Why your German Shepherd sits on you (and how to stop it)

If your German Shepherd sits on you for no apparent reason you’re probably wondering why and what you can do to stop it. In this post, I will give you a number of reasons why your German Shepherd might be doing it and what you can do to stop it.

So, why does your German Shepherd sit on you? There are a number of possible reasons why your German Shepherd could be sitting on you. Common reasons include seeking attention, asserting dominance and spreading its scent so that other dogs will not try to take you from it. 

And, how should you get it to stop? There are a number of ways that you can get your German Shepherd to stop sitting on you. Some effective strategies include not giving it attention when it tries to sit on you, giving it lots of exercise so that it is less likely to seek attention and giving it lots of training so that it knows where it can sit and where it can’t.

Figuring out why your German Shepherd is sitting on you can be a bit of a challenge and the best way to get it to stop will depend on why it is doing it.

Why Your German Shepherd Sits On You

There are a number of possible reasons why your German Shepherd might sit on you. Below I will mention a number of them.

Attention

German Shepherds were bred to do intensive tasks for hours daily so it’s not surprising that it can take a lot to properly stimulate them.

If your German Shepherd isn’t getting a lot of exercise then the reason why your German Shepherd sits on you could be because it is looking to get attention from you. If this is the case then the most effective thing to do would be to make sure to give your German Shepherd lots of exercise every day if possible.

Related post: How to tell if your German Shepherd loves you

Dominance

One way that dogs would assert their dominance over each other would be to raise their elevation above the rest of the pack. If your German Shepherd is trying to assert its dominance over you then it might be doing this by sitting on you or laying down in higher positions than you.

This is something that you’ll need to prevent from happening so that your German Shepherd continues to see you as its leader which will help to make it easier to control.

It’s hyper

If your German Shepherd isn’t getting enough exercise then another reason why it might be sitting on you is that it’s not properly stimulated and it’s hoping that by sitting on you it will get you to give it exercise. If your German Shepherd does other things such as causing destruction or being restless then this could be the cause.

You’re in its spot

It could be that the place that you choose to sit is also where your German Shepherd likes to sit and that your German Shepherd is trying to get you out of it.

If it often sits or lays down in the same place that you normally sit then this could be the case. In this instance, it’s important to teach your German Shepherd that you’re the one that is in charge. You can do this by spending lots of time training it and especially by training it to sit in certain places.

Spread scent

It could be that your German Shepherd is trying to spread its scent onto you so that other dogs can smell it. This is its way of saying that you belong to it so that other dogs will steer clear of you.

To prevent this you’ll need to spend time training it to sit in certain places and to discourage it from sitting on you by ignoring it when it does and rewarding it when it doesn’t.

It knows it will get what it wants

It could be that your German Shepherd has realized that sitting on you will cause it to get what it wants. It could be that it’s looking to get a reaction out of you, some food or something else. To discourage this it’s important to avoid allowing it to associate sitting on you with rewards so avoid rewarding it when it does sit on you.

Separation anxiety

It could be that your German Shepherd has some degree of separation anxiety and that the cause of it sitting on you is that it doesn’t want you to leave.

If this is the case then you’ll likely notice that it gets anxious when you’re preparing to leave and it might have destructive behavior when you’re gone.

If this is the case then you should consider getting help from a local dog behaviorist who specializes with those kinds of issues.

Related post: Why is my German Shepherd so anxious?

Ways to get your German Shepherd to stop sitting on you

There are a number of things that you can do to stop your German Shepherd from sitting on you. The best approach will be to apply a combination of them.

Ignore it

If your German Shepherd is sitting on you because it is looking for attention, which is often the case, then the best way to get it to stop is to leave and completely ignore it. This means that you should get it off you, wait for it to calm down, reward it for behaving, then sit back down. If it tries to sit on you again then repeat the process.

Distract it

Another option you have is to give your German Shepherd something else to be occupied with. You can do this by giving it lots of toys to play with.

Give it attention

One way to get your German Shepherd to stop seeking attention from you is to give it attention when it’s not sitting on you. By doing this it will not need to do things like sitting on you to get attention since it will be getting enough of it anyway.

Give it exercise

It’s important to give German Shepherds lots of exercise. When you don’t they become hyperactive and they will start to misbehave and do things like sit on you. If you don’t have much spare time to exercise your German Shepherd in then you could consider hiring a dog walker to do it for you.

Train it not to

You can also train your German Shepherd not to sit on you by teaching it to stay on the floor when you’re sat down. You can do this by getting it to sit or to lay down and then gradually teaching it to stay there over longer and longer time periods.

If you would like some more tips on how to train your German Shepherd take a look at the German Shepherd training book on Amazon.

You can see how it is done in the video below.

Related questions

How do I get my German Shepherd to stop jumping on me? To get your German Shepherd to stop jumping up on you you’ll want to give it lots of exercise and to teach it not to. You can teach it not to by teaching it to stay when you are moving about and giving it distractions.

To do this you’ll lure it into sitting and then to reward it for doing so, you’ll then do it again but this time you’ll reward it after making it wait for a fraction of a second longer. You can then get it to stay for longer periods by building up to it with a number of iterations.