A dog is more than just a pet, they’re a family member whose life you’re responsible for. There are certain human behaviours that dogs secretly hate. Dogs often tolerate these behaviours because they are loyal and easygoing.

In this article, we’ll discuss the top human behaviours that dogs hate and wish you wouldn’t do number.

1. Dinnertime interruptions

If someone kept touching you during your dinner time you’d get annoyed.

When your dog is eating respect their bliss and let them be. Place the dish in a low traffic area and instruct all your family members to let the dog eat in peace. Minimize dish handling and let your pooch enjoy its meal.

2. Same food over and over

Dogs don’t like it when you eat the best food and all they get is dog food. Prepare a special meal for your furry friend now and then and let them enjoy their favourite dish.

Luckily you do not need to drastically change your dog’s food daily, dogs have only a fraction of the taste buds that humans have which means they don’t get bored of eating the same food as often as humans do.

3. Being put away when friends come over

Dogs are very social animals. Keeping your dog in the backyard and ignoring them when your friends come over is like solitary confinement for your dog.

By letting them out while your guests are over, your dog will get a chance to bond with your friends and they will also learn to behave better around new people.

4. Cleaning them too often

Dogs keep themselves clean in their special way and their body sense is a way of communicating with other dogs or animals.

If you wash your dog too frequently when they aren’t dirty, you’re doing them no favours. Likewise, when you wash your dog, it’s important not to use scented products.

The smell of scented shampoos on their fur may send them running straight outside to roll on the stickiest thing they can find because they want to change their body sense.

5. Being scolded without understanding why.

You may be upset or angry because your dog has done something you don’t like but it’s important to remember that dogs don’t understand what they have done wrong or what is going on.

By scolding your pet, you are passing your anger and negativity without addressing the main problem. This can create stress and confusion in your dog.

By using positive reinforcement, you can reward the behaviours you like and ignore the behaviours you dislike.

6. Forced socialization

Although dogs are pack animals, it doesn’t mean they want to socialize all the time.

Think about it, do you want to talk with any person you meet on the street?

Just like humans, dogs simply don’t like bonding with certain dogs.

If your furry friend is aggressive towards some dogs don’t keep forcing them together expecting them to warm up to each other.

7. Summer heat

Unlike humans, dogs don’t sweat so they don’t tolerate high temperatures as well as humans do.

While your dog does have some sweat glands in its pores, these do little to help regulate its body temperature. Instead, a dog’s primary cooling mechanism is panting but sometimes panting isn’t enough to keep them from overheating.

Make sure to keep your dog in the shade or an air-conditioned room or car.

Provide them with plenty of water and if it’s too hot make your dog wet to cool them down.

8. The baby treatment

Many dog owners confuse caring for their dogs with treating them like babies.

It’s important to remember that a dog is a dog and it needs to be treated as such. Expecting a dog to do things he simply cannot or has no understanding of may lead to anxiety and confusion.

A common example is a dog who chews expensive furniture or defecates in the house. By attaching human reason for this behaviour you may think the dog is trying to exact revenge, in reality, the dog could be stressed, have separation anxiety, is sick or is not properly house trained. Treating your dog as a baby may lead to ineffective training or misplaced punishment and it means the real problem not only goes unaddressed but could get worse.

Some dog owners discourage their dogs from certain inherent behaviours such as sniffing urine and sniffing each other from behind. In these situations, we are not caring for our furry friends but preventing them from their nature. It is important that you love your dog for who they are.

9. Loud music

Loud noises are stressful for your dog because dogs have much more sensitive hearing than humans. Canines can hear sounds four times as far as humans.

Dogs can be very agitated by noises that don’t bother us at all; Thunder fireworks, police sirens and loud vehicles are probably the most common noise phobia triggers.

People who listen to loud music in their cars with their dogs in the car are probably harming their dogs.