5 Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You To Do

Animals tend to show the affection they feel for their owner very often. However, there are gestures or things your dog doesn’t want, which can confuse and even irritate our pet.

We use little body language

We humans are an expressive species and we tend to express our feelings with words. Even without realizing it, we are probably always talking to our dog about things that happened in our day or about how we feel, just as we would a close friend.

Dogs can associate some of our words with repetitive actions. For example, it is easy for him to recognize keywords like “walking”, “eat”, “no” or “very well”. But that doesn’t mean your dog can understand you, because animals ca n’t speak or understand our language, no matter how hard you try to talk to them.

The only resource your dog has left to understand you is body language. Be very careful when teaching new signs to your dog, because the owner’s lack of knowledge can often confuse the animal.

In fact, your dog doesn’t want you to hug him

Every day we’re bombarded with beautiful pictures of a Golden Retriever being hugged by children in a series of amazing landscapes. Dogs, as we know, are expressive and even dependent animals, who almost never reject an affection from their owner.

However, we tend to forget that animals don’t communicate like people do, and that too close or prolonged contact with a human can be bad for the animal. In the case of dogs, “hugs” between members of the same species are used to show dominance and mark territory.

If a human does the same, the animal is likely to take the gesture aggressively or threateningly. So try to make the small children in the house give more space to the animal.

Do not look directly into the eyes of an unfamiliar dog

Other things your dog doesn’t want you to do. As humans, eye contact between members of our species is a good tool to establish connections and strengthen emotional bonds. However, in the animal world, this contact is often used as a warning or to reaffirm a position of dominance.

If you decide to get close to a dog that isn’t yours and, out of habit, do so while looking directly into his eyes, he ‘s likely to misinterpret your gesture and become defensive. Try to get close slowly, with your hand at your nose so he can sniff and know who you are, before petting or getting too close.

Your dog doesn’t want freedom, he wants routine

Domestic dogs keep in mind that they are part of a herd and accept that you are their leader. In nature, a leadergives orders, determines roles within the hierarchical structure, and acts accordingly.

Your dog expects you to do it for him. If you give orders and teach your pet to obey them, you are not being a bad or annoying owner, but you are giving your pet the structure it needs to feel comfortable in its role in the herd.

This is especially important with dominant dogs, because they’re made to take responsibility and feel useful. Therefore, they are used as guardian dogs or police dogs, although they are more complicated at the time of training.

Don’t force friendship with animals or people your dog can’t stand

Like any other person, a dog will tend to avoid contact with any animal or human that doesn’t feel good. He doesn’t care if the individual in question is his sister, or his partner’s dog. There are times when there was simply no “chemistry,” and there probably never will be.

Don’t force improbable relationships between your dog and people or animals he doesn’t like. You will cause uncomfortable and even violent situations that will make your animal suffer or may put other people and animals in danger. If you’re walking in the park and your dog growls at another animal, don’t try to make them friends, because that won’t happen.