DogDaz Zoo

Tummy rubs.  My dogs love tummy rubs.  I think that humans like backrubs best, but dogs, well they really like tummy rubs.  I guess it would just feel to vulnerable to me to have someone rub my tummy.  When I was pregnant, total strangers thought they had some weird right to touch my belly.  How Rude!  I think that is so invasive of a person’s privacy.  But my dogs, they love it and ask for it daily.  (Since I have never had a pregnant dog, I don’t know how they feel about it, maybe they don’t like it during that time for the same reasons that humans don’t, it is just to vulnerable.)  Louise and Sofie are both submissive animals in my pack, so I figure they get on their backs and just sort of say, ‘Hey, aren’t I cute, please don’t hurt me!’  Come to think of it, I do not remember ever having seen The Muffin Man, our old alpha cat, ever, in all his years, show his belly.  All the other cats in the pride do, but not him.  The other cats lie on their backs and show their bellies very often, but around here, if you want to keep your hand in one piece, I would not try to rub any cat’s underside (S C R A T C H!).

Tummy rubs are a big deal in our house.  I tend to give them in the morning before work and definitely find time for some before the pups go to bed.  Sofie is a big one to throw herself on the ground and roll over immediately if she thinks she is going to get yelled at (smart dog). 

Rubbing a dog’s tummy is different than scratching (I look at rubbing more like massage).  I like to give all my animals a good scratch in some of their favorite ‘scratch zones’ regularly.  Have you noticed that most dogs seem to have a scratch trigger spot down near the inside of the back leg (kind of between the ribs and mid-hip).  This makes their back leg kick as a reaction to the scratching motion. I think the dogs like it, but I don’t know for sure. Something tells me it is probably a protective response (more so in male dogs) to protect their private regions.  (Is that TMI (To Much Information)?)  Louise also really likes to be scratched on her flanks and top of her tail (as I watch the short little black hairs fly).  I am still exploring Sofie’s scratch zones, but I know she likes her chest done.

Does your furry have a special scratch zone?

Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