Our 75 Pound Dog Sits on my Wifes Head.

Question
QUESTION: We have a GREAT family dog.  He is a Rhodesian Ridgeback/German Shepard mix.  Over the last few months he has begun to sit on my wife's head while she lays sleeping in bed.  Any thoughts on what might be motivating this "interesting" behavior?

ANSWER: Hi, Cary,

Thanks for the question.

I used to board a Dalmatian female who liked sleeping with her butt on top of my head. I have no idea why. Probably some kind of social anxiety issue. Is your dog "over" friendly with strangers and other dogs?

LCK

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QUESTION: Thanks for the reply.  He is VERY friendly with strangers and other dogs.  Does that piece of information provide you with any additional insight?

ANSWER: Well, it fits what I'm thinking of, although I'm not 100% sure I can verbalize what I'm thinking! Let me try.

When a dog gets nervous about meeting people or other dogs they can either act defensively or get super friendly. The superfriendly dogs have learned a coping mechanism for dealing with what is basically a frightening situation.

The primary thing that makes dogs nervous about meeting people is that we're taller than them; our eyes are high above theirs, putting them in a position of emotional disadvantage. The other thing, and this key, is that we have big heads. Big heads = predator in a dog's unconscious defensive system. Even when as puppies dogs see their mothers as both a source of nourishment (from one end of her body) as well as a source of nervous tension (from her big head!). So I guess it could be that your dog feels more comfortable when he's got your wife's head under his "control" while he's sleeping. He may feel that she has the same kind of maternal energy as his mother, which would be why he doesn't do this with you. (Although if your wife should go on a trip, he may start doing it to you!)

Frankly, I'm not sure that this is a reasonable explanation, but it's the best I can come up with for the time being. I will cogitate on it some more though, and let you know if I come up with something a bit more brilliant...

LCK

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QUESTION: First of all, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your time and insights here.  They are much appreciated.  

Some pieces may be starting to fall into place.  Frankly, I feel like a moron for not sharing what may be some key information.

Six months ago, we added a 5 month old poodle puppy to our family.  Our Ridgback/Shepard mix and the puppy have been inseparable from the onset.  The play together, sleep together, eat together, etc.  In fact, they often share the same chew toy even though there may be a dozen other chew toys laying around the room.

Despite the fact that the two dogs appear to have a great relationship, they do seem to have somewhat of a friendly competetion for affection from my wife, my kids and I going on.  My wife's relationship with the poodle is EXTREMELY maternal.  And the puppy (now almost 1 year old) is almost always curled up tight next to her sleeping at night.  Might these set of circumstances help explain the head sitting?

P.S.  My wife does travel a fair bit for a living.  So far, no sitting on my head.  But, I will definitly keep my eyes wide open!  

Answer
I had another thought on the matter, related to something I said earlier about what the head represents to a puppy. It might seem unlikely, but if your dog found the most comfortable spot for sleeping when he was in the litter was right next to his mama's head, with his butt pressed up against her nose, etc., that would've become a learned, somewhat habitual behavior, and could've carried over to this odd bedtime positioning.

It's just a theory.

LCK