Dogs and humans share a unique and strong bond for centuries. In our days, dogs are part of our family and we all treat them as our furry children.
However, there is still things that people do, that our dogs do not appreciate at all and they wish we would know.
Here’s a few..
1) Waking them up for no reason
I believe that everyone is familiar with the idiom “Let sleeping dogs lie”. That phrase basically summarizes my point here.
When we suddenly wake the dog up, we disturb their sleep and it’s not uncommon for dogs to react by snapping just because they got a fright.
We should never wake our dog up for no reason but if it’s absolutely necessary that we have to, we should first call their name in a calm voice so they wake up as smoothly as possible.
2) Touching them while they are relaxing
While most people enjoy an affectionate touch when they are relaxed or half asleep, dogs generally find it annoying and do not appreciate it.
Dogs will naturally choose a peaceful environment, away from noises and too much fuss, to relax. When it comes to relaxation, dogs want to be left alone unless they are the ones initiating any contact.
3) Staring at them
Continuous eye contact is considered a good sign between people as it shows that we listen carefully and it also shows respect. However, dogs perceive it in a different way. They find this behaviour intimidating and threatening. It’s not something that they do with another dog under normal and natural interactions so staring at our dogs will definitely make them very uncomfortable.
4) Hugging and kissing
Giving a hug and a kiss to a loved one, is something that comes naturally to all of us and we sometimes feel the need to it to our dogs. Dogs on the other hand are not able to understand that we are doing this because we love them and it’s a way to express our feelings to them and in most cases, they will show that they dislike it.
Unfortunately, a lot of people are not aware of those subtle signs that the dog shows whenever he/she is being handled this way and they keep doing it over and over again. This pushes the dogs to their limits and there might be a day that they won’t tolerate it any more and they will react.
It’s worth mentioning that a lot of dogs out there seem to accept this type of behaviour but the truth is that they just tolerate it because it might be going on for years and the dog is kind of desensitized to this, or because the dog is just very tolerant. Whichever the case, dogs should be respected and not being treated as human babies.
For more information about dogs body language and communication, please read here
5) Stressing them out
That’s a very broad term and it can mean a lot of things but what I really want to highlight here is that we shouldn’t put our dogs in situations that will make them highly stressed and anxious.
Dogs are creatures that thrive when they feel safe, loved and connected. If a person that they trust deliberately puts them in uncomfortable and stressful situations, they quickly lose their trust.
To give a few examples: A dog who does not like kids, is brought to playgrounds, kids parties, schools.
A dog who does not like dogs, is brought in to parks full of dogs.
A dog who is afraid of water, is thrown in to the water hoping that he will overcome his fear.
All the above examples show that someone will intentionally make the dog face his fears by flooding him with whatever he is fearful of. This not only stresses the dog so much but it’s a great recipe to destroy the bond between human and dog.