She frequently puts her head between my legs as I bend over from standing. She will practically bury her face in my crotch if I’m sitting or squatting, which looks rather odd. And even while I’m giving her attention and compliments, her tail is constantly tucked under. Is this a sign of her submitting, or is there anything else? She is still a puppy, so she is still cautious in unfamiliar situations, but she is normally quite bold and feisty with me and obedient when it counts.
Dogs often press their top heads against you while you touch them, scratch their ears, or do other things. As if they are unable to get near enough. Although I haven’t seen the tail entirely tucked, I believe that it is typically tucked in due to laziness or inattention.
Does your dog ask for more attention if you stop caressing him? Does their body appear at ease? Context and other aspects of body language matter, thus a tucked tail isn’t always an indication of fear.
I can’t get my golden to stop doing this. He smushes his head in my crotch, on my stomach, or just generally against me when I scratch his neck if I bend down to pet him. He heads up, as I like to say. When this occurs, his tail is always down—not like it’s curled and tucked. He simply does it for comfort. When I stop giving him hugs, he takes a time to come out of his happy daze and then his tail wags, his head tilts, and he becomes his usual goofy, energetic self.
The head press is a soothing and relaxing gesture, at least for my dog. For him, nothing strange or troubling.
Yes, precisely! She puts pressure on me 
. She did it into my chest tonight as I was sitting on the floor with her on the couch. She had requested pets with her word buttons. She started pawing for more when I stopped. She feels so content and at ease when she acts in this way. Simply put, I had never had a dog act like that. It’s not too out there, which pleases me.
I know it’s horrible, but is she really still or is she sniffing your crotch? I ask since my previous dog used to sniff, which is reportedly fairly common. Generally, a tucked tail indicates fear or submission. Perhaps if you’re approaching from above? Does she respond to a pat and a seat? My dog is fearful and gets scared easily. She will either run away or freeze totally. She does this with strangers and sometimes even with me when I brush her or have to give her ear drops, etc. She also tucks her tail!
She doesn’t move. She keeps doing it even though I generally sit down. Maybe that’s the key—she feels worried, and it usually happens when she gives her attention after being busy or absent for a while.
Does she approach you or do you approach her? My nervous dog chooses when she needs attention, so I always let her come to me rather than go to her. What happens if you stop petting her when she’s motionless and tucked in her tail? Does she move, ask for pats, look at you, or do anything else?
Yes, she approaches me, and she will look up and paw at me if I stop. That’s what seems strange to me about it. Everything else about her attitude suggests that this is what she wants to do, so it’s like she’s giving off completely contradictory signals. After much thought, I’ve decided that she’s actually simply a strange dog. She literally presses her head against whatever area of my body that she can reach, like she’s trying to be closer to me or, occasionally, like I’m just her scratching post, as someone else mentioned. I have no idea why her tail is tucked in. Perhaps since she’s not shielding me as she usually does and I’m too preoccupied patting her, we are both exposed.
You seem a little looming. It’s kind of intimidating for many dogs to have someone lean over them. Try avoiding making eye contact with her and observe whether it makes a difference.
Yeah, that would be my first thought too. I often coach non-dog people on how to approach dogs but this seems more of a weirdly submissive hug/lean that’s sometimes also a head scratch.
This is also what my dog does. He shakes his head, burying his head in my crotch before pressing the top of his head against my thigh. His breed is Dachshund. I’m a woman. Yeah, that’s right—awwwwkward.