[poohbearsmom]

In addition to this being a rather dominant behavior, many times there is also the "oppositional reflex" at work.... we do it, dogs do it, even my cats do it.... if you push your dog, your dog will push back.

It's better to use your body, rather than your hands to push the dog off of you and out of your way. Take up the space your dog occupied, and keep going.

Dogs are masters at body language and knowing/understanding what space they take up in any given environment. Use that to your advantage whether your dog is leaning on you, sneaking across the kitchen threshold while you're cooking, breaking an obedience behavior (put the dog back in the exact place), or simply walking down the street and moving into your space. This doesn't mean yell at the dog or get emotional, simply put your body where YOU want it, and make the dog move. No big deal.

Now, all this being said, if I invite my dog in for a head scratch and he leans into me, I don't mind that a bit. I want to take into account everything that's going on at the time. Dominance is not a black and white issue, and leaning is a very subtle form.