Dogs may not like hugs as much as you think according to a popular canine behaviorist.
Stanley Coren explained in a Psychology Today post that though humans may want to hug their dogs to show affection, dogs may interpret it differently.
Because dogs primary defense is the ability to run away, hugging it may cause stress because it is immobilized. It also can be interpreted as exerting your dominance.
Coren also notes that incidents of dog bites involving children can be reduced by teaching them not to hug dogs.
Behaviorists believe that depriving a dog of that course of action by immobilizing him with a hug can increase his stress level and, if the dog's anxiety becomes significantly intense, he may bite. For that reason, certain websites, which try to educate children and parents in order to reduce the incidence of dog bites, make a point about teaching children that they should not hug dogs.
Most photos of dogs being hugged indicate some level of stress indicators:
1. Turning head away from source of anxiety
2. Eyes are closed.
3. Whites of the dog's eyes are more visible.
4. Ears are lowered or behind head.
Coren said that 81.6 percent of the 250 photos of dogs being hugged he examined, there was at least one sign of stress or anxiety.
Read the more about the data here.
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