My dog likes to sleep like that too.
I don’t mean to alarm you, but you may have a cat.
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?
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.
All my jacks sleep on their backs sometimes, its cool when a few of them line up together.
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.
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.
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.
We call it the flying squirrel position.
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.
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.
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?”
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.