Sometimes we need a good dog psychologist to really let us know all the things our puppy is thinking. Even if you think your dog loves it when you hug him, that may not be true. Sure, he loves the affection, but a hug? A hug may be something else entirely. The following is from Dr. Patricia McConnell, a certified applied animal behaviorist.
Why dogs feel uncomfortable with hugs?
When you take your dog to the dog park, or even just to a friend's house where she can play with another dog, how do the dogs greet one another? There are myriad ways dogs say hello depending on if they know each other and are reforming old bonds, or are meeting for the first time and feeling each other out as they establish the pecking order. There is face smelling, rump smelling, tail wagging, play bowing… but there is never hugging. Even among the best of friends. In fact, the closest approximation dogs have to a hug as we know it actually means something other than friendship.“Dogs, like people, have a particular way of greeting, none of which involves having a foreleg over the shoulder,” says McConnell. “But dogs do put a leg over the shoulders of another — either one leg or both legs — and it’s called ‘standing over.' It usually relates to some form of social status or perhaps competition for resources, so it is considered to be [done by] a dog who is trying to get some control.”
Dogs also do this during the context of play as well, and you might have witnessed this while watching dogs romp at the park. But as Dr. McConnell points out, “Even in play, you can see dogs who are a little bit bullying in that they’re constantly standing on dogs, standing over dogs, pushing down on their shoulders. It is seen to be not necessarily aggressive but very assertive, controlling behavior.”
In primates, we wrap our arms around another's shoulders as a sign of affection. But in canids, a leg over the shoulder is a sign of dominance or assertiveness.
“So when we [hug] dogs, how are they to interpret that?” asks McConnell. “At best, I think some dogs just shrug it off and don’t pay a lot of attention to it for whatever reason. For instance, golden retrievers are famous for their fondness for any kind of touching. But for a lot of dogs, they see it as a potential threat.”
The response a dog has when someone puts their arm over them is varied. “They’ll go stiff, they’ll close their mouth, maybe they’ll do a little lip licking. They’re anxious, they’re concerned, perhaps wondering, ‘Did I do something wrong? What should I do now? Should I just sit still and not do anything?'”
“We share so much with dogs; we love to communicate, we love to play, there’s so much we share. But we’re not the same species. There are things that are very different about us and how we relate to each other, and this is one of them.”
There is a great deal more to be said on this subject and you can learn more over on the Mother Nature Network.
We tend to look at are pups on the surface, catch their moods, likes, and dislikes, but sometimes we have to think that there is more. A dog's psyche, it may be found in the future, is as complicated as our own!
Meanwhile, give them a pat, tell them you love them and hold them close – but not too tightly!
