Does your Australian shepherd love you as much as you love them?
Believe it or not there are at least 10 reliable signs that your Aussie might be displaying all of which signify they do in fact love you to the moon and back. See what they are below!
10 Ways To Know Your Australian Shepherd Loves You
Let’s break down the 10 real signs of affection you can look out for that indicate your Aussie does love you.
1. Sitting near or leaning on you (physical contact)
If your Aussie casually comes up to sit or lay right next to you, making contact, this is a simple yet powerful sign of affection. Any kind of physical contact like this indicates you have a very strong bond with your Australian shepherd.
The fact that your Aussie has chosen you to lean against means they feel safe, secure, and comfortable around you. And for a dog, there’s nothing more important than this.
2. Casual eye contact
If you’re able to make what I like to call “easy” eye contact, then you have no doubt your Aussie trusts and loves you.
Eye contact is one of the most powerful forms of nonverbal communication, and a lot of feelings can be conveyed through it.
In order for your Aussie to comfortably hold a gaze with you, you must have a strong connection and bond. If your Aussie can’t to bear keep eye contact with you even for a second, that indicates something is wrong.
3. Relaxed body language around you
You may have seen it a million times: your Aussie is sprawled out on her back with her entire belly on show. It’s adorable.
But it actually signifies something greater than that… To have this level of comfortability around you requires a huge amount of trust and reassurance.
The difference between dogs and us is that they are much more in tune with their survival instincts, and to assume a position like this, your Aussie must be 100% content of her environment and who is around…
Your Aussie would not assume this relaxed position around you if they are not completely safe and secure around you.
4. Always excited to see you
If your Aussie is wagging their tail at you, bounding up to you with a gleaming doggy smile on their face, then you can be sure your Aussie loves you.
This can be the case for when you arrive home after being out, or even when you reenter the room after having been out only a few minutes! If your Aussie is always visibly happy to see you, this indicates love.
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5. Bringing her toys/things to you
If your Australian shepherd is constantly bringing new things to you (whether it’s her toys or otherwise) it means she’s really into you…
She’s essentially choosing you to interact with, play with, and engage with. And for a dog, this is massive. This can even be a reliable sign to indicate who in your family your Aussie loves the most!
6. Ears and eyebrow movement
Yup, this one is intriguing, to say the least, and it’s admittedly difficult to see but hear me out… Research has now proven that when dogs listen/engage with someone they love or care for highly, they will shift their ears back, and in some cases raise their left eyebrow.
I know, dogs… eyebrows… It’s pretty difficult to see but it’s true. So now when you’re speaking to your Aussie try to notice those subtle ears and eyebrow movements.
7. Licking
Love or hate it, licking is a sign of affection. Of course, there could be the odd time when your Aussie can smell something interesting on you, but in most cases, licking indicates their love for you.
If you don’t like licking that’s more than fine, but remember not to punish this kind of behavior, because to your Aussie she’s just showing you some love.
For behavior you don’t like, always redirect the focus, and make a point of rewarding her when she IS NOT engaging in the unwanted behavior.
- Related: Why is my Aussie licking so much!
8. Always listening to you
You can gauge your importance to your Aussie, by how much she or he listens to you… When you have an exceptional bond, your voice becomes extremely important to your Aussie.
In some cases, you can even try speaking when your Aussie is taking a nap or sleeping, and you may notice her ears twitch.
Believe it not, she’s still attentively listening to you, and the moment you say her name, she’ll be up and ready. This usually only happens with one person in the house (who your Aussie regards as their owner).
9. Morning attention
Similar to how your Aussie should always be happy to see you, is morning attention in particular. After a long night’s sleep, if your Aussie is excited to see you, this shows you both have an excellent bond.
If your Aussie doesn’t seem very interested in your presence in the mornings, then this could indicate that your bond isn’t as good as you might have thought.
10. Following you around
A behavior that Aussies engage in is following their owner around everywhere… While in some cases this can actually signify a separation anxiety issue, in many other cases it’s simply a show of affection and a tight bond.
As long as your Aussie doesn’t show the other signs of separation anxiety, then count following you around as a good thing!
3 Simple Tips To Ensure Your Aussie Loves You
Is there any way you can ensure that your Australian shepherd loves you as you love them? We think there is, and the following tips will guarantee you have a great bond.
Meet all basic needs
First things first, it’s crucial to meet all the basic needs of your Aussie. This means sufficient exercise (1-2 hours), a premium diet that works well for them, training, socialization, and plenty of attention.
At the very minimum, an Aussie’s basic needs must be met, and if they are then you’ll no doubt have a great bond with them. Dogs are more simple than we are, give them the basics, and they’ll love you forever.
Extra attention
Why stop there… If you truly want an awesome connection with your Aussie, then giving it’s crucial to give them more of YOU.
The more time you spend with your Aussie, interacting with her, playing, speaking, and making her a part of your day, will take your bond to new levels. This might sound easy, but time is a precious commodity, and unfortunately, many of us don’t have much of it spare!
Show her love
And lastly, don’t wait for them to show you love… Go right ahead and show your Aussie just how much you love them. Invite them up on the couch, go in and give belly rubs when they aren’t expecting it, grab her toy when she looks bored… It all counts.
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