Sorry everyone: This scientist says you shouldn't hug your dog

[Eugene]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Sorry everyone: This scientist says you shouldn't hug your dog

By Alyssa Pereira Updated 12:55 pm, Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Bad news dog lovers: science is here again, ready to ruin to your day.

You know all those doting hugs and cuddles you give to your dog every day? Apparently, your pup hates that. A lot.

In an article published earlier this month in Psychology Today, Dr. Stanley Coren, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia who frequently writes about canine behaviors, argues that dogs almost always exhibit cues of discomfort or stress when they are being hugged or embraced by humans.

Coren examined 250 random photographs of people (both adults and children) hugging dogs, taking note of the animal's appearance and expression in each picture. As he says, in a large majority of the photos, the animals' body language doesn't lie: they do not like being hugged. In most pictures, the dogs show signs like eye contact avoidance or lowered ears, generally suggesting they are feeling stressed out by the affection. He writes:

In all, 81.6% of the photographs researchers scored showed dogs who were giving off at least one sign of discomfort, stress, or anxiety. Only 7.6% of the photographs could rate as showing dogs that were comfortable with being hugged. The remaining 10.8% of the dogs either were showing neutral or ambiguous responses to this form of physical contact.

Now, it is possible that your dog is one of the exceptions to this rule, but generally speaking, Coren advises that rather than smothering your pup in hugs and kisses, you show your appreciation with a little playtime or a treat.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sorry-everyone-scientists-say-you-shouldn-t-hug-7343181.php

[Rebkeh]

1. I have one dog that prefers I don't, I give her space

The other one though, and some previous dogs, they walk into my arms all the time and don't show any dislike for it. I try to always let them decide and pay attention to their body language because it changes according to their mood too. I admit I forget sometimes though, they are just too cute.

Good post, thanks.

[d_r]

2. I would guess most dogs dont like it

But I question the "study" ( a not peer reviewed blog post that includes the phrase "the data says" in the title).

He looked at photos people posted on the internet.

He only included lectures in which you could see the dogs face.

Then he coded dogs looking away from the person's face as a stressed dog.

So, in pictures of people hugging dogs he found on the internet that only included the pictures that show the dogs face, more were looking away from the hugging g person.

Not too impressed.

[Duppers]

3. Our Labs, both of them, like/liked body slamming.

The Lab we have now also loves climbing on me and licking my face but jumping on me is a no-no. After I've come in the door, I'll stoop down to let her get to my face to greet me. She also loves to be patted and scratched.

However, she seems to think hugging is an attempt to restrain her.

Let your pups tell you what they want.

[Phentex]

5. I agree. And it depends on how you hug I think...

you don't want to choke the poor thing or pull him into an awkward position. My neighbor's dog likes to be carried on my hip with her paws on my shoulder. She doesn't seem to mind a quick hug

[Duppers]

6. Awww, how sweet!

[mopinko]

4. being hotly debated on my fb

my bullies def dont like it. terriers not that crazy about it either.
cant think of noting it in past dogs, but dont recall many actually liking it either.

have seen many pics of dogs and kids that made me cringe, also.
yeah, dont think it is a good idea unless you know the dog wants it.
if you can really speak dog, have at it.

[Mosby]

7. dogs love hugs

But you have to hug them on their terms.