dog suudenly acting affectionate, unusual

just a quick question, this isnt a problem, just more of a wondering.....
my friend, lives in country, has house on 1/4 of acre, she has a dog that she got from the pound as a pup 4 years ago. she seems to be a type of setter.
anyway, she has always been a 'country' type of dog, hangs around outside and inside the house. sleeps inside. not particular affectionate.

my dog stays there when i go away, usually for 3 or 4 weeks a time, whenever i visit my dog comes with me.
he is an absolute spoilt baby, loves people attention etc

my friends dog has suddenly started looking for affection. coming over jumping up on people etc. she is harmless, a lovely character. but this behaviour is unusual for her.

we were wondering why she has suddenly changed? is it because she sees my lad getting attention and is now looking for it herself?
she is no trouble, just acting really strange for her

strandroad

Yes she may have learned by observation. I have two dogs - the older guy is very laid back and while he liked being petted he wouldn't come asking for it. Then we got the young fella who is super affectionate and lo and behold the oldie now pesters us for cuddles all the time too. He will butt you to be petted now - all because he could see the youngster at work.

Ambersky

This sounds a bit sad to me, like the dog didnt even know affection until she saw someone else getting some. I dont believe there is a difference in country/rural dogs just a difference in owners and how they behave. A dog will often go on whats expected and if offered nothing else wont expect it.
It may be a positive new experience for both dog and owner to open up to the possibility of more affection.

sillysmiles

Do dogs get jealous I wonder? If he sees your dog getting affection from his human I wonder if he is like "hey that's my human I'll be the one getting the cuddles"

aonb

sillysmiles wrote: »

Do dogs get jealous I wonder? If he sees your dog getting affection from his human I wonder if he is like "hey that's my human I'll be the one getting the cuddles"

I dont know if dogs get Jealous, but I do know that when my young simple dog see us cuddling our old dog, he gets very hyper and wants us to drop the old guy and cuddle him instead /cuddle-fest!!

strandroad

sillysmiles wrote: »

Do dogs get jealous I wonder? If he sees your dog getting affection from his human I wonder if he is like "hey that's my human I'll be the one getting the cuddles"

Yup, our dogs absolutely compete for cuddles.

Noo

I dont know whether dogs actually get jealous but it seems my fella does. He gets everyones attention when hes on his own but when we mind my aunts dog (very old little guy) you can't even pet her dog without our fella leaping across the room to jump over him for a pet. He also pushes him out of his bed and takes his blankets from him. He really is like a jealous child haha!

tk123

mhge wrote: »

Yes she may have learned by observation. I have two dogs - the older guy is very laid back and while he liked being petted he wouldn't come asking for it. Then we got the young fella who is super affectionate and lo and behold the oldie now pesters us for cuddles all the time too. He will butt you to be petted now - all because he could see the youngster at work.

Would agree with this - my dog wouldn't usually ask for pets from people we don't know but since we got our pup and people stop us to pet her he expects a pet too!

slarkin123

While my dog would be with us indoors for the best part of the day, she wouldn't be one for looking for attention. But when she's in heat it's a different story, she's practically climbing on top of me and snuggling under my arms.