No Means No!
A few weeks ago I came across a Facebook post by a Chicago veterinarian who discussed the findings of a peer reviewed study claiming that dogs and cats do not necessarily enjoy petting because it’s not perceived as affection. The animals' negative reactions are actually from overstimulation, especially the exuberant noogie. She went on to say that in general, using slow strokes are calming, whereas fast strokes are stressful. Where dogs prefer more time and physical contact along the chest and sides to reduce stress and promote relaxation, cats on the other paw, prefer to initiate contact.
Her takeaway from the study was you’re doing the technique right if your dog leans into you and if they pull away, just adjust the pressure or move your hands to another location.
And I’m guessing if your cat scratches your eyes out, you should probably stop!
I too agree that some companion animals can have negative feeling when well intentioned humans treat dogs and cats like long lost friends or wrestling buddies. We can’t help ourselves, though; we are, after all primates who show affection by hugging our friends, significant others, our children, and we are genuinely surprised or hurt when our dogs and cats try to kill us.
And now I will digress…
When I was a toddler, I had an aunt who would practically smother me with her ape-like strength. To this day, I still have nightmares about being suffocated! And let’s face it, while we may accept being hugged by another familiar human, it surely matters the relationship we have to the hugger!
Even our dogs, providing they display affiliative behaviors with their people, may tolerate a bear hug or knuckle rub on the head, however, I believe what gets lost in all of these generalizations of what dogs and cats like or don’t like, is the relationship they have with their caregivers, versus the human stranger who invades the dog’s personal space.
Because the average pet guardian, does not read their companion animal’s body language, they think the animals are enjoying the attention, therefore will often give permission to a visitor or even a stranger on the street, that it’s perfectly okay to pet their dog. It’s only after the dog has lashed out, that the guardian and the victim are gobsmacked!
This morning I watched a Facebook reel by a psychology professor who was highlighting comments by men who said that women in bars are mean when they show no interest in the guy who is paying attention to her; other guys responded that when a women smiles and says that she’s not interested, is leading them on because she smiled…This same lack of social cues can get them in trouble with humans as well as with companion animals!
Understand that an animal that has to resort to moving away, growling and eventually escalating their behavior to biting, is an animal who in clear language is saying, “No!”
Similar to the woman in the bar, if your companion animal wanted your attention or that of a stranger, they’d probably move closer.
To foster healthy relationships with humans or companion animals it’s more productive to wait for consent because you really don’t want to find out what NO” means, whether it’s with a woman in a bar with a sharp wit, or pets with sharp teeth or claws :)
HAPPY TRAINING & ENLIGHTENMENT!
