# Ears flattening when happy?



## upfromtheashes (Mar 10, 2008)

I'm curious about something that my 11 week old malamute is doing. Whenever I've been away from her for a while, upon seeing me, she flattens her ears backwards and runs to me, tail wagging, and commences the jumping and licking. 

It's the ears that I'm curious about. My other dog is a golden retriever, so naturally his ears don't do anything but flop around lol. 

The behavior articles I've found typically say that ear flattening commonly means either fear, aggression, or submission. I suppose that she could be doing this to demonstrate submission, but nothing else about her greeting behavior is really indicative of submission. 

Do any of you have dogs who flatten their ears out of happiness to see you?


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## Niraya (Jun 30, 2011)

My husky does. Her whole body wriggles around and her tail goes 100 miles an hour and she play bows and runs around in circles and jumps up and licks.

I read ears that are up and alert means they're collecting information. When they're laid flat with all of the other signals (tail wagging, body wriggling) means that they recognize you and there's no need to investigate you. They're just super happy that you finally came home and now they can play


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## Avie (Jul 10, 2011)

Our dog does too (along with tail wagging and 'talking') Don't worry about it, it's the way your dog shows he's happy you're back


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## Zoopie (Feb 22, 2010)

My nordic dog (whom is often mistaken for a malamute) does too if I am petting his thighs. And he loves nothing more than someone petting his thighs.


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## Sendiulino (Jun 20, 2011)

The flat-ears is often a subordinate/submissive position. Samantha does this too when we first come home from work. 

For the dog, it is a sign that she recognizes you, and she's showing you that she's not a threat, or even a move to "please" you ("The parents are home, look how good I am! Pet me.. pet meeee...")


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Nia does it too. I think most dogs will flatten their ears when they're happy and start wagging their tails. It also shows they're relaxed and not tense and very alert.


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## Roloni (Aug 5, 2011)

All my dogs do this ear flattening...
It makes them more aerodynamic during the greeting process.


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## Shandwill (Jul 23, 2010)

Yep, one of my dogs does this, as well. I've read that it is how that show 'submission' to the alpha of their pack and, as others have mentioned, show that they are not a threat. Although, I like the aerodynamic idea, too!


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Roloni said:


> All my dogs do this ear flattening...
> It makes them more aerodynamic during the greeting process.


Love it! LOL!!!


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## shellbeme (Sep 9, 2010)

Roloni said:


> All my dogs do this ear flattening...
> It makes them more aerodynamic during the greeting process.


This is me pressing the "like" button 

My pup does this too by the way, even with his little floppy ears.


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## metthund (Aug 6, 2011)

Isn't this what submissive wolves do to their higher-ups when greeting them? (Ears back, wriggly, tail wagging, licking face, etc.) I just assumed it was the same kind of thing. Correct me if I'm wrong; most of my knowledge of wolf behavior comes from obsessively watching NatGeo videos of them when I was younger.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

metthund said:


> Isn't this what submissive wolves do to their higher-ups when greeting them? (Ears back, wriggly, tail wagging, licking face, etc.) I just assumed it was the same kind of thing. Correct me if I'm wrong; most of my knowledge of wolf behavior comes from obsessively watching NatGeo videos of them when I was younger.


Yes, it is. But dogs are not wolves, and dogs know that humans are not dogs, so it doesn't really apply to relationships between humans and dogs.

My puppy flattens his ears too, usually while I'm patting him. I stop patting him, ears go up, I start patting him, ears go down. He looks happy and relaxed though, so I haven't really given it much thought. And happy flat ears looks a bit different from tense flat ears, the whole body will then reflect that the dog is tense, or trying to appease or being submissive. You can't look at the ears alone and say the dog is submissive. When I have seen wolves do it, they sort of cower down and make themselves small and the tail is half tucked.


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## metthund (Aug 6, 2011)

lil_fuzzy said:


> Yes, it is. But dogs are not wolves, and dogs know that humans are not dogs, so it doesn't really apply to relationships between humans and dogs.


I agree with this 100%. Still I think it's fair to compare dog body language to wolf body language since there's a lot in common and they are the same species.

Anyways I googled it hehe.
Can't speak for the source, but it's another opinion: http://www.mypethealthguide.com/blog/how-to-read-your-dogs-ears/
"Relaxed, slightly down, and back. When nothing exciting is going on, which is most of the time, dogs keep their ears in a relaxed position. This is what you’ll often see when you’re petting your dog or rubbing his head. It means he’s not particularly excited, just relaxed and content. He may draw his ears back a bit, leaving you plenty of room to rub the top of his head."

...Except I just realized this doesn't really apply to excited greeting. Hm.


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## The_Monstors (Oct 1, 2010)

Mine do that too. Also my girl flaps her ears at me like an elephant when she wants me to look at her. 

Sometimes when Gweeb is really exicted he does this weird run with his tail tucked and his booty kinda wagging while he goes really fast around us. I recognize its from overly being happy and not a submission tuck as Tue rest of his body is burst with energy and he normally screams when he does this.


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## Adustgerm (Jul 29, 2009)

Our aussie flattens his ears and wags his tail 90 miles a minute.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

lil_fuzzy said:


> Yes, it is. But dogs are not wolves, and dogs know that humans are not dogs, so it doesn't really apply to relationships between humans and dogs.


Body language always applies, imo.

Otherwise, why would we be able to read, interpret, and even use calming signals as well as postures like the play bow?

The specific meaning (submission) might not apply, but it could also be a happy expression. Ear positions communicate more than just dominance/submission.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Sendiulino said:


> For the dog, it is a sign that she recognizes you, and she's showing you that she's not a threat, or even a move to "please" you ("The parents are home, look how good I am! Pet me.. pet meeee...")


Pretty much.

A signal that all that fast movement, staring, hopping, barking, nipping, etc, is meant in fun and happiness. 

Also, remember that body signals should be read as a whole. So even if flat ears "can" mean submission or anxiety, combined with the rest of the expressions of her body, it probably isn't if she's bouncy and jumping towards you playfully and trying to lick you (though licking can be as well, or it can just be a way to interact with you).


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

KBLover said:


> Body language always applies, imo.
> 
> Otherwise, why would we be able to read, interpret, and even use calming signals as well as postures like the play bow?
> 
> The specific meaning (submission) might not apply, but it could also be a happy expression. Ear positions communicate more than just dominance/submission.


I didn't mean that they don't use body language at us... I'm not sure what I meant now, but I think something about how ears down don't mean submission, and even if a dog is being 'submissive' it's probably more likely because they worry about the human will do to them from past experience. I don't think it's natural for dogs to go around throwing submissive signals at humans.


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## minihart (Feb 14, 2011)

upfromtheashes said:


> I'm curious about something that my 11 week old malamute is doing. Whenever I've been away from her for a while, upon seeing me, she flattens her ears backwards and runs to me, tail wagging, and commences the jumping and licking.
> 
> Do any of you have dogs who flatten their ears out of happiness to see you?


Yes, yes and yes! Cosmo does this constantly - whenever he sees someone he likes, his ears flatten or flap around like Dumbo, and his whole body wiggles.  He sometimes pins his ears back when he's upset (usually by a dog getting in his face or playing too aggressively), but we can tell the difference very easily.


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