6 Rare Behaviors Dogs Show Only When They Fully Trust You

Your dog does something specific when they fully, and I mean fully, trust you as a dog owner. Not when they like you, not when they're happy to see you, when they fully, 100% trust you, and most dog owners miss it completely. Now guys, I've been training dogs professionally for over a decade, and here's the thing that I tell people, I tell my clients, I tell people who listen to my podcast, trust and love are not the same thing. Your dog can love you and still not trust you. And today I'm going to show you the six rare behaviors that prove for sure that your dog has given you their complete trust right now. Number one, guys, is your dog sleeping with their belly exposed to you. Here's what most people don't understand about the dog's belly. It's the most vulnerable part of their entire body. Their vital organs are right there. Now to an animal, that's huge. There's no protection, and in that wild, the animal exposing its belly is like putting its life on the line. Evolution literally hardwired dogs to guard that area. So when your dog rolls onto their back and exposes their belly like this, and they frog leg out when they're sleeping and being silly, this specifically towards you while they're asleep, that's not just cute, guys. That's your dog saying, hey, I trust you literally with my life. A dog that doesn't fully trust you will sleep curled up tight, protecting themselves, staying ready to react. Maybe they're insecure, maybe they're nervous, but a dog that's completely trusting of you, they'll let all that go. Kind of like with us, right? Like the way that we sleep, the way that we nap. If we sleep on a plane, we're like, okay, right? But then we sleep at home and we're completely different, right? That belly up means, boop, completely relaxed. Let's move into number two. They bring you their most valued toy. Guys, this one hits differently because when you understand what this actually is, you're going to be like, oh my God, that makes total sense because dogs guard their toys and their items that they love typically. Maybe that favorite ball, that specific squeaky toy, or if you're feeding We Feed Raw like I feed my dogs, your dog might be guarding their raw food because it's very high value for them. So when a dog brings that toy, it's not a random thing, guys. It's their favorite toy and maybe they drop it at your feet. They're not just trying to play. They're sharing something precious with you. They are trusting you. Now that's typically a level of trust most people walk right past without even realizing what it means. Like the dog brings you a stick or a rock. Now some dogs are just obsessed. Don't get me wrong. They'll bring it to anybody. But next time your dog does this or any dog does this, don't just throw it back automatically. Pause, acknowledge it, process it. That moment is worth more than you think in reality. All right, number three, guys, is they let you handle their sensitive areas without flinching. A dog's paw, their ears, their muzzle, their tail, these are very sensitive areas that dogs instinctually protect. If you've ever tried to trim a nail on a dog that doesn't fully trust you, you know exactly what I'm talking about. They pull back. They react. They scream. They squirm. Huskies, I'm talking about you. They try to get away. Now just because your dog tries to do this doesn't mean they don't fully trust you because most dogs don't like this. But a dog that fully trusts you and doesn't care about anything, they'll let you handle everything. The paws, the ears, even around the face without flinching. Now again, if your dog does this when they try to trim their nails, it's okay. Most dogs actually don't like that. Okay, so we're halfway through and I've saved some of the most depriving ones for the back of this video because number five, specifically and especially, I've seen dog owners generally emotional when they realize that their dog has been telling them this this whole time. So make sure you guys keep watching. Let's move on to number four. They social reference you in a new or scary situation. Now researchers call it social referencing. It's a behavior that's been documented in human babies for sure. Now when a baby is unclear or uncertain about something, they look at their parent's face first like your kid falls over or young infant falls down or they feel insecure or nervous. You can read their emotional reaction and then they decide how to respond or how you respond. But here's what's incredible. Dogs do exactly the same thing with their trusted owners, which is really cool. I've seen it with my dogs for sure. Let's say for an example, your dog encounters something new, a strange noise, an unfamiliar person, an object that they've never seen before. A dog that fully trusts you will stop right there and look at your face and go, is this cool? Is this okay? Are we good? And then they respond based off your cue, just like kids do. You're the first person if something happens or they get nervous, they get insecure, even if they get happy, boom, they're looking right at you. So if your dog does this and they stop and they check your face before reacting to something new, that's one of the deepest signs of trust that we know today. All right guys, here's number five. If they run to you when they're scared, again, guys, this is really endearing, but most dog owners just miss this completely. When a dog is scared or even fearful, I mean truly scared, heart pounding, tail tuck scared, like fireworks. God, for my dogs, for sure. Let me know if that's your dog. What does it do? A dog without a trusted anchor hides under a bed in a corner behind a couch. They go somewhere and they try to disappear, right? They try to get into the bathtub, but a dog that fully trusts you, they run directly towards you. Now again, this isn't always what happens. My dog will run to the bathtub when she hears fireworks, but in most situations, if she's unsure of something, she'll come to me when she thinks the world isn't ending. Think about what that means. At their most vulnerable moment, when their instincts are screaming at them, that overrides and those instincts move directly towards the person, you. All right guys, we've got one more and this last one is something dogs do quietly and consistently, and most owners never stop to notice it at all. So make sure you guys don't skip into this one. Number six, they choose to simply be near you without needing anything. All right, here's the scenario. They're sitting at your desk. You're sitting at your table, reading a book, watching TV, scrolling on TikTok, whatever the heck you kids do these days. You're just existing. You haven't called your dog. You're not holding any food. You're not doing anything exciting. You're not doing anything with them. And your dog walks in and they find a spot near you. They sigh, they lay down, or like Lakota or some of my other dogs, push your hand or do whatever you're trying to do and you can't. That's it. No agenda. Just choosing to be in your presence. And in some cases, even get your attention by pawing you, hitting you with their nose, hitting you with their head. A lot of people brush past this moment every day. But what's happening here is actually profound. Your dog has decided of all the places they could be in the house, that being near you is where they want to be. You are their peace. You are their calm. You are their comfort. Now of course, you also are their food machine too. So I mean, let's be honest. But that is a dog who fully and completely unconditionally decided that you are their person and they love you. There's no trick to this one. No training cue. It's pure. It's one of the clearest signs I know that a dog has been giving you everything that they've got. So there you guys have it. Six rare behaviors that your dog shows only when they fully trust you. If your dog does even a few of these consistently, you've probably built something real with your dog. Don't take it for granted. Protect it every single day. It's lovely to have with your dog. And look, if this video helped you understand your dogs better, do me a solid favor, hit that subscribe button and leave a comment and let me know what your dogs do. And also guys, again, because I am a pro dog trainer, I have courses out there that has helped so many people out there with their dogs. If your dog pulls in the leash, is reactive on the leash, won't come back off leash, or you just want to restart and really recalibrate your entire roadmap with your dog and use my framework for doing it, make sure you guys click the link below and check out my courses because we have all of that there for you guys. But at the end of the day, guys, regardless of what you do, thank you so much for watching me. I hope that this was helpful and I will see you on the next one. Peace.