Why Do Bernese Mountain Dogs Sit on Your Feet or Lean?

Is your Bernese Mountain dog leaning on you or sitting on your feet? If you notice these changes suddenly, there’s nothing to be worried about.

These dogs are fond of leaning on you, cuddling with you and they can even come and sit on your feet.

Why do Bernese Mountain dogs sit on your feet or lean?

Bernese Mountain dogs will sit on you or lean on you mostly to show affection or to seek comfort from you. If Bernese leans on you, it could be because they want to show dominance or simply want your protection. When they are suffering from anxiety or fear, they would sit on you.

Leaning on you, and sitting on you is not the only way a Bernese Mountain dog communicated. One of the ways that they show their love for their owners is by coming between the legs. Adult canines do this particularly when they are stressed or want to avoid other people.

Bernese Mountain Dogs are loving and easy-going. This breed usually loves to spend time with their favorite family members and in most cases can be quite needy as well.

Because they are clingy and will probably follow their owners around, they are sometimes characterized as Velcro.

They will always want their owner’s attention on them and for that, they feel the need to maintain some physical contact. For that, they either lean on you or sit on your feet.

If your canine is doing this, you may want to pay attention as they might also be suffering from anxiety and fear.

Why do Bernese Mountain dogs sit on your feet?

There are a few good reasons why your Bernese Mountain dog might come around and sit on your feet any chance they get. Here are a few possible explanations:

Way of showing love:

Bernese Mountain Dogs sit on your feet just to establish some form of physical contact with you. Through that, they are simply trying to show love and affection for the person they care about so much.

This behavior of dogs is quite common and they often sit on the person’s feet who they are closest to.

If you have been out for a longer period, they might crave your presence more. Hence, they come and sit on your feet because they feel that’s the closest, they can be to you.

They might also be needing and wanting your attention more as they are slightly clingy dogs.

They might feel anxious:

It is not always love and affection when they sit on you. If for any reason, your Bernese is feeling anxious and unhappy, they might come to sit on your feet just to feel safe and comforted.

When they require protection and assurance from what is bothering them, they sit on your feet.

They have seen others do it:

A lot of behavior coming from your dog might be a process of what they have learned from you and your family members.

Although Bernese Mountain dogs are touchy animals who love to be by their owner’s presence, they might have learned to show love this way.

Why do Bernese Mountain dogs go between your legs?

A big Bernese Mountain dog suddenly walking up and settling between your legs is not the most common behavior. Here is what it means when your dog comes between your legs:

Seeking comfort and protection:

You would notice that your grown-up, mature Bernese Mountain dog starts to go between your legs more than it did when it was young.

This is because they require comfort from their beloved owner. Because they feel safe when they are around you, they want to be as close to you as they can

Anxiety and fear:

When Bernese Mountain dogs sit between your legs, they feel nothing can harm them or come near them. And they seek such a feeling when something is bothering them.

Mostly a strange or unfavorable noise, or person might make them feel fearful. Loud noises and too much crowd can sometimes make them feel this way.

Avoiding other people or animals:

Although Bernese dogs are family dogs and are quite easygoing in nature, sometimes they can have a tendency to avoid strangers.

They might bark at people they are not fond of, but times they will resort to just go in between your legs and lock themselves up. This behavior is simply saying that they want to avoid those people and just be with you.

Wanting attention from you:

Attention-seeking behavior is not uncommon in Bernese Mountain Dogs. They can be clingy, as well as, touchy at times. They might even get jealous if you are not spending enough time with them.

Why do Bernese Mountain dogs lean on you?

A Bernese Mountain dog leaning on you could mean several points. Here are a few interesting likelihoods:

Way of establishing dominance:

Although this is quite a debatable conversation, many theories prove that when any dog, even a Bernese Mountain dog comes and leans on you, they are trying to show dominance in one way.

Although not necessary, this can be true for the Bernese breed as they are a dominant type. They like to show their boss trait by leaning on humans they have just met.

They want security and comfort:

When your Bernese Mountain dog is leaning against you, with all its body weight, don’t just shove it away thinking it’s clingy behavior.

A lot of times your pet looks to lean on your when they are in search of comfort from their favorite human. They want to feel close to you and want to maintain some form of physical contact in doing so.

Part of pack behavior:

Bernese Mountain dogs have ancestors who have been farm animals or pack animals. Due to this reason, they often look for a pack leader.

To them, you are their pack leader who can be looked up to. So, when they see you sitting on a couch, they might feel the need to lean on you to exhibit some old pack traits.

They are fearful or anxious:

Your Bernese canine leaning on you might mean that they are fearful or something or someone.

When a dog is scared or feeling threatened, they bark or hide behind their loved ones. This is particularly true for young Bernese dogs.

Do Bernese Mountain Dogs have a favorite person?

Bernese Mountain dogs are loving, affectionate, and needy dogs who will always want to be around the person they are most fond of.

It is true that as Bernese Mountain dogs grow up, they choose a person whom they love and trust the most. This person is their favorite with whom they would want to spend most of the time.

Most of the time, the person who is most attentive to them, most loving to them, and most caring is the one who becomes their favorite. Sometimes it is the one who feeds them and takes them to the bathroom or walks,

Are Bernese Mountain dogs clingy?

As you know, Bernese Mountain dogs are fiercely loyal. They are close to the family they grow up in and thrive when they spend more time with their loved ones.

This trait can also make them needier of love. In turn, you can expect your Bernese to become clingy to you.

If you are spending enough time with your canine, they would not feel the need to become clingy. Dogs usually start the needy behavior when they feel they are not getting enough attention.

That is when they would follow you, lean on you and even come sit on your feet more often than you’d like. If Bernese is not properly socialized, they might become clingy when they grow up.

Are Bernese Mountain dogs Velcro dogs?

A Bernese Mountain dog will settle down, go, and follow you wherever you go. They are quite in need of the physical touch of their favorite family members almost all the time.

By definition, Velcro dogs are ones that are extremely clingy to their owners. They will follow their human friends all the time.

Although Bernese Mountain Dogs are not as clingy as some typical Velcro dogs can be, they do show a lot of similar traits.

How do Bernese Mountain dogs show affection?

There are several ways in which a Bernese Mountain dog may show affection to their family. One of the most common ways in which they do so is by leaning on you.

Although sometimes this is a sign of them showing dominance, it has also been seen in Bernese that they seek and show affection by laying on their owners.

Other than that, a Bernese is quite a touchy and loving animal. Sometimes quite casually, a Bernese will come and sit on your feet or just beside you.

They can also sit between your legs to show that they love you and want your security for themselves. They will also cuddle with you or sometimes just simply touch you by your arms to show their affection.

Final Thoughts:

Bernese Mountain dogs are loyal dogs that have a way of showing their love for their owners, through leaning, sitting on you, or going between your legs, your dog is seeking comfort and security. In times of anxiety or fear, they would also do the same.