# Corgi sleeping position - WTF?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171 "2009-12-06T05:38:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/21 "2009-12-07T06:15:30Z")
[My dog](http://tinyurl.com/yglyx3o) likes to sleep like that too. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/22 "2009-12-07T07:14:35Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Then her little mind becomes an eggtimer: “Oooh pet me pet me I love the hand hand is good hand is good HAND MUST DIE! ATTACK!” I don’t mean to alarm you, but you may have a cat. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/23 "2009-12-07T12:51:08Z")
I have always speculated that it is because they are comfortable enough with us to expose their vulnerable bellies. Some dogs adore tummy rubs and will whine and snuff until they get them; my dogs are not like that, although they will happily accept tummy rubs, they can take them or leave them. So that’s not the reason for mine, at least. It may be particularly comfortable for dogs with a long spine ratio; corgis can get back problems from stairs and jumping down from furniture, etc. But that’s just guesswork on my part, and I don’t know anybody with a dachshund. Any Dopers with a dachshund want to comment? Does your dog lie on his back with his feet up? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/24 "2009-12-07T15:48:01Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > I don’t mean to alarm you, but you may have a cat. She is the most dignified and standoffish dog I’ve ever known, that’s for sure; in fact, she’s gotten _more_ sociable over time, and will accept somewhat extended petting sessions without getting growly. I think it’s due to her intelligence and the wolf instincts maintained in the herding breeds. If you’ve ever seen a Corgi stalking something, you know just how how much of the wolf is left in those short-legged little bodies. We’re still the alphas, the Gods, but she’s a somewhat cynical old priestess instead of a wide-eyed zealot. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/25 "2009-12-07T15:57:14Z")
All my jacks sleep on their backs sometimes, its cool when a few of them line up together. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/26 "2009-12-07T16:04:01Z")
We have a corgi mix (probably with an Aussie shepherd, based on certain physical traits) and he sleeps on his back when he’s totally relaxed. We can always tell when Max is finally calm/happy because he stretches, flops onto his back and reaches his right leg into the air. It’s hilarious, and I do have a bazillion pictures of him doing it. When he lies on his belly, it’s usually with his forelegs stretched forward and his back legs flipped so they’re pointing behind him, kind of like a bear skin rug. I think I’ve seen it called “the flying frog” on websites and such. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/27 "2009-12-07T19:01:51Z")
My Staffordshire bitch does it, but only when the direct sunshine will warm her fuzzy belly. Her brother’s never done it that I can recall. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/28 "2009-12-07T19:02:22Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > But that’s just guesswork on my part, and I don’t know anybody with a dachshund. Any Dopers with a dachshund want to comment? Does your dog lie on his back with his feet up? Yup. [Our long-haired dachshund](http://www.twitpic.com/n7nqc) ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/29 "2009-12-07T19:15:28Z")
We have a male 5 yo Sheba Inu (think mid sized Akita). He sleeps like that at least a few hours every day/evening. He also bends into somewhere between a 90 degree and 180 degree U shaped bend while doing so. On his back, U shaped, with his hind legs up the air and spread wide. Personally, I think he just likes showing off the equipment so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/30 "2009-12-07T19:35:51Z")
> [@Judith\_Prietht](#): > > I think I’ve seen it called “the flying frog” on websites and such. We call it the flying squirrel position. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/31 "2009-12-07T20:11:11Z")
Our bichon sleeps on her back from time to time, curled into a “C” shape. She does it only when she’s hot, and when she’s feeling non-threatened. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/32 "2009-12-08T22:40:26Z")
I agree with the “non-threatened” point. The position is as “beta”, trusting, and open-for-attack that any dog could ever have, so they do that when they’re really comfortable around the people they’re with. My dog’s a Golden. Today, for the first time, while were waiting in the hospital for a therapy gig, a nurse started going ape because she thought the dog was dead. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/33 "2009-12-09T16:30:37Z")
We have 2 minature dachsunds. Their common state of sleep is on their backs. Almost every night when I come to bed, there they are next to my wife doing their best dead cockroach impressions. And every night, I ask “Why do I have to see Puppy Balls on my side of the bed again?” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171/34 "2009-12-10T02:07:05Z")
We have two unrelated cats (a tabby and a Maine coon) who sleep on their backs at least 10% of the time. They’re both used cats and came to us as occasional back sleepers, so it isn’t even a case of one learning it from the other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corgi-sleeping-position-wtf/520171.md?page=1)