THINGS WE DO THAT OUR DOGS HATE

While our dogs love us too much and endure the love we give them, research has shown that they really hate some of the stuff we do out of love. Here’s a list

USING WORDS MORE THAN BODY LANGUAGE

We’re a vocal species, states mnn.com. We love to chatter, even at our pets, who can’t understand the vast majority of what we’re saying. Dogs might be able to deduce what a few key words mean — walk, treat, toy, off — and maybe even learn hundreds of words as some border collies have done. But they can’t understand human language. What they rely on to figure out what we mean is our body language. For instance, telling a dog to “stay” while leaning forward toward the dog and holding out a hand like a traffic cop is, in body language, actually inviting the dog to come towards you. But when the dog does, she gets reprimanded for breaking her stay command. It’s all so confusing!

Try communicating with your dog just with your body, instead of saying anything. You will be surprised at how much your pooch will obey you.

PETTING A DOG’S FACE OR PATTING HER HEAD

Do you like to be patted on the head? Our guess is no. So why should a dog like it? Yet most humans think that dogs like being patted on the head. The reality is that while many dogs will put up with this if it’s someone they know and trust, most dogs don’t enjoy it. It’s a personal space issue for dogs just as much as it is for us.

HUGGING YOUR DOG

While you might love wrapping your arms around a furry canine friend, most dogs hate hugs. Rather than camaraderie, if a dog places a foreleg or paw on the back of another dog, this is considered an act of dominance. No matter your intentions with hugging, a dog is hardwired to view the act of hugging as you are exerting your dominance.

Not providing structure and rules

Dogs want, need and love having rules. You might think having strict rules makes life boring or unhappy for your dog. But dogs really want to know what’s what according to their leader. Rules make life a lot more predictable, a lot less confusing and a lot less stressful. And speaking of confusion, dogs don’t understand exceptions to rules. They don’t understand that they’re allowed to jump on you when you have leisure clothes on but not when you have work clothes on etc. Forcing your dog to interact with dogs or people she clearly doesn’t like. Just like so many other social species, dogs have their favourite friends and their enemies. It is easy to see what other dogs, and people, for that matter, that a dog wants to hang out with whom she’d rather not associate. Yet, there are a lot of dog owners who go into denial about this or simply fail to read the cues their dog is giving.