Why Do Dogs Sleep With Their Bum Facing Your Face? 

In the United States, dogs are the most popular pet by quite a mile, with nearly 77 million of them estimated. Of course, that’s not surprising since they’re so lovable! Since there are so many of us dog owners in the country, we tend to want to know the answers to weird behaviors that we see our canines exhibit.

Since we all want to know the answers, it makes sense for me to make this guide to answer the question and give us all the knowledge we came for. Today’s question is pretty straightforward: why do dogs sleep with their bum facing you? I was just about as curious as you must be, but fortunately, I found the answer.

So, you want to know why your dog falls asleep with his butt pointed towards you instead of with his face. Well, there are many reasons why they might do this, and we’ll get to those in due time!

Do you have a specific question exploring the reasons why do dogs sleep with their bum facing your face? Then use the table of contents below to jump to the most relevant section. And you can always go back by clicking on the black arrow in the right bottom corner of the page. Also, please note that some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. For more details, check the Disclosure section at the bottom of the page. 

Why does my dog put his butt on me?

You’re sitting down watching your favorite TV show when all of a sudden, your dog comes out of nowhere and plops his butt on you!

For us humans, anyone doing the same thing might seem like an insult and a way of them telling you that they don’t like you. It’s very different if a dog does that, though. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

One important thing you need to know about a dog’s body is that they have certain glands in their butts that give off a characteristic scent. You might not be able to smell this as a human, but other dogs can. 

By placing its butt on you, your dog is trying to transfer its scent to you, which serves as a way of “claiming” you as its own. But wait, that sounds like a bad thing, right?

Well, maybe to humans, but to dogs, it is one of the biggest ways to show how much they love and accept you. This is their way of showing that you’re part of their family and they treasure you. Plus, it can help with protecting you. If other dogs want to get aggressive with you but smell your dog’s pheromones on you, they might just back off!

Why do dogs turn their bum to you?

When your dog turns its butt at you, the first thing that you might reckon is that it was just a coincidence. However, when it happens repeatedly, you’ll start to get curious. Does this action mean something in the dog world? The answer to that is yes.

The way we see bums is so different from how animals do. After all, it’s a common image we have in our minds of dogs sniffing other dogs’ butts. That action is a way for them to identify each other

A dog that turns its butt towards you would hope you’d sniff it, but that definitely won’t happen! Don’t get annoyed when they do it, though, because it’s just their way of saying hello as they’d do to other dogs.

It also means that they trust you! Many animals, including dogs, are most vulnerable from behind due to how forward-oriented their vision is. To give you a chance to stay behind them without too much worry means that they don’t fear any danger from you. They know that you’re a friend and someone they can trust and believe in.

Why do dogs sleep with their bum facing you?

So, you’ve woken up one too many times, asking why your dog sleeps with butt in my face. It can be a bit of a shock when you open your eyes, and your canine is sound asleep with his bum aimed at you. When this happens more than once, you start to wonder what’s happening.

To be honest, there are several good answers to the question, why do dogs sleep facing away? The reason why your dog does this could be one of the many, but I’ll go into all of them regardless, so you can figure out the reason why your dog sleeps the way it does.

They want to protect you

My dog sleeps with butt in my face – why? Well, one of the reasons for that might be that it loves you so much and wants to protect you.

Being positioned with you behind, your dog can wake up and protect you at a moment’s notice in case predators or intruders suddenly come into your space. 

You can think of this position as them being primed for defense, and they do that because they see you as the leader and a person worth keeping safe!

They are timid

You’ve had your puppy for a few weeks, but he sleeps with his butt pointed toward you. Could he already have recognized me as someone to protect, you ask?

Well, a dog can fall in love with you completely in that time, but the chances are that a new dog that sleeps with its bum facing you is still relatively shy around you. Facing away means that they can avoid unnecessary eye contact, which can make them feel very nervous.

They trust being around you

As we mentioned, when your dog can point its butt toward you without reservations, it likely means that they trust you. It can be hard for a dog to be so vulnerable. Have you ever tried petting a dog, and it keeps raising its mouth towards your hand, ready to bite? That shows how protective dogs can be of themselves.

So, if your dog doesn’t mind having its back and butt facing you instead of its face, then you know that it likely trusts you not to harm it.

It is just more comfortable

So, why do dogs sleep facing away? One of my favorite answers to this question is simply that it’s comfortable!

Some humans sleep on their stomachs, others on their backs, and the rest on their sides, and we find one position more comfortable than the other options, right? Well, the same applies to dogs! There are several different dog sleeping positions.

Dogs that like to sleep on their bellies may frequently have their butts facing you for no reason other than that’s their favorite way to sleep!

Thanks for the blog graphics: Canva.com

Thanks for the blog graphics: Canva.com

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