Q&A: My dog seems to talk to us by burping, is this a “calming signal”?
Question by Sarah: My dog seems to talk to us by burping, is this a “calming signal”?
For the past few years we have had two dogs, and the younger one has developed a habit of burping to us when we would talk to her. She is on a very healthy diet for a possible skin allergy, and even then does not each much, but she does seem to swallow air when drinking. I wouldn’t really notice except she will talk back to us in burps if we talk to her, I have heard of this happening with yawning and that it might be a calming signal. Anyone else heard of this? Also she is a mix of a whippet and Labrador, with some anxiety and went through some abuse before we rescued her.
Thats interesting bout the hiccups, she normally does it when we talk in a normal, most times we ask her to go get her toy, she only tries to get us to play “come and get me”, but is content with wondering around the house with it.
I’ll start paying more attention to the tone of the voice we use.
When she gets up set she’ll normally go in circles really fast and bites herself, we think it’s from being in a crate for so long.
Best answer:
Answer by ?shelter puppies rule?
Well I know hiccups are a sign of anxiety. (or a growth spurt for puppies). Maybe burping is another sign of anxiety. how are you talking to her? in a sweet baby voice? Sometimes when we coddle dogs, it really just reinforces their fear, like it’s telling them something is wrong and you have a reason to be afraid.
add: try not to dwell so much on her current behaviors being a result of her past (although probably are) she’s in a great home now it sounds like, try to refocus her when she starts spinning. she might like a game where you hide her toy and ask her to find it.
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