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Why Do Dogs Give Us "presents"?


Kirislin
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I've had dogs for years and I think I know mine pretty well. Penny (now dec) and her son Tag are great ones for giving presents when they're happy. Tag just reminded me of it this morning. He'd pulled a green apple off the tree and was pretty excited, wagging his tail vigorously and parading around with his prize. I said what have you got there? and he got all sort of coy, bowing his head and coming up to me with it. I gave him a pat and he presented me with the apple. I took it and thanked him and then offered it back and he happily took it away again.

I love these silly interactions with my dogs, but I dont fully understand what's going on. What is the purpose of them giving presents like this?

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Guest hankodie

Hankie gives me presents all the time! It's so cute. It's his answer to everything. Odie will be going nuts at the doorbell while Hank will panic and run around the house looking for a toy to greet the guest with :laugh: I think that's mostly a retriever thing though, he always has to have something in his mouth!

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Hankie gives me presents all the time! It's so cute. It's his answer to everything. Odie will be going nuts at the doorbell while Hank will panic and run around the house looking for a toy to greet the guest with :laugh: I think that's mostly a retriever thing though, he always has to have something in his mouth!

No, I dont think it's just a retriever thing, my whippets do it too.

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I've heard that they toy for visitors is a displacement thing - fergus (MS cross) does this all the time, including when I come to the door.

In terms of giving it to you, the bows might mean he wants to play a game, you don't play so he's modified the game to give you the thing. Fergs parades things on front of me all the time in the hope of a game of chasey or an exchange for num-nums.

Edited by megan_
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Hahah yes, Cocoa gives me presents when I get home from work, or when exciting new people come to the house. It's usually one of her toys. I doubt very strongly with my dog it's a displacement thing, I've never met a dog that loves visitors like she does. She doesn't even bark at the door when people come, just stands there wagging her whole back end so hard that her tail bangs against the wall.

Edited by melzawelza
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Hankie gives me presents all the time! It's so cute. It's his answer to everything. Odie will be going nuts at the doorbell while Hank will panic and run around the house looking for a toy to greet the guest with :laugh: I think that's mostly a retriever thing though, he always has to have something in his mouth!

I get this too with mine. When I come home from work, he is at the door but then races off to find a soft toy. Same with when guests arrive - he runs to get a toy.

Not sure what the idea is but it has also translated into the fact he has never ever ever ever destroyed a single soft toy. He treats them with care, flea nibbles them and has to have them nearby.

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Danois my Robo dog used to do that too! Every time I'd go to Perth I'd buy him a new soft toy and he had heaps that were his cuddle buddies that he'd carry around and lick better and nibble at them and stuff :)

But he never really brought a toy to anyone... embarrass.gif I'd usually grab one for him though, may not have had a chance :)

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Maddie doesn't but Stan always brings me a stuffed toy when I come home. Last week he bought me half a container of laundry liquid that I was using as a door stop, it must have been the first thing he saw as he bolted through the house :laugh:

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Hahah yes, Cocoa gives me presents when I get home from work, or when exciting new people come to the house. It's usually one of her toys. I doubt very strongly with my dog it's a displacement thing, I've never met a dog that loves visitors like she does. She doesn't even bark at the door when people come, just stands there wagging her whole back end so hard that her tail bangs against the wall.

Sometimes displacement behaviours happen because a dog is excited . It is a way to channel the excitement . Fergs love visitors too.

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Wow, never experienced that.

Jasper will bring throw-toys to me when he wants to play fetch, and drop them at my feet. Not as much now, but when he was on his own, he would do it a lot.

Chloe loves to play fetch, but she also wants to play keep. She loves to play chasey with Jasper, if he gets the toy she will chase him around the yard. But Jasper won't chase her, and neither will her humans. So she will come trotting up with a ball or toy in her mouth, looking very proud, and trying to induce a chase, but she rarely ever gives.

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I see the OP as a pack thing. One pack member has something, the Alpha goes over to see what it is the pack member gives it to the Alpha, the Alpha either decides to keep it for themselves, give it back or share it with the whole pack. That's what would be happening in the wild isn't it?

I want to know what eyeball sniffing is all about. I've had two dogs now that like to sniff your eyeballs, no licking, just intensive sniffing. What kind of special smells come from there?

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Dogs that give presents always remind me of the Looney Tunes cartoons, with the little dog following the big Bulldog around saying ''Chester is my hero''. With the little dog always trying to please the alpha Bulldog with things lol.

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