Not Reading Your Dog’s Signals

“They give you a lot of signals,” Becque tells us. “They’ll pace a lot if they’re uncomfortable or they’ll be tense and you can see this through their body language.

“If they’re relaxed, they lay down without a care in the world, and you can see that.

“If they’re not relaxed, they’ll give you an open eye and a wide open eye is showing you the dog is stressed.

“Licking their lips a lot is also a sign of stress and yawning can be a sign of stress too, even though a lot of people read it as the dog being relaxed.

“And of course, there are the other obvious signs like them backing away, growling or raising a lip but that’s a more extreme level.”

Taking Things Away From Them

According to Barclay, your dog might get ‘angry’ if you keep trying to take things away from them.

Consistency and predictability are key experiences that will make your dog love you even more.

“How would you like it if someone kept removing your dinner or stopped you playing and you had no idea when this was likely to happen?

“Instead of taking food away allow them to eat quietly and add more rather than taking it away and give a consistent signal such as ‘all done’ when the fun is ending so they can predict what is likely to happen or not happen next. Consistency and predictability are key experiences that will make your dog love you even more.” 

Picking Them Up

According to Ingham, some dogs just don’t like constantly being handled and picked up: “A bit like hugging, this reinforces the idea that there is no escape and can make them feel that they’re not in control of the situation, which could worry your dog.

“If you want to show your dog love and affection than it’s best to pet your dog where they are most comfortable with, keeping it calm.