IFL Science compiled a list of things we do that might actually annoy our dogs. Below are the four most common from the list.
Are you guilty of any?
1. Yanking them away when they’re smelling something. When we go for a walk, we use our eyes more than our nose. But dogs use BOTH. So even though it’s kind of annoying to keep stopping, your dog is just trying to take in the world.
2. Poorly-timed walks. Even if your dog is in a routine of going on a walk in the middle of the day, you might need to make adjustments depending on the weather. Like if it’s unusually warm, you should go for the walk earlier or later than usual.
3. “Guilt-shaming” them. That’s where you take a picture of your dog looking “guilty” next to something like a torn up pillow . . . usually with a sign about how naughty they were.It’s not that it’s necessarily BAD for them, but by scolding them for a picture, you’re probably confusing them at best and distressing them at worst.
4. Hugging. This is a controversial one but an experiment in 2016 found that most dogs don’t like being hugged. In their study less than 8% of dogs were cool with it. But they were basically just guessing about the dogs’ feelings, so who knows.
Jai’s Note: I will say, my pup, Daisy, does NOT like being hugged by anyone that’s not my husband or me. Though she does like to be hugged and smothered by us. How do I know? Because when we hug her and pull away, she snuggles her face (and sometimes full body) back into us.
