Dogs don’t need dramatic gestures to get what they want. Sometimes all it takes is a small movement paired with the right look. It’s subtle, effective, and impossible to ignore once you’ve noticed it. A video on Instagram shows a rescue dog calmly and cleverly making his desire for head scratches known.
Video captures dog’s subtle gestures to owner that he wants head scratches
Dog mom Meagan Shelton shared the video on her profile, @meagshelton, offering a glimpse into her daily life with her rescue pup, Marty. In the video, Marty is seen lounging comfortably on the couch, wrapped snugly in a blanket and clearly relaxed. According to Shelton’s onscreen text, this calm setting is exactly when Marty decides it’s time for some affection.
“Watch my dog ever so subtly gesture & strategically guide me to sit next to him for head scratches,” Shelton wrote. As the clip plays, Marty gently tilts his head in Shelton’s direction, glancing at her with an expression that seems both patient and expectant. The movement is slight, almost easy to miss, but unmistakable once noticed.
Shelton slowly inches closer while filming, and each time she does, Marty repeats the same small head tilt, as if confirming she’s moving in the right direction. The exchange continues for several moments, turning into a quiet back-and-forth between the dog and his owner.
When Shelton finally sits beside him and begins scratching his head, Marty visibly relaxes, soaking up the attention he had been carefully requesting all along.
In the caption, Shelton jokingly admits she has no idea how Marty became “this spoiled,” though the video itself makes it easy to see why she gives in. His calm persistence and clear communication struck a chord with viewers, many of whom flooded the comments with amused reactions.
Several people pointed out how obvious Marty’s intentions were. One viewer joked that his expression seemed to say, “Come on now, you know you want to.” Another wrote that they had “never seen clearer instructions from a dawg.”
While someone else praised him as “a great communicator.” One comment summed up the exchange perfectly, imagining Marty thinking, “Come here human… good human!”
