Stop hugging your dog, they hate it

For you, it's a sign they're your best friend and you can't live without their adorable faces being squashed up next to yours. For your dog, being bombarded with cuddles might actually be giving them some next level anxiety.

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Experts reveal that while you might think showering your pooch with physical attention is the way to make them feel loved, your pet might not feel the same way.

"Hugging is not a behaviour that dogs do to each other so they do not understand that it is a sign of affection. In fact, some dogs will interpret hugging as a sign of aggression, while it will make the majority feel uncomfortable," behaviour veterinarian Denise Doyle from Happy Pet Vet tells Be.

"If a dog is feeling scared or threatened, one of their most common reactions is to run away. If you’re hugging a dog and restricting them from being able to do so, you run the real risk that they may bite you instead."

Research appears to backs this up, with Stanley Coren from the University of British Columbia examining hundreds of dogs to determine their reactions to being embraced.

Stanley analysed 250 random Flickr photos of humans hugging their dogs – and in 82 percent of the images, the dogs showed signs of stress, such as baring their teeth, shying away from their owner or partially closing their eyes.

“Dogs are technically cursorial animals, which is a term that indicates that they are designed for swift running,” Stanley wrote in a Psychology Today article.

“That implies that in times of stress or threat, the first line of defence that a dog uses is not his teeth, but rather his ability to run away."

With dogs such a huge part of family life, Denise explains there are some important things to consider when it comes to showing your dog affection.

"It is especially important to teach children safe ways to interact with dogs, which includes not hugging them," Denise says. "As they are often at face level with dogs, they are susceptible to receiving severe injuries if a dog decides to bite when being hugged."

That doesn't mean you have to stop having fun with your furry friend.

"Hugging may be tolerated by some dogs but it is not something they enjoy," says Denise. "It is much better to show your dog you love them with a gentle pat, a fun game or a tasty treat."

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