[Irrampbroow]

The Butt Wiggle thread got me thinking.

Trudi was our first Pit rescue. In the eight years we had her she did things no other dog we ever owned did, like the butt wiggle. In fact, she had dozens of odd, goofy and at times endearing traits that for a long time we thought were exclusively hers.

After joining this site I noticed LiliannaLove's siggie about how her Pit Bull hugs. Trudi hugged and we thought she was the only one. Now, over the past week, Meia has started to hug.

Another thing Trudi would do is yawn repeatedly when stressed, as in during thunderstorms or while sitting in the vet's waiting room. We now find out that Meia will yawn several times while being scolded for puppy infractions.

I thought it might be interesting to compare notes on just how many of these traits our Pits share and how much common ground we share.

[Dastyh]

I've known many Rottweilers and Boxers that also wagged their entire butts.

It's cute to talk about, but I don't believe that any of these mentioned behaviors are specific to "pit bulls".

[bug_user]

Funny! Mine does all 3. In fact I just got a big hug not even a minute ago.

[CedssypeEdids]

I don't get hugs. But all my dogs now full body wiggle with joy. I blame Lucy.

It's cute, until a 100+ pound Saint Bernard does it when you come home, and knocks you to the ground.

[ovenco]

I don't get hugs. But all my dogs now full body wiggle with joy. I blame Lucy.

It's cute, until a 100+ pound Saint Bernard does it when you come home, and knocks you to the ground.

Haha that is really funny. And it's exactly why we never let Athena do stuff like that because I can see her taking out a kid or smaller person when she's bigger.

To the original question, my girl always yarns when she's stressed. And the butt wiggle (actually whole body wiggle) is a given with her too

[Irrampbroow]

Trudi had an odd one. She loved to shake her fuzzy or furry toys, but before each and every shake she would tap the toy once with one of her front paws.
My wife notice it first and both we started watching her each time she was in one of her toy shaking moods. Sure enough prior to each and every shake she tapped the toy once.

It reminded us of the brother on "Everybody Loves Raymond" who touched the spoon to his chin before each bite.

[BigMovies]

JillyBean gets completely still and stares at you without blinking. You know she is in attack mode and you are in for it. Then comes the attack and you better be ready because those doggie kisses are wet!

[gDGwm8BC]

Mollie sighs a lot, like she is just completely bored with you! Bella and the foster, Cooper, are talkers, bellowers, and moaners.. they have to "talk" to you all the time. Bella will start howling at Mollie when Mollie is barking... I like to say that Bella is making fun of Mollie. But the most notable is Mollie with the sighs!

[corolaelwis]

I don't think its pitbull specific but Nina does some of those things.

The yawning is actually a sign of stress, or a way to relieve stress or excitement, or tired... depends on the other body language of the dog/ what just happened/ and how the dogs mood is.

The butt wiggle is definitely Nina. My favorite part about it is, she has that STRONG pitbull tail and she wacks herself in the face every time but it never stops her LOL

The pitbull whine....
Nina doesn't do it because shes well behaved, has no anxiety, and is always well exercised. But almost every other pitbull i mean has the pitbull whine/moan.
Its a very throaty, gurgley, very upset sound and its hilarious to hear. I cant even give you a sound that sounds like it because its pitbull specific. never heard another dog make that sound. One of my clients dogs name is Walrus and he was named for his whine that he does... It fits him well LOL

Thats really the only thing I can come up with thats pitbull specific. but other breeds do the wiggle i know that. I've definitely seen boxers do it.

[Irrampbroow]

The butt wiggle is definitely Nina. My favorite part about it is, she has that STRONG pitbull tail and she wacks herself in the face every time but it never stops her LOL

That sounds just like Trudi. My wife and I would often say to each other, "That has to hurt", but it didn't even slow her down.

I used to call her 'Weedwacker' for the job she did on some of the house plants.

[ringsarcle]

To the OP. Bugsy does all three as well. He is in his "long" puppy stage so his little power whip hits his ribs, hilarious. ALWAYS hugging, and yawns quite often too. Former roommates dog did the exact same three.

---------- Post added at 03:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:11 AM ----------

Oh, roommates dog was also a APBT.

[Qwjyrgij]

mine do all three of those things too!

i have also had a couple that were flat out tap dancers with the front paws in any bout of excitement, you could put them on a bongo drum and have a faster beat than most modern dance music.

[Irrampbroow]

I have to say, this thread may seem trivial to some but I for one love the replies. Before joining this site we only had contact two or three other APBT owners to compare notes with about the wacky stuff our dogs did.

Stress yawns, hugging and butt wiggles may not be exclusive to the breed, but its cool to learn other Pit owners have experienced the same.

What about spontaneous bursts of energy where the dog runs like crazy for several minutes?

Trudi would do this quite often where she would suddenly just start running through the house, usually with a toy in her mouth. She would rip from room to room and if you happened to be standing in the hall or one of the rooms she was racing through, she let out a little 'woof' as she passed by you.
She would sometimes do this as we were playing with her, other times on her own for no apparent reason other than to run.

Now, Meia is starting to do the same.

[Annewsded]

I have always heard yawning was a sign of stress in dog in general. Jake does yawn occassionally, but the true sign of stress with him is to continually lick his lips. When he does this he is truly stressed and needs to be removed from a situation.

All of my dogs, collies and Rotties included give hugs. My Rottie is a much bigger butt wiggler than Jake.

Jake doesn't do the spontaneous burst of energy in the house. If inside he will go into the spins where he chases his tale. When you tell him to go the other way, he stops and spins in the opposite direction.

[ruforumczspam]

My dog sits down and prances with her two front legs wagging her tail and talking to me. If I don't notice her she'll paw me and then sit back down and again and start prancing. She's quite vocal .

We call her the prancer. Anyone else have a prancing pitbull?

She'll also flip her ears back and look up at me-eyes wide open...it's a funny look wish I had a picture and she'll again "talk". She'll prance sometimes giving me the look.

[mnhloot]

Beastley yowls at you in a high pitched voice,especially to get your attention to play. He does the zoomies with his kong in his mouth.

[drugimpotence]

It is likely not a Pit bull only thing... but Bubba will great me the same whether I have been gone 10 hours or 10 minutes. It is hilarious... he will be like " Hi HI HI hi! I missed you! Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle... and then I'll go outside and come back in and he will be OMG OMG I haven't seen you in FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR and start all over again. I love it! Bubba also gives hugs... he will sigh... and he has the cutest puppy dreams ever!

[mXr8icOB]

the only thing i can think of that a pit bull trait is the screamers. and not many pit bulls even do it. but man when you get one, get ready to grab some ear plugs and some f'ed up faces from people when you walk/drive by someone with another dog. lol.

[movlabk]

It is all dog behaviour. Probably more breeds do them than don't.

[nebrarlepleme]

Both MJ and a friend of mine's dog, Itty (a rescued dogfighting brood bitch) both will "shiver" if you run your fingernails down their back. Neither have fleas or allergies, its almost like it feels so good they have to shiver! It's hilarious, and I've never personally seen other dogs do this.
On another note, Murphy, my Am Bully pup (10wks), will try to nurse off his rope every now and then. He'll even get those paws kneading, and everything. He usually gets frustrated and decides to shake it violently after it won't give him what he wants, haha!