Have you ever wonder why your dog would prefer to lay on you than a comfortable spot on the couch? Are they doing it to get your attention? Most dogs don’t waste the opportunity to be cuddled, mostly when they notice you are not carrying anything. Sitting on your couch with something on your laps is likely to be replaced by your dog, notwithstanding their size. Most dog owners see it as an affectionate act and find it comfortable, while others don’t enjoy their canine friend’s weight and see it as a distraction.

We will be looking at five reasons why your pal would prefer to lie on your laps than beside you.

Top 5 reasons why your dog lay on you

1. It is comfortable

If your buddy doesn’t display abnormal behavior, that means they find it more comfortable to lie on your laps than on a couch or their bed. 

2. Sense of security

Due to their sense of security, they may lay on your laps mostly when they notice other people or animals around you.  

3. Expression of love; 

If your dog lay on your laps, wanting you to rub their stomach, then they are doing it to express love. Your dog is maybe trying to express their love for you by lying on your lap. Mostly when you’ve not been around for a long time and just returned home, once you are seated or lie down immediately, your dog will siege the opportunity to tell you how much she has missed your presence.  

4. Missing their mom or dad (mostly for puppies)

If your pal is still a puppy, then she may lay on your laps as a sign of her missing her mum or dad and wants you to cuddle her and be her new mum and dad. 

5. Looking for attention; 

One of the common reasons why your dog loves lying on your laps is to gain your attention. If you have not given your buddy attention for some time and your dog knows that she will get your attention if she lay on you, she’s more likely to lay on you for your attention.

Should you encourage this behavior?

Encourage the behavior depends on either you love and welcome the action or you don’t like it.

Not everybody loves it when their dog lies on them. Whenever your dog lay on you, you can gentle send your dog off. For pal not to perceive it as you rejecting her, you need to be gentle about it. You can allow your dog to stay beside you to make her feel loved, so she doesn’t think you are casing her away.

If you love your pal presence and enjoy her laying on you occasional, then you should be thinking of how to encourage the behavior, not discouraging it. Because allowing her to lay on your laps will increase your bond and make you more comfortable since it is a mutual act. 

How to train them not to do it if you do not like it?

Suppose your dog laying on your lap is uncomfortable, distracting, and unpleasant to you, maybe because of their weight. The most preferred thing to do is teach your dog in a gentle and friendly way to lie somewhere else. You can do this by rewarding her if she behaves the way you’ve trained her too.

You could also try some of these helpful tricks

1. Ignoring your dog; the best thing to do is get your dog off you, knowing that attention is what she seeks. Once you get your dog off you, wait for some time before returning to your site. If your dog returns, continue the process until it gets registered in their head that you don’t want it. 
2. Not encouraging the act; once your dog knows she will get your attention whenever she lays on your laps, she will continuously do it whenever she wants to get your attention. Therefore, if you don’t like the act, discourage the act by casing her away friendly. 
3. Make a comfortable, quiet, spacious, and cool location where you prefer your dog to lay is another way of training your dog on her sleeping spot rather than lying on your laps.
4. Gentle encourage your dog to stand and lay down there. You can reward pal if she does. 
5. Continuously replicate the training for some time daily until your dog recognizes and accepts that position as her laying spot and is likely to get rewarded when she yields.

Final thoughts

Dogs have different reasons for lying to their pals, and most dogs love it. Once it’s a mutual behavior and both you and your pal are comfortable with the cuddle and love the act, it’s OK to allow her to lay on you. But if your dog is laying on you to claim dominance of your attention over other things, and you don’t like it, then you have to take some action to stop or reduce it.