Your dog likes the attention of your reaction
When I come back into the lounge and see my dog has stolen my spot, I always turn it into a big joke with rest of my family. I will point at Claude the dog, act all angry, and start to tickle him and then push him off.
Over time, my dog has learned that he will get this reaction. And guess what? He loves the attention he gets from me after I catch him stealing my spot.
What I have ended up doing here is condition my dog into taking my spot when I get up and leave the room. Dogs love attention and play and will quickly learn what behavior gets them what they want.
4 Reasons for your dog to sit in your spot after you get up
As mentioned above, there are specific reasons why your dog will be stealing your spot when you get up from the couch. Some are concerning, and some are not. These are:
Your dog loves you a lot, and one of the ways that they show this to you is by stealing your spot the moment you get up. To us, it makes no sense. But to our dogs, it’s their way of saying, “I think you’re awesome!”. It’s okay if you fluctuate between finding this annoying and endearing. We all think it!
When your dog steals your spot, it could be that they are feeling insecure. Whether they’re nervous or downright fearful, your spot signifies comfort and safety. So, they’ll take it the moment you get up because they are searching for that security they are missing for whatever reason. This is often paired with other stress indicators, such as lack of eye contact and whining.
Your dog is your bodyguard. Regardless of how effective they are at being that bodyguard, they take their role very seriously. When you get up, they see sitting in your spot as a sign of protection of that spot. They’ll guard it against intruders and other pets until you return.
This is also an instinctive behavior for your dog. Naturally denning animals, they understood that protecting the den was a vital safety feature to ensure no intruders snuck in and lay in wait to attack them when they returned.
While it’s not needed now, your dog doesn’t know that. So, he protects your spot on the couch from predators nonetheless. This can be accompanied by alert and adorably serious behavior or lying down and seemingly nonchalant (to throw off the predator’s confidence).
Dogs are wired to be alpha in many cases. If you have other pets, your dog will be driven by instinct to be the alpha of those other animals. You are the master, so you are the true alpha. They’ll steal your spot as a sign that they are second in command and the alpha of the other animals.
This, while it sounds cute, can be a serious problem, as we’ll discuss below. You’ll notice other behaviors with this, too, such as growling at other animals that come close and being especially watchful of when you come back since they will be “second in command” until you do so.
Dominant behavior may have been appropriate back in the day when dogs lived in packs, and they were acting this way as a part of a logical hierarchy. However, times have certainly changed. Your dog is now fighting to be the alpha of a pack that doesn’t exist and that the other pets don’t understand or subscribe to.
If your other pets aren’t “obeying” these demands of your dog trying to be dormant over them. In that case, it can lead to your dog reprimanding them and possibly injuring them. Again, this is a natural pack instinct that had its place historically.
Since you want to ensure that your dogs stay safe and secure, you’ll need to be very careful to nip any kind of dormant behavior as soon as you see it. This goes for dominant behavior that you see in your dog and any other household pets.
A household with pets fighting each other for dominance will eventually lead to an injury or worse. Make sure that you learn how to retrain this spot-stealing behavior quickly and properly. We’ve discussed this more below to help you out.
It’s important to note that a dog doesn’t understand that this biological instinct isn’t required. They see themselves as a part of a pack, so they will continue to fight for alpha until you step in and redirect the behavior.
Reasons Why Your Dog Wants Your Spot
Your dog may want to sit in a place you were just sitting for a variety of reasons. Some of it depends on how long your dog has lived with you, his past experiences, and his personality.
Let’s face it, anywhere you sit is the throne in your dog’s mind. Your dog assumes that where you sit or sleep is always the best spot in the house! After all, you don’t usually lay on the floor or sit in their doggie bed!
Dogs will always watch us to see what we do and to anticipate what might happen next. He will study your movements to anticipate and better understand how our actions might impact him. To learn more about this see my post, “What Do Dogs Think About When Sitting Quietly? So it is not surprising that your dog wants to sit where you sit and do all he can to reap the benefits of living with you.
If your dog has lived with you for a while, he has probably become pretty bonded to you. Therefore, he will naturally want to stick close. The seat on the sofa you just vacated smells like you and is probably still a little warm. What a great place for your pooch to wait for you to return from the kitchen and continue to watch Netflix together. And who knows, when you return with your favorite snack, you may bring one for your pal.
Why does my dog steal my spot when I get up?
Do you have a dog who steals your spot every time you get up? You are snuggled up together watching Netflix and you get up to get snacks. When you come back, your sweet pooch is sprawled out on the couch right where you were sitting. Or perhaps, you are sitting in your reading chair and get up for a few minutes to get something, and bam, she leaps from her little blanket on the floor right onto your recliner. This can be both cute and annoying. If it becomes a pattern, you may wonder why your dog always takes over your favorite spot.
Most likely, your dog wants to sit in your spot, because she is connected to you and you left a nice warm place that smells like you. Your dog learns quickly that wherever you sit, it is usually the most comfortable place in the house! And it is so much more comfy than her little mat or dog bed!
But there may also be a little more to it than this. Your dog may also have some needs that she is reacting to. Here are some other reasons for this behavior.