Dog lays down

[katkins1985]

When ever I go and pick my dog up from the neighbor's he always lays down on his back and rolls over. He will not get up unless I drag him. Why does he do this? He is an Australian Shepard and I get so frustrated because of the way that he acts. What can I do to make him stop?

[Idan Kashi]

This behavior may indicate about submissiveness, not necessarily. Maybe the way you try to pick him up makes him feel threatened (if you're coming from above him) so he lies on his back.

How is he generally? Does he sometimes act fearfully or submissively?

[Annie]

Hi there,
Try going to pick your dog up, and TOTALLY IGNORING him. Ask your kind neighbour if you can chat for a couple of minutes, and make no eye contact, no words, no petting etc etc. When you are ready to go, clip on the lead and off you go. Maybe the first few times you may need to drag him ( also ignoring!) but you should find that quite quickly your dog will respond to your relaxed attitude, and wait quietly for you to leave, and be happy to do so.

Sometimes dogs get confused. You leave , maybe it´s a abandonment ( feeling) or a punishment, but the dog is left behind. Then when the owner returns full of cuddles and kisses the dog may think that he was right to feel insecure, and maybe it was the dogs fault he was 'left' behind....it can get all wierd and twisted.

To make it simple, we leave our dog, saying possibly a firm, quick goodbye, and then we return as though it´s the most boring and normal thing to be leaving and coming back.

Don´t give your dog a chance to ' appologize' by lying on his back submissive. These things don´t work if nobody notices. When yopu get him outside\home, do something fun together to re-enforce your strong bond, have a bounce in your step and a laugh in your voice. This is hard to do when you are dragging and ignoring, but YOU need to set the example for how you want the situation to go!
Good luck!
Annie