Why Do Dogs Sleep With Their Bum Facing You? Reasons

Are you a dog parent? If you are, you would agree with me that dog parenting is not as easy as it sounds. Dogs are domesticated animals; hence easy to raise them in homes, yet owners have to put a certain amount of effort into taking proper care of them.

You may come across different challenges and concerns when raising a dog; since not every one of us is an expert in dog parenting.

Even your dog’s slightest unusual behavior traits could confuse you, and you might have wondered what could be the reason for that particular behavior. Most of such concerns have no fixed answers; however, by generally observing things, we can find answers to them.

So, why do dogs sleep with their bum facing you? Dogs have different sleeping positions and might sleep with their bums facing you for many reasons. Some common causes include security, trust, comfort, attention, avoiding eye contact, maintaining pace, or maybe an infection. Remember, these are just a few possibilities meaning if your dog is butting up to you while they sleep, it could be due to one of these mentioned reasons, but also it could be due to no particular reason.  

Some dog owners are highly concerned with the behavior of their canines. If you have noticed that your dog usually sleeps with its bum facing you, and if you want to know whether it happens due to some specific reason, keep reading this article.

Why do dogs sleep with their bum facing you?

Dogs do not follow the same sleeping posture per se. However, sometimes you might notice that your dogs prefer sleeping close to you, facing their bum at you.

So below are some common reasons for it.

• Your dog wants to protect/ guard you

I don’t think I have to stress how much of a strong bond dogs can build with their owners. Dogs get along exceptionally well with humans and tend to be loyal to the family, most importantly, protective of them.

Although dogs are considered domestic animals, they were initially packed animals. Therefore they always have the pack mentality embedded within them.

Dogs believe that the owner is their pack leader, so the dog feels responsible for protecting the pack leader, which is why they attempt to stay close to you while you sleep.

They keep their back facing you and their eyes to the front so they can observe things better and act as quickly as they can if they sense something unusual. 

• Your dog trusts you

Dogs are vigilant creatures. They have potent senses, so they can quickly grasp suspicious things. They usually keep their eyes on the target. If your dog sleeps facing their bum at you, that might sign its trust in you.

While they sleep, they do not keep their eyes on you because your dog knows you are not a threat to them. So while they sleep, they typically sleep pretty close to you or turn their back on you, ensuring they have their eyes on the surroundings. 

• The position is comfortable for the dog

Dogs typically are good guard animals, but how they protect their owners will significantly change depending on different reasons.

Sometimes your dog will sleep their bum facing you and constantly follow the same sleeping pose just because they feel comfortable. This does not necessarily mean that they do not want to protect you.

As mentioned previously, in most cases, dogs sleep with their bum facing you because they want to protect you, but there could also be times when they do it mainly because they find it a comfortable sleeping position. 

• Your dog wants to avoid eye contact 

If your dog tries to avoid eye contact, it could bother you because eye contact is often considered one of the most robust gestures humans and dogs use to bond.

However, there could be scenarios where your dog dislikes having eye contact. It could be due to a random reason; also, it could be because the dog is having uncomfortable thoughts.

In such instances, the dog might still need your love, but they’ll try to avoid direct eye contact.

• Your dog is sick

This might sound a little complex to understand, but if your dog sleeps turning their back on you, perhaps it indicates that your dog is facing a health difficulty, possibly flea infections or anal gland infections.

If they scratch their back a lot if they try to make you scratch them if they frequently lick their back, that might indicate a flea infection or an issue primarily related to the anal. So the dog faces their back at you, asking for you to comfort them. 

Should you encourage your dog to sleep with its bum facing you?

Sometimes you might not even notice what position your dog is sleeping, but sometimes you might be considerate of it.

If you ever wondered why your dog usually sleeps with its bum facing you, now you might have a clear understanding of the common reasons behind it. Should you simply ignore your dog’s behavior, or should you encourage them to do it?

First and foremost, you must understand that you cannot force your dog to follow an exact posture when they sleep. Whatever they feel comfortable with, your dog will prefer sleeping in that position.

Most of the time, dogs sleep with their bums facing you because they intend to protect you and trust you.

On the other hand, dogs naturally prefer adhering to this sleeping position due to ventral contact. Ventral contact refers to face-to-face contact, and dogs do not necessarily like to sleep face to face.

Dogs prefer maintaining eye contact with humans when they need it, but sometimes, direct eye contact could also make them feel uncomfortable. So they keep their bums facing you and eyes in the other direction to avoid ventral contact.

Considering these factors, it won’t cause any harm to let your dog continue sleeping in that position. You do not necessarily have to encourage your dog because most dogs do it naturally. 

Should you avoid your dog sleeping with its bum facing you? 

Most of the time, when dogs sleep their bums facing their owners, it does not indicate something terrible. So is it necessary to avoid them doing it?

As mentioned, dogs prefer sleeping in a position that is comfortable and safe. If your dog sleeps, turn their bum in your direction, and if they usually stick with that pose, you do not have to avoid them doing it.

However, keep in mind that when you encourage the dog to sleep that way for quite some time, they will get used to it as a habit.

So if you feel uncomfortable if your dog sleeps, turning their bum at you, you can avoid them doing it. Perhaps train them to sleep in a spot outside your bedroom. 

Should you be concerned about your dog sleeping their bum facing you? 

We cannot precisely say that all dogs would stick to the exact same sleeping position. While some tend to follow the same positions, they also could use different positions. What is important to them is their comfort and safety.

Therefore, in most cases, as long as you do not feel uncomfortable, this is not a concern to be worried about.

However, if you think something strange about them sleeping with their backs turned at you, for instance, if they desperately scratch or lick their backs, if you smell an odor from the dog, if you notice dark specs on their backs, then you must be vigilant.

They might be signs of infections in the anals. So if you sense something wrong, do not hesitate to take them to a vet and get your doubts cleared. 

Conclusion

In today’s article, we attempted to find answers to the question of why dogs sleep with their bums facing you. While some of you pay attention to your pooch’s sleeping position, some might also not notice it much.

So the real question is whether it is a concern to worry about. As a dog parent, paying attention to your dog’s typical behavior is always good. If the dog follows this sleeping position for a long time, that could be mainly because they find it comfortable and safe.

Just because they do not maintain eye contact while they sleep does not mean the dog dislikes you. Dogs often avoid ventral contact, especially while they sleep.

However, there could be times when your dog’s sleeping position bothers you. If you don’t encourage the dog to do so and train them to sleep in a different position, then they will get used to it.

Sometimes they might be desperate to follow this position. The reason could be something perfectly normal, but also it could be some sort of sickness, as we discussed.

So the best thing to do is if you feel strange about this, do get professional help as soon as possible.

Thank you for reading this post. Stay tuned with Jack Russell Owner for more interesting posts about your pet friend.