Preventing Body Handling Issues

The Importance of Being Able to Handle Your Dog

Most people get a dog partially because they want a companion that loves their attention and wants to be petted. People who get small dogs usually want to pick their dogs up and pet them in their arms. It’s important to dog owners that their dogs not only accept touch and petting, but enjoy it!

If your dog enjoys your petting, you can bond with your dog by calmly peting him while the two of you are relaxing together on the couch. If your dog craves your touch and attention, he’ll probably want some petting when you greet each other after an absence. Calm stroking sessions during down time and excited belly rubs during greetings are a couple of the joys that come with a nice human-dog relationship.

Dog enjoying a head scratch
This dog seems to be enjoying a head scratch. The dog has soft, squinty eyes and isn't trying to pull away.

Dogs need their nails trimmed regularly, and they need their paws wiped when it’s wet outside. Dogs need to be examined by the veterinarian regularly each year and also when they get sick or injured. So along with training your dog to accept friendly petting and being picked up, you should also train your dog to accept all the different types of handling that must occur during grooming and veterinary exams. For more information about training your dog to accept grooming, read my blog post.

Vet Examining Dog
Dog being groomed

My dog, Bella, is really into cuddling. She likes to put her head on my lap and let me pet her head. She likes to roll over for a belly rub during greetings. When she’s laying on the couch next to me, she likes me to stroke her side. Petting is a nice way for us to bond.

Bella putting her head in my lap
My dog, Bella, putting her head on my lap

However, Bella does not like her paws to be touched. If I pet her on the side of her face or body, she loves it. If I try to pet one of her paws or lightly hold one of her paws, she will show her discomfort by pulling the paw away. Her paws seem to be very sensitive. When it’s wet outside and I send her out to potty, she spends as little time as possible on the wet grass. She steps onto the grass just far enough to do her business and then she immediately heads back towards the door and barks to come inside. I like to say she has “princess paws.” I had to do body handling work in order to train her to accept me holding her paws so that I can clip her nails regularly and wipe her paws when it’s wet outside.

Body Handling Issues

Dogs can develop body handling issues, meaning they resist human touch on certain parts of their body, when handling has been paired with unpleasant emotions. Therefore, it is important that your dog enjoys the petting and other handling she receives. If your dog is only tolerating your handling – or worse, is exhibiting signs of discomfort – you are pairing handling with unpleasant emotions and are heading for trouble.

Body handling issues often crop up with small dogs who get scooped up by people without warning. Imagine if your body was repeatedly being grabbed, lifted off of the ground, and then restrained without warning and without your consent. You would probably become snippy about being handled as well.

Dog being picked up

In a more relatable–but extremely similar–example, you may not want to be grabbed and hugged at any moment by someone, even if that someone is a person you love and you do sometimes enjoy receiving hugs from that person. Sometimes you’re in the middle of a task and don’t want to be interrupted. Sometimes you have a stomach ache and a hug doesn’t feel good.

Body handling issues also crop up often with dogs who live with children who handle the dog inappropriately. Without the proper training, children often don’t recognize when a dog is uncomfortable and they need to back off.

Dog and child lying down
This child probably doesn't know that yawning is often a sign of stress or discomfort in dogs

Some children tend to surprise dogs with their touch and touch dogs during times that they don’t want to be touched. Children also tend to hug or kiss dogs without realizing that the dog may not like to be hugged or kissed. Of course, you should also discourage children from engaging in more obvious examples of inappropriate handling, such as fur or tail pulling and hitting.

Child giving dog a hug
This child is giving this black dog a hug and a kiss. The dog in the picture doesn't seem entirely comfortable with the situation. Many dogs aren't comfortable with hugs and kisses.

A dog’s body handling issues can be dangerous. Dogs who are uncomfortable by the handling they are receiving may feel the need to bite to defend themselves, even if the handling is intended to be friendly.

It is especially important for you to explain to children the rules of proper body handling with dogs and to teach them to recognize signs of discomfort in dogs. Children are more likely than adults to be severely injured by a dog bite (CDC). According to a study, young children tend to miss important signals dogs are giving with their body language [1]. Most dog bites to young children happen when the child is interacting with a familiar dog (CDC), so don’t assume that your child is safe simply because the dog has played with your child before without incident. For information on teaching children about dog safety, visit the Doggone Safe website.

Pay Attention to Body Language

When you touch your dog, watch his body language and stop touching him if he seems uncomfortable. It’s important to learn the signs that your dog is uncomfortable so that your dog doesn’t feel the need to threaten you–or worse, bite you–to get you to back off.

Dog and Owner Selfie
A tongue flick–like the one the dog in the above picture is exhibiting–is often a sign of stress in dogs. Perhaps this dog isn’t comfortable with the hug or with the way the photograph is being taken.

Signs of discomfort in dogs:

  • Attempting to pull away or move away
  • Yawning
  • Tongue flicking
  • Ears back and flat to head
  • Tucked tail
  • Wide eyes (also known as hard eyes or “whale eye” if the white of the eye is visible)
  • Muscle stiffening
  • Snarling
  • Growling
  • Whipping his head around to face the hand that touched him
  • Snapping at the hand that touched him
  • Inhibited bite (the dog puts his mouth on the person but without jaw pressure)
This dog has wide, round eyes with a significant amount of white showing.

This dog has wide, round eyes with a significant amount of white showing. This dog is probably at least slightly uncomfortable with the fact that the hands of multiple people are on his or her back.

