No surprise, it’s consistently one of the most popular articles on our site: Five Signs Your Dog Loves You. But Dog knows there are many ways your pup might show his devotion. So with Valentine’s Day approaching, we figured it was time to update that list. Here then, are five more signs, scientifically proven and quite possibly taken straight from the Official Journal of Canine Behavior:
1. He’s there when you wake up in the morning:
And I mean right there — close. Really close. Breathing his sweet morning doggie breath an inch from your nostrils and tapping his little toenails from side to side on the hardwood floor like it’s 10friggin’ o’clock already.
2. He shows evidence of feeling comfortable around you:
Not just farting and snorting and dribbling a little pee on his leg when he marks, but the embarrassing stuff. Backing away — slowly, cautiously — from an overturned garbage bin or barking ferociously at a plastic bag lilting in the breeze.
3. She jumps into your arms when you walk in the door and makes a big stink (sometimes literally) when you leave:
Frankly, it’s a lot of drama. And while it’s flattering, does it really kill her to have you gone for a few hours? I mean, is there any part of her that likes the space? The chance to rummage uninterrupted through your shoe collection or stand over your favorite pillow, drooling, without hearing, “Nooooooo!”?
4. You choose the TV show, he’s just happy to be near you:
The rest of the family balks, but he snuggles in under the blanket for a marathon run of Real Housewives of Terre Haute. Ditto for Teenage Kardashian Pawn-Shop Moms. No judgment.
5. It’s hard to determine where she ends and you begin:
Especially in bed. I mean you’d think she’d begin on her side and end where you start on your side, but the fact is, she’s right there up against you, not really letting you begin. And as the night goes on, it’s harder and harder for you to begin, what with her ending so far over on your side. Pretty soon it’s like you’re not even there at all anymore, neither beginning nor ending, nor existing anywhere in between. Not to mention not getting a wink of sleep. But that’s ok. She’s sleeping for you. And you’re all one, together, no beginning or end.
