What does it mean when my dog raises its front leg?

Mérida, Yucatán, (March 12, 2021).- The dogs have a varied body language that sometimes is not understood adequately by their guardians, so today we will tell you what it means when a dog lifts his front leg.

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.

On many occasions, people misinterpret the
gestures and reactions of their pets.

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.

1.- Common behavior in certain breeds

Some breeds stand out for their surprising ability with their legs, as is the case of the boxer dog, which many attribute its name precisely to the innate ability to use both front legs in various situations, much more notably than other breeds. Another example is the English pointer, which owes its name to the posture it adopts when it smells its prey, raising its front leg.

2.- Sequence of hunting.

When a dog raises its front leg during an excursion, the meaning is clear: your dog is carrying out the hunting sequence. This behavior can be observed in beagles, bracos and podencos, however, virtually any dog ​​can do it.

3.- Invitation to the game

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.

4.- Fear, submission, or discomfort

Sometimes when two dogs are related and one of them is especially fearful or submissive, the scariest may lie down and raise the paw as a sign of calm to end the game or to indicate that you do not feel comfortable. It usually happens when you are playing with another dog that is especially active, gruff, and even aggressive.

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.