In my home, pets are part of the family and we love to hug him, kiss him and give him as much love as possible, although sometimes he doesn't like him. I don't think it just happened to me and that's why I always wonder why my dog doesn't like to be hugged?
For humans, a hug is a sign of affection and something normal that we live daily but pet experts give some clues so that you know a little more about animal behavior and tips so that you do not feel overwhelmed and stressed.
Some ways of expressing that he doesn't like to be hugged are:
- Turn face and body
- Open your eyes too much
- Try to escape
- Encloses the eyes
- Avoid your gaze and lower your ears
- Yawning
- He licks his nose constantly
It is important to be careful with your pet, since if you invade its space or comfort it will begin to change its behavior and it will not be as pleasant as before, because the moment you hug it you feel blocked and retained and therefore your first reaction will be to flee and Since they can't do it, they tend to bite or growl (in some cases).
The love you give your dog will make both strengthen their bond, but do it in a way that does not cause fear, stress or anxiety.
These tips will help you give love to your pet and feel relaxed:
- Brush your hair or play with it (keeping them active benefits you in your health and not suffer from obesity> I hope that from today you remember this when you are with your pet, achieve that you feel comfortable and show your love in a different way.
Your dog hates hugs!
How? But if they are the most innocent and beautiful in the world? For your dog it is not like that. Although for you it is a sign of affection, for a dog the hugs are somewhat annoying. Look at how he reacts when you hug him: he will bend his ears, turn his head, or even want to escape!
It turns out that for a dog, hugs are something like a jail. When you surround him with your arms, he feels trapped, unable to move and is overwhelmed.
I love you, but I don't understand your hugs
That's! We do not want to say that your dog does not like your contact or your affection samples. In fact, we are sure you love it. But doesn't understand hugs just like us: your dog does not see in the hugs love, but an uncomfortable and overwhelming situation, a lack of freedom and difficulty to flee in case of a dangerous situation.
How do we know this? Stanley Coren, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia expert in dogs, conducted a study that clearly concluded that Pets, especially dogs, don't like hugs at all. Up to 259 photographs of dogs that were being hugged by their owners were analyzed, and in more than 80% of them showed signs of anxiety and discomfort in dogs. Just a 8% of dogs were clearly happy to be hugged, while the rest seemed to have a neutral reaction.
That is Coren's explanation: Although dogs are very domesticated and habituated to pet life, they still have innate some wild behaviors and instincts, one of them is to flee in case of danger. When you hug your dog, you are preventing this escape, and it is very possible that this causes stress and anxiety.
How to know if my dog likes hugs
You're probably thinking, "Oh, I've hugged my dog thousands of times and I've never noticed that he dislikes it." This is because Many times dogs do not show their feelings so clearly that we realize. They are not as expressive as we are with some things.
If you want to know whether or not your dog really likes hugs, you must remain very attentive to their behavior, to gestures that may be subtle, not obvious at first sight. Some signs that a dog is uncomfortable with your hugs are:
- Crouch your ears.
- Blind or close your eyes.
- Turn your head to the opposite side of where you are.
- Avoid eye contact with you.
- Lick your snout.
- Stick out your tongue
- Try to escape
- Put the tail between the legs (you know this is a sign of fear).
- Shortness of breath.
- Stretch the front legs: try to “pull” your body from the hug as much as possible.
- Raise the snout, as if looking for oxygen.
Therefore Hugs are not a good method to show our pets how much we love them. Not only do they not understand it, but they also have a bad time when we want the opposite! But calm down There are many other ways to show love to your dog: stroking his back, belly or chin, giving him a prize, saying a kind word or just spending time with him, walking and playing. He will love that!
Your dog doesn't like to be hugged
As you read it. You may not have noticed, but every time you wrap your faithful friend in your arms, Instead of declaring your love, you're bothering him. If you want, do the test. See how he feels, what is the expression of his eyes or how he puts his ears.
According to a study by the professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia (and dog expert) Stanley Coren, on pets and especially dogs, They don't like hugs at all. This does not mean that the animal does not love us or does not like our contact. He simply does not feel at ease because it is not in his nature to express affection through hugs, unlike that of humans.
Dogs don't understand the hug just like us
Dogs cannot understand that a hug is synonymous with love. On the contrary, they relate it to a lack of freedom or lack of movement, which may be caused by a possible eminent danger. Remember that each species has a different way of behaving and socializing. As Coren explains in an article published in the magazine Pshycology Today.
