A dog question...

[lancashire lass]

When my dog sees all the signs of my getting ready to take her for a walk (but there are also key clues for other equally pleasurable activities), why does she get under my feet when I'm trying to lace up my shoes (okay, I might already know this to be some sort of wild dog behaviour of getting ready for the hunt) AND, then proceeds to sneeze over me again and again. I feel like a giant handkerchief

[wendy]

I would say the under your feet is because she is excited as you say.
The sneezing may be a learnt behaviour. She sneezed once and was taken out and thought that the sneeze was a precursor and it has built on from then.
Way to stop it..... is to many times during the day. Get ready to go out, and you will get the silly behaviour and then don't.
When mine are small I put their leads on and off many times during the day, but we don't go out and they learn me doing these things doesn't always mean a walk.
Wendy

[lancashire lass]

Thanks Wendy. You are probably right about the learnt behaviour and it being habitual. To be fair, I don't really mind as I have got used to 9 years of it being part of her excitement (though I can't honestly recall when it started) Except, if I have just put on clean clothes to go out somewhere special then sat down and the dog gets up and sneezes in my lap!

I'll certainly give your method a trial run but I won't be too disappointed

[TassieDev]

can't say i have any insights on that one - never had a sneezing dog
good luck with the training

[ykstar]

Sneezing can be a sign of stress or excitement. She is probably just excited to be going out walkies.

[lancashire lass]

Funny enough ykstar I was going to update my post. I've come to the conclusion that she is just one big sneezer. Perhaps being sneezed on is a bit more memorable than others but as I was becoming more observant, she seemed to sneeze at any occassion. Not a big "oh god, got something up my nose I just gotta have a sneeze" or any other irritant (now that's what I call a sneeze!) Very peculiar. As its not doing any harm, I think I might hit the re-training on the head and learn to live with it. Stress - I don't think so, excitement highly probable.

[seahorse]

When one of the norfolk terriers at work was excited, about walkies or dinner, she would turn up her nose and kind of smile. Baring her teeth but not in a growly way and it would make her sneeze

[wendy]

As you have said, probably a learnt behaviour. Could be worse if she was a newfoundland she would drool all over you LOL
Wendy