Minecraft Forums

Ok so I made this topic because my dog was defending me from a spider, and when it came to it, it didn't attack. It just sat down. So I was wondering if this happend to you.

Dogs won't just defend you. You have to be hit by a mob or be attacking a mob in order for a dog to jump in. If you sit there they won't attack anything until something happens, unfortunately.

Were you, by any chance, trying to order your dog to attack the spider by pointing and clicking on the dog? There is no "attack" order in Minecraft, so clicking on your dog while it is standing will always cause it to sit and if it is sitting, it will stand up to follow you. As previously stated, your dog will attack whatever attacks you or you attack, so either the spider would have had to hit you first or you would have had to attack the spider first.

I actually saw this problem on a youtube video by Stampylongnose. He was building, and as he was traveling a spider hit him from behind, he turned and hit the spider, and the dog went to the spider as if he was attacking, but then suddenly sat. He was using an enchanted sword with flame on it, but I think this is exactly what the OP talking about with the dog sitting. The time stamp is 12:48

The spider died almost at the same time that the dog sat down. You can see the dog attacking the spider but I think it was because the spider died that the dog stopped the attack and sat.