A dog trainer has taken to social media to explain what it really means when your pet picks up a random item in its mouth and carries it over to you – and it’s not what you might think
Your dog isn’t just bringing you a random item in its mouth for show, according to a pet expert. We’re a nation of dog lovers. In fact, a 2024 survey revealed around 36% of UK households have at least one dog, equating to roughly 13.5 million households.
But how well do we truly understand our furry friends? It appears that dogs – like all animals – have unique ways of expressing themselves that we might not be aware of. You might know the basics – a wagging tail signifies happiness, while a snarl could mean it’s time to back off.
However, there are some more complex signs that many of us are oblivious to.
For instance, what does it mean when your dog picks up a random object in its mouth and brings it over to you?
Dogs are known to do this frequently, and many of us dismiss it as them wanting to play, particularly if the item they pick up is a toy. But according to a dog trainer on social media, there’s something deeper happening in your dog’s mind.
Howl School for Dogs shared a video on TikTok filmed by a woman taking a bath.
During her bath, her dog – Lucy – kept walking in and out of the room with a different item in her mouth each time – from a bottle of juice to an ice cube tray.
And while the woman in the original clip thought her dog was merely showing her things while she was bathing, canine trainer Kerry insisted the pooch could actually be feeling stressed and overwhelmed.
She explained: “I just thought I’d jump on because I keep seeing people say, ‘Oh the dog’s carrying this over to show me.’ They’re not actually doing that. What they’re doing is they’re holding objects to manage their big feelings.”
Kerry clarified that dogs often do this when a visitor comes to your home, as the presence of a new person can make them feel anxious, and holding something can help ground them.
She added: “They’re doing a really intelligent thing. They’re managing the big feelings that they’re having by holding objects in their mouth.
“With this dog here, their human is in the bath so they might be feeling some big feelings around that – a bit of frustration, maybe a bit of anxiety, a bit of worry. So they’re managing that by holding things in their mouth and carrying it in and out of the room.”
In the caption of the video, Kerry explained that “big feelings” can include emotions like excitement as well as negative ones such as stress, worry, and anxiety.
Commenters on the video largely agreed with Kerry over her assessment of the dog’s behaviour. Many said their pooches do similar things to help calm themselves down.
One person commented: “One of my dogs does this more for excitement, the other for anxiety, but both do it for big feelings.”
Another added: “My dog holds her stuffed animal when she gets excited from something on the TV.”
