Dogs don’t just tolerate human touch – most thrive on it. In fact, the way we touch our dogs profoundly impacts the way they view and interact with the world.
Kirsten works at an animal shelter, and sees animals from all sorts of situations. “One time, we took in some young dogs rescued from a hoarder,” she says. “The pups had never been properly handled by humans and were consequently unsocialized and challenging to work with. It took them a long time to get used to the human touch without either snapping or shrinking away.”
Dogs have been “man’s best friend” since prehistoric times, and over the millennia, they’ve evolved to not only accept the touch of a human hand, but to crave and enjoy it – as long as those human hands don’t abuse the privilege through neglect, punishment, teasing or over-handling. “Dogs are social animals, and they produce oxytocin [also called the “love hormone”] when touched, just like we do,” says Amy Cook, a dog trainer and behavior consultant.
Is human touch calming to dogs?
Dogs can view touch in a variety of ways, depending on the situation and past experience (or lack thereof). If the dog is touched in a calming way, and if he’s in a frame of mind that allows him to be receptive to your touch, physical contact can be a wonderful way to calm your dog.
But, while touch may be calming to your dog, it really depends on type of touch, context of the situation, and even your dog’s temperament and prior history.
Depending on the context, human touch can be seen by dogs to be:
It’s important to remember that prior experience will affect how your dog responds to any touch, calming or otherwise.
Previous rough handling or physical punishment can make any dog uncertain or even fearful about being touched.
Prior abuse may have easily convinced your dog that being touched is not safe, and something to fear and avoid.
Puppies raised in sterile environments with little early handling may be so unsure of how to deal with human touch that they panic, become aggressive, or get overstimulated when handled.
While “calm” is just one emotional state we might want to encourage in our dogs, it is a very useful one. A calm dog is a more thoughtful dog – composed, and able to take life’s little challenges in stride. Even (maybe especially) high-energy, high-intensity working dogs are better off for having the ability to be calm when required.
To use touch to promote calm in your dog, the key is to use slow, gentle strokes, rather than quick pat-pat-pats or hearty rubs. How slow is slow?
Try this – as you stroke your dog, imagine that your hands have the ability to actually slow your dog’s breathing and heart rate. Pay attention to how your dog responds to your touch.
When your touch is acting to calm, you should be able to feel her body, heart, and breathing relax and get in sync with yours.
Sometimes we want a faster, more energetic response from our dog. In that case, try a different way of touching and petting.
Heartier, faster, “whole hand” pats, playfully pushing your dog away from you, roughing up the fur, all tend to encourage movement and active engagement.
Just keep in mind that encouraging intensity and excitement during training usually results in less accurate behavior from the dog, at least in the beginning. Prepare to spend some time helping your dog and honing his ability to respond precisely while amped up.
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Find food that fits your pet’s needs
It seems like a dogs head and a persons hand were meant to go together. But why do dogs like to be pet so much, and what are the best places to pet a dog? To answer these questions, its important to understand the signs dogs give before, during and after petting. Get ready — were about to explore the science behind dog petting.
Have you ever heard the saying, “Let sleeping dogs lie?” Although all dogs like a good hand massage, they should be the ones to initiate the petting. Whether theyre a new puppy, your long-time fur kid or a dog youve never met before, you should always look for the mutual agreement that the dog wants you to pet them. If a dog wants to be petted, they will sniff you, and then their ears, tail and other parts of their body will become relaxed. Watch for loose shoulders, a soft gaze and an open mouth. When they start to wiggle a little bit or nuzzle up against you, thats your sign that theyre ready for a good round of petting.
You should first pet the dog on the chest, shoulder or base of the neck rather than moving your hand over the top of their head. Make the initial petting slow and a little bit like a light massage. Avoid the base of the tail, under the chin and the back of the neck. Definitely dont grab at the dogs face or pet their ears roughly, since most dogs do not like that type of petting. Once you get to know a dog well, you can try to pet other areas and see what they like. When youre done petting, be sure to use a consistent response like “all done” so that your dog doesnt keep jumping up or try to nuzzle into you and knock you over for more pets.