Why my dog does not like to be hugged

Have you tried to hug your hairy and has left? It is likely that one of the things that you did not know about dogs is that they do not interpret this gesture as we do and they are normally uncomfortable with them. To offer a good life to your partner, allowing you to enjoy your company, you have to inform yourself to the fullest and learn to interpret what you want to transmit with your body language. For this reason, we are looking to help you take good care of your pet and in this article we will answer your question about why my dog does not like to be hugged . In addition, we also tell you what gestures of yours will be indicated and how you can hug him in a way that your furry likes.

Signs that your dog does not like to be hugged

To begin, you need to be able to recognize the signals your pet sends you to make you understand that you are not liking what you are trying to do or the way you are doing them. Think that, in fact, one of the things that dogs hate humans is that we try to embrace them very often or with too much force.

So, among the signs that will help you to know that your dog does not like hugs are these:

Clench your ears
Turn the face
Look Away
Open your eyes a lot
Close your eyes
Yawn
Lips lips
Lift the front legs
Try to leave
Growls
Show your teeth
Throw a small warning bite

The usual thing is that the dogs when they are in this situation show at least 2 or 3 of these signals, but sometimes they show us almost all of them. You have to be careful because we can get to bother or overwhelm them so much that by stress they get to bite, even if it is loose. For this reason we must also always supervise the game between a dog and a child.

When you hug him your dog feels lock

If you ask yourself frequently "why my dog does not like to hug him" because in doing so you have detected some of the signs we have mentioned, you should know that Stanley Coren, a psychologist and professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada, He specialized in canine behavior and wrote books and articles in which he presented his studies on canine reactions to people's gestures. In an article published in Psychology Today he explained that one of these studies showed that, in fact, most dogs are not happy when a human surrounds them with their arms or picks them up .

Specifically, in a random sample of 250 photographs of people embracing their hairy ones, it was recorded that 82% showed several of these signs of discomfort and discomfort. In addition, this canine behavior specialist explained what is the main reason why this happens.

He commented that dogs are animals that by their nature run and also have a rapid reaction and operation, so they are always able to run away if they think they are in danger. Thus, if we embrace them we are holding and blocking them, the same happens if we take them in arms, something that for them is bad because it prevents them from escaping if something happens, since their first resource is running and the last bite.

If you hug him your dog feels dominated

Surely you have ever seen one can lie on top of another while they are playing or while they are getting to know each other. Although, at times, it may seem like some kind of game like a hug, most of the time it is not, but rather it is a situation in which the canine below is submissive and the dominant one above.

Thus, when we surround a dog with our arms he can understand that we are trying to dominate him, so this is another reason why this bothers him so much. Also, the normal thing is to try to get away and make us understand that it is not what you want or even can get to mark us with a slight bite, especially if you are not submissive with us on a regular basis or you do not know us enough.

Of course, we do not say that the dogs do not like contact with us because they usually love it. But, according to the way we communicate with them physically they can interpret it differently from us; So something that for us is positive for them can be negative and cause stress . Besides, it is not only about the way to do it but also about the moment; For example, while your faithful companion eats from his trough, it is not the time to surround him with your arms.

How to hug a dog so it does not bother him

First we must be clear that the way of expressing affection and love of the dogs is quite different from ours as we have seen before. Just as they do not embrace as we do, they do like to show and show affection with caresses and other gestures; for example they love that we scratch them on the neck and chin, just below their snout, behind their ears or scratch their bellies.

Thus, it is good to know how you can give love and hug your pet without being uncomfortable and that, in this way, both you can enjoy it:

You should make gentle gestures and approach calmly and carefully, no sudden or altered movements that can put you on alert or nervous.
Let me see you so you know you're there and do not surprise him. Stand by your side, always better than front or back.
Pass an arm over your back until you place your hand on your belly and chest.
Do not press him, do not hit him or hit him, just give him a few caresses and you can even scratch him a little. It is very important that you do it with affection and softness, since doing it abruptly or very emotionally and forcefully can result in your hairy being suddenly very stressed and marking you with a little bit of warning.
In this position you can even recline your head on your back, being a really nice hug in which you will connect positively. In addition, you must do some of the caresses we mentioned before if we want you to really enjoy this type of contact.
Do not prolong this gesture, it is better that it lasts a few seconds not to overwhelm you.
Obviously, all this is easier with a medium or large dog than with a small breed. If your hairy is small the best thing is that you approach him and invite him to climb your lap and, then, place your hand on his chest or on his side. Above all do not overwhelm, squeeze, press or drop your head or weight on him.

When your dog wants contact with you, he will let you know for sure. It will get your attention by giving you a touch with your nose, vocalizing, scratching or lifting a leg. All these gestures mean that he wants you to pay attention, so before taking it for granted that he simply wants caresses or games, make sure he does not lack anything basic like food, water or to be able to relieve himself.