If you fail to back off when your dog shows signs of discomfort, your dog may feel the need to escalate to more threatening body language and even possibly biting. Pushing your dog when your dog is uncomfortable will also likely lead to more body handling issues in the future.

Wolf snarling
A snarl–like the very overt one this wolf is exhibiting–is a very obvious sign of discomfort in dogs. If you see even a slight snarl in a dog you are touching, you should back off immediately.

You should NEVER punish threats your dog gives you. Punishing threats from your dog may cause your dog to stop threatening you, but it won’t change how your dog feels about the situation. When that situation arises again in the future, a dog that was punished for threats may bite a person without first warning that person with a threat.

Signs of comfort with and enjoyment of human touch in dogs:

  • Leaning into the touch or rolling over for a belly rub
  • Relaxed ears
  • Relaxed tail
  • Squinty eyes (also known as soft eyes)
  • Loose, relaxed muscles

The more your dog experiences human touch in an enjoyable way, the more your dog will enjoy human touch. Pairing different types of body handling with treats will encourage your dog to feel happier and more relaxed around that type of body handling. See below for the training steps.

Dog Enjoying Petting
This dog seems to be enjoying the touch of the hand in this picture. The dog has soft, squinty eyes, relaxed ears, and relaxed facial muscles.

No Surprises

Make sure your dog is aware that you are about to touch him. Surprising a dog with your touch can be scary. If your dog isn’t paying attention to you, use your voice and softly talk to your dog before you pet him.

Your Dog Doesn't Always Want to be Touched

Dogs usually want to be left alone when they’re resting, working on a chew, or playing excitedly. Even petting your dog in a way that he usually likes might be annoying to your dog when he is engaging in certain activities. Imagine getting a friendly hug from someone you love while you’re in the middle of cooking a meal or completing a workout. This well-intentioned affection you usually like can be very annoying if poorly timed. Avoid touching your dog when he doesn’t want to be touched, because doing so could lead your dog to develop body handling issues.

Sleeping Puppy
Let sleeping dogs lie, as they say

Your dog’s crate should be a safe place for your dog to sleep without being bothered by others–leave your dog alone when he is in the crate and make sure that other people in the house (especially children) know this rule as well. Of course, everyone should also leave your dog alone when he chooses to rest somewhere other than his crate, but the crate is often a place dogs choose to go when they don’t want to be bothered.

Your dog probably doesn’t want to be petted when he is chewing. He’s too focused on the chewing project to enjoy being touched! Leave him to his project as long as he is chewing on an appropriate chew toy.

Dog chewing a bone
Dogs Playing

When your dog is playing excitedly, he probably isn’t in the mood for a cuddle session. Once again, he’s too focused on the task at hand–playing the game–than on getting petted by you. Let him focus on playing the game.

Training Steps for Improving Body Handling

  • When your dog is in a good state of mind to be handled, pet her in a spot she likes and give her a nice treat
  • Pause in between each treat so that the touch clearly predicts the treat
  • If your dog seems uncomfortable at all, go back to an easier version
  • Gradually work your way up to more difficult handling
  • Areas of difficulty for many dogs:
    • Paws
    • Ears
    • Mouth
    • Tail
    • Near the genital area
    • Being picked up or restrained
Dog Handshake

Training a Dog to Accept Being Picked Up

If you have a dog who already accepts being picked up much of the time, the training process is fairly simple. Follow the steps below.

  • Say “scoop” or another word of your choosing each time you are about to pick up your dog
  • If your dog moves away or shows signs of discomfort, do not pick up your dog–he might just not be in the mood to be held
  • If your dog seems comfortable, pick up your dog
  • Feed your dog treats sometimes when you pick him up so that he associates being picked up with the happy and calm feelings that comes with eating yummy treats
Dog being held 2
Dog being held

The word “scoop” is a signal to your dog that you are about to pick him up, unless he objects. Remember what I said above: surprising a dog with your touch can be scary. Giving your dog a signal that he is about to be picked up and then backing off if he seems uncomfortable effectively allows your dog to consent (or not) to being picked up by you. When your dog does consent to being picked up, feeding your dog treats while you hold him will encourage your dog to feel comfortable with you picking him up.

If you have a dog who shows discomfort much of the time you attempt to pick him up, you should start with more basic body handling and progress to picking your dog up. Once you begin picking up your dog, you should start with holding your dog very briefly and progress to holding your dog longer. Follow the steps below.

  • Say “scoop” or another word of your choosing before each repetition of the steps below
  • Feed your dog a treat after each repetition of the steps below
  • Reach towards your dog and then feed him a treat without touching him
  • After a few repetitions, reach farther towards your dog before feeding him a treat
  • If your dog seems uncomfortable with the reaching, try a smaller reaching motion
  • Once your dog seems comfortable with you almost touching under his body, begin touching under his body lightly, in the place that you would put your hands if you were going to pick him up
  • Once your dog seems comfortable with you touching lightly under his body, begin touching more firmly under his body
  • Once your dog seems comfortable with you touching more firmly under his body, begin lifting him slightly off the ground for a moment and then putting him back down immediately
  • Once your dog seems comfortable with this small lift, begin lifting your dog higher and holding him for longer
  • If your dog seems uncomfortable at any point, go back to an earlier step and try to progress slowly again
  • Once you’ve reached the end goal of this training, which is to train your dog to be comfortable with being held for a significant amount of time, don’t forget to say “scoop” before each and every time you pick up your dog

Citations

[1] Lakestani, N. N., et al. “Dog bites in children.” European Journal of Companion Animal Practice 15.2 (2005): 133-135.