My Frustrating Inherited Ornamental Bichon Frise Psuedoi-Dog

[JimBowie1958]

She is a cute little pinkish, white-furred poodle looking dog.

Totally useless except to be petted and barking at any strangers coming to the front door.

She belonged to my Mother-in-law who is a nice person, but the medical facility she is in wont let in dogs, so Molly went to use for occasional visits.

She is very well behaved, but there is this odd quirk about her that I dont understand at all.

While I pet her, she usually will roll over on her back and lift her nose till it is straight up and away from me or whoever is petting her.

She plainly expects me to do something, but I have no idea what. My wife has asked her mother but she either starts crying or cant remember.

But I cant figure it out and I get frustrated in my autistic way, and it makes the whole thing unpleasant.

Any ideas for me to try?

 

[miketx]

Perhaps a massage?

 

[Auld Phart]

scratch her belly

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

She is a cute little pinkish, white-furred poodle looking dog.

Totally useless except to be petted and barking at any strangers coming to the front door.

She belonged to my Mother-in-law who is a nice person, but the medical facility she is in wont let in dogs, so Molly went to use for occasional visits.

She is very well behaved, but there is this odd quirk about her that I dont understand at all.

While I pet her, she usually will roll over on her back and lift her nose till it is straight up and away from me or whoever is petting her.

She plainly expects me to do something, but I have no idea what. My wife has asked her mother but she either starts crying or cant remember.

But I cant figure it out and I get frustrated in my autistic way, and it makes the whole thing unpleasant.

Any ideas for me to try?

Scratch her stomach? My lab does that when I'm petting his back, he'll roll over and that's the queue to scratch his tummy. He'll writhe around and scratch his back (and shed) all over the carpet.

 

[norwegen]

Give her a treat.

 

[Compost]

Scratch her neck. Rub her tummy. Continue to pet her. Tell her she's a good girl. See how she reacts after you do these things. If you don't figure it out, don't worry about it. You will NEVER fully understand any dog.

 

[Pogo]

scratch her belly

Seconded. She's just submitting to your authority, that's all.

Not directly related but I came across this yesterday....

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[JimBowie1958]

scratch her belly

I did many times, but she doesn't seem to act like that was what she wanted.

I have no idea, maybe it's how I do it, I don't know.

I wish my mother-in-law would/could tell me. I feel like I am neglecting the poor ornamental doggie.

 

[JimBowie1958]

Scratch her neck. Rub her tummy. Continue to pet her. Tell her she's a good girl. See how she reacts after you do these things. If you don't figure it out, don't worry about it. You will NEVER fully understand any dog.

Well that is certainly true.

 

[JimBowie1958]

Give her a treat.

Lol, she would end up looking like a pink fury beach ball.

I give her treats when we come back in from one of her successful poop runs.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

She is a cute little pinkish, white-furred poodle looking dog.

Totally useless except to be petted and barking at any strangers coming to the front door.

She belonged to my Mother-in-law who is a nice person, but the medical facility she is in wont let in dogs, so Molly went to use for occasional visits.

She is very well behaved, but there is this odd quirk about her that I dont understand at all.

While I pet her, she usually will roll over on her back and lift her nose till it is straight up and away from me or whoever is petting her.

She plainly expects me to do something, but I have no idea what. My wife has asked her mother but she either starts crying or cant remember.

But I cant figure it out and I get frustrated in my autistic way, and it makes the whole thing unpleasant.

Any ideas for me to try?

She wants you to scratch under her chin.

 

[justinacolmena]

Totally useless except to be petted and barking at any strangers coming to the front door.

That's hard work for a dog.

While I pet her, she usually will roll over on her back and lift her nose till it is straight up and away from me or whoever is petting her.

She wants a belly rub or a chin scratch.

 

[Polishprince]

Do you have other dogs in your home? What do they think about it?

 

[emilynghiem]

She is a cute little pinkish, white-furred poodle looking dog.

Totally useless except to be petted and barking at any strangers coming to the front door.

She belonged to my Mother-in-law who is a nice person, but the medical facility she is in wont let in dogs, so Molly went to use for occasional visits.

She is very well behaved, but there is this odd quirk about her that I dont understand at all.

While I pet her, she usually will roll over on her back and lift her nose till it is straight up and away from me or whoever is petting her.

She plainly expects me to do something, but I have no idea what. My wife has asked her mother but she either starts crying or cant remember.

But I cant figure it out and I get frustrated in my autistic way, and it makes the whole thing unpleasant.

Any ideas for me to try?

She wants you to scratch under her chin.

Yes try scratching under her chin or around her neck.

Can you start scratching but give her room to move whatever side she wants scratched into position?

If your mother in law ever gets to go out visiting, if you pick a place where you can bring her dog, then if she does this gesture it may cue your MIL to respond the way she used to. So you could see what she does.

If it still doesn't seem right to you, ask around for a pet psychologist known and referred for reading body language and vibes of pets. Someone with ability to empathize and communicate with pets will be able to read what your pet wants or when you are doing it right.

If not, it is perfectly fine to experiment and come up with your own way of saying hi and showing love. Dogs can read your vibes, and know you care and want to feed or spoil them. Come up with your own routine, and if you want help I would ask around for someone with that type of skill and talent in figuring out your dog.

 

[dblack]

Pseudo dog is about right.