Do All Dogs Hate Being Pet On The Head?
Cow has luxuriously soft fur on her noggin and on her ears. I love to pet it.
Cow loves being pet so much that she doesn’t seem to mind at all.
Matilda isn’t as blessed with such a soft head, but she loves being scratched on the side and back of her neck, or massaged all over her back.
If your dog sometimes likes to be pet on the head, but also ducks, you may just need to work on technique.
Start on your dog’s chest or neck and work your across her body, up her neck, down her spine, everywhere, and watch how she responds.
Why does my dog flinch when I touch his back?
If your dog’s hair flinches when touching the back or neck area is a sign of over sensitivity due to nerve irritation. Definitely get this checked.
Why your dog jumps when you pet it
Below are possible reasons why your dog has been doing it and what would make them more likely.
The cause could be that previous owners mistreated it. This would be more likely if your dog has never liked being touched, if you adopted it as an adult or if you know that it had previous owners that mistreated it.
In this case, it would help to interact with it calmy, to reward it when it shows signs of not flinching and to have patience with it since it should begin to get more comfortable as it begins to realize that it is safe around you.
Another possible cause could be that you have been petting it too boldly. If you tend to pet it with a lot of force or you do it quickly, it could be the case that the way you have been petting it is what has been causing it to flinch when you pet it. Instead, it would help to pet it calmly and from the front or side where it can see you doing it.
The cause might also be that it was not expecting you to pet it. This would be more likely if it only jumps when you pet it from behind when it cannot see you and if it does not jump when it can see that you are about to pet it.
It could be the case that you have been encouraging the behavior by giving it things it wants when it does it. If you tend to give it things such as treats, toys or extra attention, when it gets scared, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards. Instead, it would help to avoid rewarding it when it behaves in a way that you do not want and to wait for it to clam down before rewarding it.
It might be the case that it is naturally timid. This would be more likely if it has always behaved that way and if it has been timid in other ways as well. However, even if it does seem to behave that way naturally, it would still help to encourage it to be less timid as discussed below.
It might be the case that an injury has been causing it to flinch. This would be more likely if it has started doing it suddenly and if it has been showing other signs of being injured such as limping. In this case, the best option would be to take it to a vet.
Below are some things to consider when figuring out the main reason why your dog has been doing it.
If your dog did not always flinch when you pet it, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it. If it started doing it suddenly, it would be more likely to be due to getting an injury but it might also be the case that there was an event that caused it to start being fearful.
If it does not always flinch, it would also help to consider what is different when it does not do it. For example, if it does not do it when it can see that you are about to touch it, the cause would be more likely to be that it flinches when it does not expect to be touched.
14 Critical Signs Your Dog Is Begging For Help
Many dogs dislike being touched or patted on the top of the head. All it takes is a quick search on the internet to see countless photos of dogs showing stressed body language while being patted on the head. Body language signals your dog might exhibit are ducking away, lowering of the head, stepping away, putting the ears back, licking lips, or whale eye (whites of eyes visible).
Humans seem to be disposed to want to pat a dog on the head; this is likely for several reasons. A dog’s head is usually the closest part of the dog we can reach. For some dogs, we don’t even have to bend down to reach our dog’s head. Humans seem to mimic this behavior from other humans. Think of a parent lovingly stroking their child’s hair. Children may enjoy this, but most dogs do not.
Humans can also be quite rough when patting a dog on the head, and it may not be an enjoyable experience for your dog. Coupled with the fact that dogs inherently dislike something reaching down from above toward them, most dogs quickly learn to associate a hand reaching toward their head with discomfort or stress. This leads many dogs to become head shy, and they learn to duck out of the way of a hand reaching toward them. 
This can be an annoyance when you have to follow your dog across the room to put on his leash, or even downright dangerous if you need to grab your dog in an emergency and he ducks away from you.
But the good news is there are many things that you can do to prevent head shyness and even give your dog a positive association with someone reaching toward his head.