, I would not advise panicking when you are having difficulty doing that.

Unsurprisingly, if you are new to dog parenting or have a new dog at home, you will run into tricky situations where you struggle trying to understand your doggo.

But it is nothing to beat yourself about, considering that you will grab on to your dog’s cues with time and start reading him more clearly. You will be able to understand what he’s going to do even before he does that.

So here I have put together some of the top signs your dog wants to play with you.

• Active posture

A playful dog is somewhat easier to identify with his active posture. First and foremost, you will see a big open-mouthed smile.

He will run around you, trying to grab your attention. He will jump on you and run around the house, slipping on the floor.

• Opened mouth

What’s most evident is the open-mouthed smile that he will give you from time to time. When a dog has his mouth hanging open and soundly breathing, it is a sign he’s feeling too hot or tired.

But when a dog is happy and wants to get you to join him in a game, he has a distinctive smile on his face with a relaxed or playful stance which you will quickly identify.

• Pointed ears

Next are the ears and the eyes. When a dog is relaxed and resting, he will have flopped ears and closed eyes.

But when a dog’s ears are up and in a conservative stance with eyes open (not too much but in a natural way), it means that your puppy is ready to play.

So why not do a few rounds of fetch or play with your puppy? If you wish to, your canine will also be down to go for a walk or run around the house doing hide and seek with you.

• Bowing and inviting to play

A dog’s next most common courtesy is to bow when inviting someone to play. It could be his fellow dog-mates at the dog park or his owner; the dog will always bow as a play invitation.

So, undoubtedly, he will bow before you, too, when he’s in the mood. He will bring his front paws out and put the elbows down while going into a bowing position.

And if you are familiar with yoga positions, you must know the downward dog pose by heart. It is the infamous play bow in dogs.

• Tail wagging

If you see your dog waving his tail like a helicopter rotor, it’s another thing that he’s excited in one way or another.

Most of the time, it could be that he’s generally happy to see you coming home after a very long day at work, but it could also mean that he’s down to game time.

I know that a wagging tail is pretty standard in dogs, but look for the collective signs with some of the ones I have explained above, and you will have a clear understanding of instances and meanings of your dog’s tail wag too.

• Invitation for belly-rubs

There is one more thing; the belly rub. Your dog will come running towards you, and when he’s closer to you, he will spiral on all fours and turn around onto his back like a dancing spring. When he does that, be sure that you give him a good belly rub, or else all his efforts will be in vain.

These are the general signs your dog wants to play with you. But if you have an intelligent dog or a highly trained doggo, you may also want to keep your eye out for the following cues.

A higher energy level than usual is one sign familiar to almost all dogs worldwide. But other than that, if your pet knows some general knowledge and has a higher IQ, you will notice that he’s doing things like;

• Bringing his favourite toy to you and dropping it near you while wagging his tail excitedly and having a hopeful smile that pretty much screams, “Mommy/daddy, I wanna play!!”

• Staring at you, wagging his tail, and circling you is yet another one of the obvious signs your dog wants to play with you right now.

• When the dog’s body is jiggling like jello, and he’s woofing at you will let you know what your pet’s intentions are. Isn’t it obvious? He wants to play till he’s tired and on all paws!

Do you notice any signs your dog wants to play with you? Then what are you doing here, searching away on the internet? Now that you know what your pet is asking, go and play with him!

After all, keeping your dog well-stimulated is necessary to keep him healthy and quiet throughout the day.

Thank you for reading this post. Stay tuned with Jack Russell Owner for more interesting posts about your favorite dog breed.