[jassy]

Whenever we come home or someone comes to the door, Maggie rushes around to find a toy or bone to bring with her when she greets the newcomer. She does not want to give us the toy. She holds it in her mouth and whines while we pet her. I can't figure out why she has to bring something with her to the door. I have noticed that when she is carrying something she is not jumping up and is better about waiting to be petted so maybe she does it to stay calmer?

 

[Rio Girl]

She does that because she can't suck her thumb!

 

[LeeAnn]

I don't have an answer, but I have seen a lot of dogs do that. Maybe they're "making nice" /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

I'm also /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

 

[Murphys Dad]

Coincidentally, I was browsing in the dog section at a bookstore today and, of course, picked up a book about raising beagles. In the "behaviors" chapter, there was an entry about how to train a dog not to jump on visitors and it instructed the owner to require the dog to have a toy in its mouth when it came to door to greet a visitor. It sounds like Maggie has mastered this technique all by herself!! :thumbup:

 

[Murphys Dad]

Who knows why, but if it works go with it! I wish I could teach Jersey to do that.

 

[Murphys Dad]

I don't know why, either, but we've had more than one dog that's done that. It seems kind of touching , and we always express appreciation for the "present."

 

[jassy]

judymaggie....I will have to tell all my friends with their perfectly behaved dogs that my beagle is so smart that she uses the proper training techniques with no guidance from me. She is a self trained beagle!!

 

[jcfehr]

2 of my girls do this...Dakota (lab) and Madison (shepard/boxer mix) both have a stuffed elephant in the mouth and are standing at the baby gate with them when I walk in the door and in fact they don't jump up at all when they have them.

very interesting Judy .....

 

[gvschmokes]

Everytime I get ready to take Beasley outside, she will run to her crate and grab a toy to take with her to the door...No idea why she does it, she knows that I'm going to take it out of her mouth the second we get to the door, but she does it every time.

 

[patama1004]

I don't know why either. But Boeing sometimes does that too, only with his plastic milk bowl, not the toy. When someone comes to our house (especially someone Boeing knows), he'll run into the kitchen, grab the bowl, run back to the person and drop the bowl at their feet. :rolleye11: