Hi,
I have a dog that is 11 months. She leans on me whenever standing by me, sitting by me, or laying by me. If she sits down and isn't leaning on me, she will actually scoot until she's touching me, then she just stares at nothing or watches what's going on around us. I have been told a dozen times that this is a dominant behavior. However, this is probably one of the most submissive dogs that I have ever seen. I can take her food, toys, or treats without a problem, she lowers her head and almost bows every time I walk towards her, she rolls over the second she thinks she's in trouble or thinks that I'm mad at her, she is very obedient to every command given, if she leans on me and I tell her to move, she moves immediately and goes to sit or lay somewhere else but sometimes makes her way back to where I am after awhile and is leaning against me again. I need to know if I need to discourage or encourage this behavior because she seems very submissive and almost like she just always wants to be touching me or to have human contact but everything that I read says that this is a dominant behavior. I don't really discipline her because she is a pretty obedient dog but when I do, she is put in her kennel or put outside. Any helpful advice/opinion is welcomed. Thank you.

That isn't dominant behaviour. She is very needy but only 11 months old; she may change as she gets older and this will change. There is nothing you have to try changing for now. Let her grow.

Do you know what breed or mix she is?

I ask because some breeds (like my Doberman) are very people oriented. They have a person and they want to be with their person. It is part of the temperament bred into them. They get the label 'velcro dogs' for a very obvious reason.

It isn't really a problem unless she shows signs of being upset if you leave her or she insists on getting between you and other people/pets. If she ever shows aggression when someone else is sitting close to you, that needs to be corrected immediately by making her move.

It mainly what you are willing to put up with. If she is a tripping hazard, then enforce your space. If you want her contact, let her know that you are accepting it on your terms and give her a signal it is okay. It sounds like that is what you have already been doing.

It appears to be caring or even protecting. Wanting to be close. I am not a real dog expert, but it does not sound like a problem

I wish I could rep Cat twice, excellent post.

In the wild dogs are in packs. Pack members are very much a family, they hunt together, they raise their babies together, their survival depends on each member of the pack. They are also very affectionate with each other, grooming each other, sleeping together for warmth and comfort. Leaning on each other is a sign of affection, of needed to be with their family.

You're her family, her pack. Leaning on you is not at all a sign of dominance, in fact I'd say it's the exact opposite.

But I do agree with Cat. If it becomes an issue where she won't let someone else near you, or becomes aggressive if she's moved away from you, then it becomes an issue that needs to be corrected. But right now, I'd so you're doing fine, and very lucky to have a dog that's as well behaved as her at 11 months of age.

Pictures are always welcome. Hint hint. :)

Tickle--

This may be the case, I will take that advice and give her some time to grow out of it.

Cat--

She is a purebred American Staffordshire Terrier. I've never had a dog that does this, and I also had another AmStaff for about 4 years and she followed me everywhere but she was content to just be near me. Cocoa doesn't get upset when I leave and she's very social with people but does get overly excited with people she isn't around all the time. Also, I never knew this about the Doberman. I've never owned one because I never knew much about them, but they are good looking dogs.

Chuck--

I didn't think it was a problem initially but there was so much negative feedback about this behavior, I was having doubts and starting to wonder if I might have a dominant dog but not be aware of it. My initial thoughts though were that this was not a dominant behavior.

Alty--

I will watch for that but for now she is very people-friendly and doesn't worry about if she is moved away from me, my husband takes her sometimes and she's fine with it. I do feel lucky because she is very obedient but there are definitely times that she misbehaves :) But also, the AmStaff is naturally a very obedient and stable breed.

Thank you all for all of your input and advice, it was really helpful as I strive to make sure I have a balanced pet so I wanted to make sure that I addressed this if it was dominance. Thank you! :)

Also, I tried to upload pics but I'm not sure that it worked :/

No pictures, pout pout pout. ;)

There is a link on how to post pictures on this site, but the site skin has changed, so I'm not sure if that link is even relevant anymore.

I haven't posted a picture in a while. Let me try, so I can figure it out, and then I'll post instructions.

Wish me luck. ;)

Alty--
Okay, let me know if you find anything out on posting pictures and I will upload a few. Thanks!