Anyone who shares their daily lives with a dog will have noticed the enormous behavioral and cognitive complexity of these animals, as well as their ability to feel and express a wide variety of emotions. For this reason, it is normal that, as a guardian, you sometimes wonder what your dog will think about you.
Many people humanize and misunderstand the behavior of their dogs and this leads them to affirm that their animals feel hatred towards them, but the truth is that dogs do not "hate " to other individuals or, at least, not in the same way that we human beings do. The degree of affection or rejection that the dog shows towards its guardian will depend both on the type of relationship they establish and on the previous experiences that the dog has had and, in this sense, there are many factors involved. In this article on our site we analyze various aspects that can harm or hinder your relationship with your dog and we give you some keys to achieve a better bond with your furry friend. Thus, if you suspect that your dog "hates" you, it is most likely that some of the aspects related to his education or the way you communicate with him are failing. Keep reading and find out where the problem is to remedy this situation, don't miss it!
1. He rejects you and won't let you manipulate him due to lack of socialization
The stage that elapses between three weeks and three months of life of a puppy is calledsensitive socialization period and corresponds to one of the times when your nervous system is most prepared to receive new information, process it and adapt to it. During this time, the puppy should begin to explore the world around him, because in this way he will learn to relate to the different stimuli in his environment and will get used to many of them.
If the puppy is separated from its mother too soon (before eight weeks of age), it remains isolated during the socialization periodor have many negative experiences at a young age, it is very likely that will develop a behavioral disorder related to fear, such as phobias or sensory deprivation syndrome. Unfortunately, many of the puppies waiting for a home in the shelters have gone through one of these scenarios, they have not been properly socialized and may have a real fear of people.
If you adopt a dog and notice that he feels rejection towards you, does not allow you to handle him, shuns you or shows signs of threat, this may be one of the possible causes. Of course, your dog doesn't hate you, but he may never have had a he althy relationship with a human during his sensitive stage and is very scared. In this case, the best thing you can do is contact a canine ethologist or an educator who works with positive reinforcement to advise you on the best way to interact with the dog so that, little by little, it gains confidence in you. In addition, we advise you to consult this other article: "How to gain a dog's trust?".
two. He hides from you or treats you differently because of traumatic experiences
Isolation during the period of socialization or early separation from the mother are, without a doubt, traumatic experiences for a dog, but they are not the only ones that he can have. Regardless of your dog's age or stage of life, if is physically or psychologically abused by a human, You can develop a pathological fear towards people in general or towards those with characteristics similar to those of the individual who treated you badly. This is why we often see dogs showing strong panic reactions towards, for example, men with beards, people with sticks or canes, or people wearing certain clothes, while not behaving in the same way towards other people.
Unfortunately, kennels and shelters are full of animals that have suffered mistreatment and which, sometimes, take more time and effort to adapt and trust in a human. Once again, we must clarify that the basis of their behavior, including aggressiveness, is fear and not a feeling of hate or resentment, for what is ideal is to work with a professional who offers us clear treatment guidelines.
3. He ignores or attacks you for inconsistent rules or punishment-based upbringing
One of the most frequent causes of a bad relationship between a dog and its guardian is the education strategy used by the latter on the former. In every home there should be rules of coexistence, but it is important that these rules are clear, consistent, do not affect the welfare of any individual and are taught always in an animal-friendly manner
A very basic example is the following: if a family decides that the dog is not allowed to get on the sofa, all the members must agree and act in the same way, teaching the dog to reject the sofa offering other alternatives and reinforcing these. If, on the other hand, it is sometimes allowed to get on the sofa and other times scolded for doing so or each member of the family establishes and enforces their own rules, we create a very unpredictable environment for the animal, which can lead to confusion and anxiety and lead to behavioral problems.
Similarly, the use of elements of physical punishment such as choke, spiked or electric collars, and theuse of intimidation as an educational method seriously affects the well-being of the dog, causing fear and reactions that could easily be confused with hate(show signs of threat, attack, ignore orders, run away from us, etc.). In this video we teach you how to train a puppy using techniques based on positive reinforcement:
4. He growls at you or shows his teeth for not knowing how to respect him
Dog language is exceptionally broad and complex. Through facial expressions, body postures and vocalizations, dogs express a huge number of intentions and emotions to communicate with us as well as with other animals. It is essential to train and learn the meaning of these signs when we adopt a dog, because communication is the basis of any relationship, even that between different species.
Dogs learn the meaning of our gestures, words and expressions very quickly, since they observe us with great attention every day. However, it usually costs us a little more to understand what our furry wants to tell us and, due to ignorance, we fall into errors of interpretation. For example, we tend to think that if a dog wags his tail it is because he is happy, when the reality is that this gesture can have many interpretations depending on the context and the form of the movement itself.
It is important to know the so-called calming signals (yawning, smacking, turning your face, etc.)and threat (growling, showing teeth, marking, etc.), which will tell us when our dog feels uncomfortableor needs space. If we respect these signals and avoid forcibly exposing our furry to situations that are not pleasant for him, his trust in us will increase, because he will feel understood.
5. He is nervous due to lack of stimulation
A dog's needs go far beyond the merely physiological and, if we want to guarantee his well-being and establish a true bond with our dog, it is essential that we spend quality time with him and offer him enough both physical and mental stimulation. A dog that does not receive adequate stimulation, can emit a series of signals and develop certain negative behaviors, such as stereotypes (repetitive actions without a specific purpose), nervousness, excessive barking, etc. All this is a product of the stress and anxiety caused by him not being able to channel his energy or stimulate his mind. On the contrary, other dogs can be totally apathetic.
Dogs are social and gregarious animals, They need to relate and interact with other individuals and belong to a group. A fundamental part of living with a dog lies in spending time together, doing pleasant activities and having positive experiences. This includes the walks, the training sessions, the game and, of course, the moments of relaxation and caresses. Taking care of this aspect allows the dog to establish a safe and he althy attachment to us and have more affection for us.
Likewise, we must provide him with activities and challenges that encourage decision-making, make him think and stimulate him at a cognitive level. To do this, we can resort to skills training with positive reinforcement or the use of interactive toys and puzzles that can be solved alone or with our occasional help. This and providing the physical exercise that corresponds to it according to its age, size, breed and state of he alth, will improve the well-being of the dog and with it the relationship with its guardian.
All that being said, if you notice your dog barking at you, showing its teeth, hiding from you or not letting you pet it, it's not that your dog hates you, is that something is wrong and this is his way of transmitting it. Therefore, you must find the cause of their behavior and treat it to improve your bond.
