Sometimes, a dog lifts a paw in anticipation
Paw lifts also can be an expression of anticipation, as shown above. In this context, you see that Diamond has high hopes that the turkey is for him. Ears and eyes alert, head and sniffer up and ready, tail out, and a paw lifted combine to signal anticipation.
Dogs also may tuck a paw to convey fear. Typically, when a dog tucks a paw while lying down, it’s a sign of relaxation, but not always as shown in the above. Diamond is hiding under the table, not wanting to interact. Notice that his left front paw is tucked and he is indirectly staring at the boy. Diamond also has pulled his body in and away from the boy, becoming small and tight — these are all signs that he is scared and could bite. If the boy doesn’t retreat or the parents don’t step in to translate these “stay away” signals, he could be in serious danger.
The anxious dog paw lift
It’s the paw lifts by non-hunting dogs that can be a sign of anxiety, stress, and/or fear. I translate this body language in my Dog Decoder smartphone app using illustrations by Lili Chin of Doggie Drawings. There are 60 different poses and scenarios. Each pose features three parts; The Pose, The Info and The Details about the pose and the app’s star, Diamond:
The Pose
The Info
The Details
In the above illustration, a dog is showing fear in multiple ways, including a paw lift. Dogs will often lift a paw when anxious, so it’s important to look at all of the body — including ears, tail, eyes, and paw — when reading your pup. It’s also important to speed read. Dogs talk a mile a minute with their body, changing signals in an instant. Don’t be discouraged if you miss subtle signs at first — the more you pay attention, the better you will be at understanding your dog.
In fact, I have a mantra all of my clients use whenever they are with their dogs. In training, just hanging out, playing fetch, riding in the car… they ask themselves, “What does my dog need now?” This helps them become more aware of what their pup is saying. Try it yourself!
5.- Curiosity about a smell It is not necessary to be in the middle of nature for our dog to raise the front paw, just find a smell or trace special anywhere to carry out this behavior, that is so instinctive for them.
Perhaps you are looking for a slice of pizza or trying to follow the smell of a bitch in heat. In this specific case, in addition, the dog can reach lick the urine of another dog and learn more about that other canine.
Sometimes, we can observe how our dog raises its leg and, right after, he makes the invitation-to-play posture, extending the two front legs, along with the head down and the middle tail raised. If your dog adopts this position, you should know that it is the call “bow of the game” and he is inviting you to play with him.
As with humans, dogs carry out their own signals, vocalizations, and postures that serve to express their desires and moods, in addition to communicating with other dogs and other species, which are known as signals of calm down.
The dogs use to lift one of their front legs for different reasons, it is important to learn more about our pets and understand why their behavior.
Why Do Dogs Lift Their FRONT PAW?
When trying to analyze an animal’s body language, each signal must be taken in context. Other body language signals should be analyzed as well to form as complete as possible view of the animal’s intent or emotional state. You can generally characterize signs in 3 categories: go, stop and yield.
The paw lift is one of those body language signals that must be interpreted based on context. The best interpretation of this body language signal is anticipation or uncertainty about the situation. The dog is anticipating something and the dogʼs go button is pressed. She could be anticipating a treat from her owner or she could be ready to spring forward and bite her owner. By interpreting the rest of her body language, you can figure out which way she will go.