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Dogs might be man’s best friend, but even the best of friends disagree every now and again. There is no feeling in the world worse than the nagging fear that your dog, who loves everything from chasing his tail to burying bones, is mad at you. Even more frustrating? You don’t always know why. It’s not as if dogs can tell us why they’re upset, either. So how, exactly, do you find out why your dog is mad at you? Here’s everything you need to know about why your pup is acting so perturbed.
Do dogs really get mad?
So first things first: Can dogs even be upset? When it comes to emotions, we’re not just projecting: Dogs really do feel them.
“That’s not even on the table in terms of debate,” Linda Case, owner of AutumnGold Consulting and Dog Training Center in Illinois and author of The Science Dog, told PetMD. “Basic emotions like joy, fear, and anxiety—dogs definitely experience them.”
But what about anger? Do dogs actually get mad? This is where things get a little complex. The short answer is yes, it’s possible for your dog to feel upset. But here’s the good news: Your dog isn’t mad “at” you in the way that you’re imagining. According to PetMD, while dogs definitely feel emotions, they don’t associate blame with those emotions. So yeah, your dog might be upset, but he’s not fuming in the corner, cursing you internally.
What’s more, anger isn’t an emotion that dogs are likely to feel very often, if at all. What we interpret as anger in a dog is much more likely fear, frustration, disappointment, or annoyance.
Why do dogs get mad?
There are times when dogs are upset and you know exactly why — a little kid pets too hard, another dog steals their favorite toy, or some other obvious event triggers their negative reaction. But again, we’re talking about neurotic, human interpretations of dogs’ pure, simple emotional responses so you’re not here to double-check if the toddler that pulled your dog’s tail at the park annoyed him. You want to know if you’re doing (or not doing) something that’s got your pup seriously teed off.
Here’s the good news: You’re not doing anything to make your dog hate you. You don’t need to add that to your list of anxieties. Dogs express their emotions as they experience them. If they’re truly “angry,” you’ll know immediately, and you’ll also know why.
Reasons Why Some Dogs Get Aggressive
Good dog owners want to keep their pets healthy and happy, but communication between pups and people isnt always straightforward.
So Insider asked veterinarians about the things dog owners do that could be making their pets angry or irritated.