my dog will sit up really straight and then lift one front paw and put it down, followed by the next paw while also yawning?
My dog Petey, who is a 12 year old Australian Cattle Dog/Jack Russell Terrier mix with an unknown history between birth and age two which is when he was transferred up here to a humane society location in Connecticut, but we are fairly certain abuse and/or neglect were involved. My husband has had him since he was 2 years old and I have been with them for the past 3 years. He doesn't like a single soul apart from my husband and I (he took to me almost immediately, which I have NEVER seen him do since I became a part of their lives three years ago and my husband has NEVER seen in all the years he's owned him which is why it was really shocking that he was in my lap within 5 minutes and then would be excited and happy to see me even if I hadn't been around for a full week). He took to Eric's parents since they used to take turns coming to the house to feed him and let him out of his crate when Eric had long nights at work and was worried about Petey being home too long. This was before I started living with him. Anyway...the question I have is in regards to some of his behavior...he will often sit really, really tall with his back straight, his ears perked up and will stare at me, then let out a really squeaky yawn followed by lifting one front paw and putting it on the floor, then doing the same with the other. This is usually while I am getting ready after getting out of the shower, or sometimes when I am just working on my homework for my school program while sitting at my desk in our office space. I never know what he wants when he does this, and I will admit that it is fairly annoying (mainly because I am sensitive to high pitched auditory noises and because...well...he stares at me while he does this and I can feel his eyes on me the whole time ha!). He and I spend A LOT of time together. He is on Prozac and Ametryptaline for extreme anxiety which has only gotten worse with age. He is very protective of me, as well as Eric, but over the past few years since I have been home a lot more and am spending so much time with him (because he will not leave my side...he is always following me from one room to the next, even when Eric is home and is cooking, which is shocking because he would normally be closest to a source of food) he has become even more protective of me. He will sometimes back his bum up to touch my leg if I am sitting on the couch, or at my desk in the office. We also have two cats who he is a huge jerk...