They jump on us when we get home, wag their tails when they're happy, and generally bring a lot of color and joy to their owners' lives. Anyone who has a dog is familiar with this behavior, which indicates joy and love, but it turns out that dogs express love toward their owners in a variety of interesting and adorable ways beyond just tail wagging. If you have a dog at home, you’ll be happy to discover the 10 unique, and sometimes odd, ways they express their affection toward you, essentially saying without words, "I love you."
1. Takes your clothes to his bed
As is well known, dogs have a highly developed sense of smell, which allows them to recognize their owners by the unique scent of their bodies. To feel close to their beloved owners, dogs often take their clothes, such as shoes, socks, shirts, and more, to the place where they sleep so they won’t be separated from their presence, even for a moment.
2. Looks at you calmly when you leave home
Many people mistakenly think that a dog’s howling when their owners leave the house is a sign of love, but despite this common belief, dogs howling and crying when their owners leave actually indicate fear and separation anxiety. On the other hand, if your dog looks at you calmly when you leave the house or curls up in a corner, it’s a sign that he loves you, trusts you, and is confident that you will return to him at the end of the day.
3. Cuddles with you after a meal
In his research and book "How Dogs Love Us?", researcher and professor of psychiatry and psychology Gregory Berns found a special way dogs express affection toward their owners; dogs are driven by hunger and the desire to eat, and what they do after a meal reflects the second most important thing to them. When your dog’s next action after eating is to cuddle with you for a few moments, it likely means his love for you is strong, and he wants to be with you after he’s eaten and is satisfied.
4. Pushes your partner out of bed
Just as you are the center of their world, dogs want to be the center of yours, so don’t be surprised if they push your partner out of bed. When dogs love their owners, they don’t want to share them with anyone else and may want to “kick out” the person lying in your bed every night instead of them. It’s recommended to buy a big enough bed to comfortably fit all three of you.
5. Wakes you up in the morning
Dogs are enthusiastic creatures, no doubt about that, and they don’t want to waste a moment of waking time without their beloved owners! If your alarm clock has four legs, fur, and licks your face early in the morning, it’s a clear sign that he loves you and doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to start a day of adventures, games, and walks by your side.
6. Raises and moves his “eyebrows”
Tail wagging is a well-known sign of excitement and affection in dogs, but it turns out their “eyebrows” also help them express emotion. In a study published in 2013, researchers from Japan presented dogs with their owners, a stranger, another dog, a dog toy, and an item they didn’t like. When the dogs looked at their owners, they raised their “eyebrows,” particularly the left one, which didn’t happen with the other items. So if you see your dog moving his “eyebrows” up and down, there’s no doubt about it—he loves you!
7. Yawns with you
Yawning is contagious among humans, that’s well known, but when dogs do this action with you—it has a special meaning. Yawning is a mirror act of empathy among humans, and although it’s difficult to measure this emotion in dogs, it also represents closeness and empathy in them. Dogs are more likely to yawn when someone they love and feel close to yawns—more so than with strangers. This is their unique way of showing their love to their owners.
8. Leans on you
Like humans, dogs tend to get scared sometimes, which causes them to lean on their owners and cling to them to relieve their fears. This action is meant to release tension, but behind it are feelings of love and trust that dogs have for their owners. When a dog loves and trusts his owner, he will lean on him in times of fear because he trusts him enough to know that he is not a threat, but rather someone who loves him and can be leaned on for comfort, much like a hug between humans.
9. Lies beside you when you feel unwell
Dogs have big hearts that ache when they see their owners are not feeling well, such as when they’re sick or even just having a bad day. When this happens, dogs tend to lie next to their owners and mimic their behavior to show empathy and comfort them during tough times. When your dog does this, he’s showing you that someone loves you and is also trying to lift your spirits with his presence and the empathy we all need from time to time.
10. Brings you his favorite toy
In their distant past, dogs moved in packs that had a leader they admired and tried to please by offering various tokens. With their domestication, dogs turned this behavior toward their owners, and this is reflected in them bringing their favorite toy to the person they admire. So, when your dog brings you his favorite toy, it’s not just a sign that he wants to play, but also that he’s willing to share with you the item most valuable to him—whether it’s a battered tennis ball or a toy he’s had for years. In dogs’ eyes, sharing beloved items is a sign of deep admiration, and if your dog does this, then he loves you!
