The hip nudge is a common canine behavior. Dog owners often think their dogs are pushy or impolite when they turn their backs to them, sometimes even pushing them. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
A hip nudge is a behavior a dog shows when it nudges another with its hip or rear end. Dogs often use this behavior towards us during greeting ceremonies when we show them passive friendliness by crouching down to them. The dog will walk towards us and turn round. Then, it will gently nudge us with its hip or rear end or stand passively with its back turned to us.
This dog shows a half hip nudge, still a sign of friendliness. Both human and dog are relaxed and show their peaceful intentions and that they trust one another (photo by Lisa Jernigan Bain).
The hip nudge functions as a pacifying behavior. It signals and elicits friendliness. By turning its back to us, the dog shows it doesn’t intend to attack—it directs its teeth away from us. It also indicates it trusts us.
Dogs use a variety of this same behavior during mating rituals when the male nudges the female.
I described this behavior for the first time in 1987 in the original edition of “Dog Language” after having spent several years observing, photographing, and filming dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), wolves (Canis lupus lupus), and foxes (Vulpes vulpes).
There are only minor differences between wolf and dog, which we can describe as dialects. The fox is different because, although displaying many behaviors common to the other two, adults are not as social as their canid cousins.
References
Abrantes, R.A. (1992/1997). Dog Language—An Encyclopedia of Canine Behavior. Wakan Tanka Publishers, Naperville, IL.
Abrantes, R.A. (1997/2005). The Evolution of Canine Social Behavior. Wakan Tanka Publishers, Naperville, IL.
Fox, M.W. (1971). Behaviour of Wolves, Dogs and Related Canids. Harper & Row.
McFarland, D. (1999). Animal Behavior. Pearson Prentice Hall, England. 3rd ed.
Scott, J.P. and Fuller, J.L. (1965). Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog. University of Chicago.
Zimen, E. (1981). The Wolf – his Place in the Natural World. Souvenir Press.
Featured image: The hip nudge functions as a pacifying behavior. It signals friendliness (illustration by Alice Rasmussen from “Dog Language” by Roger Abrantes).
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