The reasoning is simple: by giving them a hug we are taking away the possibility of fleeing if there is a problem. In other words, they find it stressful to be forced to stand still. To reach this conclusion, Coren and a group of experts analyzed about 250 photographs obtained from various sources on the Internet, in which dogs hugged by their owners appeared.
The researchers indicated that 8 out of 10 animals were completely uncomfortable in that situation.. Specifically in 81% of the images the dogs had at least one sign of anxiety, discomfort or stress. 8% seemed happy and the remaining 10% had an ambiguous or neutral attitude.
Coren's argument is valid and worth considering: “Dogs are cursor animals. This means that, by nature, foreverThey are prepared to run in case of danger. Therefore, if they feel prisoners or cannot move freely, they will begin to stress. ”
The signs that tell you why not hug your dog
Surely you may have asked yourself: Why have I not noticed before the discomfort of my pet when I hug her? Don't worry, it's normal that you don't realize it, however, now that you know it, You can pay more attention to the signals. In this sense, many studies can be really detailed and direct, while others are less enlightening.
What can always help is to see if the dog shows its teeth, tries to bite or barks when it tries to hug or during the same hug. While these are usually unusual behaviors in dogs, they should not be ruled out as indicative of stress.
In summary, we must pay attention to the "microgestos", that is, to all those subtle signals that can help us detect what our pet's reaction is when we hug her. Also, keep in mind that the canine signs of stress or alarm in the face of a possible danger (both experienced when receiving a hug) are the following:
- Stick out your tongue
- Avoid eye contact.
- Breathing choppy.
- Fold the ears down.
- Close or squint.
- Put the tail between the legs.
- Lick your snout repeatedly.
- Move body in escape position.
- Turn the head opposite to the person.
- Stretch the front legs to “separate” from the hug.
- Bring the snout up (as if looking for fresh air).
Therefore, the next time you want to express to your dog how much you love him, instead of hugging him, try to gently pat him on the head, scratch his chin, say a kind word, go out and play with him at the park or give him An edible prize. And first of all, Try to resist the desire to wrap it in your arms to preserve its tranquility. Will be worth!
Learn to interpret (and understand) the language of dogs
Unable to communicate verbally, dogs use the signs of appeasement, body postures that help them express themselves to other dogs, but that we as owners must also be able to interpret.
When you hug a dog it can show two or more signals of the ones shown below. When they do any of these things they are telling you, in their own way, that does not like that you hug me. The problem is that, sometimes, you can insist so much that they get to mark or bite, for that reason it is better to respect your space If they show any of these signs:
- Lower ears
- Turn your face
- Avoid your look
- He tries to turn his back on you
- Turn your body
- Encloses the eyes
- The muzzle is constantly licking
- Try to escape
- Yawning
- Open your eyes too much
- Growls
- Show your teeth
Is it really good to hug a dog?
Psychologist Stanley Coren published an article in the journal Psychology Today called The Data Says "Don't Hug the Dog!" stating that indeed, Dogs don't enjoy when you hug them. In fact, he presented a series of 250 random photographs of people hugging their furry and in 82% of them the dogs showed some of the appeasement signs that we have detailed above.
Coren explained that these animals have a very fast reaction and functioning capacity, and that they needto escape running when they feel in danger or cornered. This means that when you hug them, they feel locked and held, they do not have that ability to escape if something happens. Therefore, if their first reaction is to run and they cannot do it, it is normal for some dogs to try to dial to free themselves.
Show him darling but without overwhelming him
Giving love to your dog is the best thing you can do to strengthen your bondBut doing it in a way that does not cause fear, stress or anxiety is one of the five freedoms of animal welfare.
You can always pet him to relax, brush his hair or play with him to show him your love, but there is also a way to hug him that he will interpret as a retention. Follow the following points to stop asking yourself constantly, why doesn't my dog like to be hugged?
- Approach him calmly and making gentle movements so he doesn't get alert.
- Let me see how you approach so you don't panic.
- Allow it to sniff your hand, with open palms.
- Sit beside him quietly.
- Practice manipulation in different parts of the body, always progressively and helping you with prizes if necessary, so that you associate your hands with something positive.
- Pass with sofv>
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