Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I guess I'll shamelessly use the board to settle an arguement between friends,personally,while rolling on thier backs often starts out as and sometimes means submission,I think it quickly turns to something they do more for attention/bellyrubs feel good,and that only a small part of it is out of submission,a friend of mine thinks it's mostly submission based,even with dogs who act alpha,but accept belly rubs

I asked Peanut,but she's not answering

>>I guess I'll shamelessly use the board to settle an arguement between friends,personally,while rolling on thier backs often starts out as and sometimes means submission,I think it quickly turns to something they do more for attention/bellyrubs feel good,and that only a small part of it is out of submission,a friend of mine thinks it's mostly submission based,even with dogs who act alpha,but accept belly rubs
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>>I asked Peanut,but she's not answering

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When a dog exposes the belly, that is submission for the duration of the exposure. Whether the dog enjoys the petting at the same time or not, this is a powerful signal the dog gives of submission, and a dog would not do this unless the dog accepts your having power over him or her. The alpha model is old information. We have better information about dogs now.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47