--- title: Hugging Your Dog May Upset the Animal description: Hugging a dog may pain the animal even if the gesture is well intentioned canonical: https://time.com/4310720/hugging-dog/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-28T11:57:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:06:11.057Z article:section: Science og:title: Hugging Your Dog May Upset the Animal og:description: Hugging a dog may pain the animal even if the gesture is well intentioned og:url: https://time.com/4310720/hugging-dog/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16f0949525bee47c/698890f9524fc0e0c9df7c0b/dog-hugging-pets-animal-psychology.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: dog hugging pets animal psychology og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hugging Your Dog May Upset the Animal twitter:description: Hugging a dog may pain the animal even if the gesture is well intentioned twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16f0949525bee47c/698890f9524fc0e0c9df7c0b/dog-hugging-pets-animal-psychology.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why You Might Think Twice About Hugging Your Dog > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=5bf4c329-7f0c-4507-873f-e9f04f81e177&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Apr 28, 2016 11:57 AM UTC  Nancy King embraces her dog Buzz, a 15-year-old dachshund, at her home in Elk Grove, California, October 27, 2010\. King had an attorney draft a "Pet Trust" outlining how her beloved dogs will be cared for after her death. (Photo by Andy Alfaro/Sacramento Bee/MCT via Getty Images) Nancy King embraces her dog Buzz, a 15-year-old dachshund, at her home in Elk Grove, California, October 27, 2010\. King had an attorney draft a "Pet Trust" outlining how her beloved dogs will be cared for after her death. (Photo by Andy Alfaro/Sacramento Bee/MCT via Getty Images) Andy Alfaro/Sacramento Bee—MCT via Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Apr 28, 2016 11:57 AM UTC Hugging a dog may pain the animal even if the gesture is well intentioned, an expert says. A hug that restricts a dog’s ability to move could stress the animal given its natural inclination to flee in dangerous situations, Psychology Professor Emeritus Stanley Coren wrote in a [blog post](https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201604/the-data-says-dont-hug-the-dog) on the site _Psychology Today_. Coren supported his belief with a back-of-the-napkin survey of photos of people hugging their dogs online. More than 81% of photos evaluated suggested that the dogs were uncomfortable with being hugged, according to the post. The informal study is not peer reviewed, but Coren suggested that the findings will come as no surprise to those familiar with dogs. “Save your hugs for your two-footed family members and lovers,” Coren wrote in the post. “It is clearly better from the dog’s point of view if you express your fondness for your pet with a pat, a kind word, and maybe a treat.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4310720/hugging-dog/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4310720/hugging-dog/"},"headline":"Why You Might Think Twice About Hugging Your Dog","datePublished":"2016-04-28T11:57:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:06:11.057Z","description":"'Express your fondness for your pet with a pat, a kind word, and maybe a treat'","url":"https://time.com/4310720/hugging-dog/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16f0949525bee47c/698890f9524fc0e0c9df7c0b/dog-hugging-pets-animal-psychology.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16f0949525bee47c/698890f9524fc0e0c9df7c0b/dog-hugging-pets-animal-psychology.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"dog hugging pets animal psychology","caption":"dog hugging pets animal psychology","creditText":"Andy Alfaro/Sacramento Bee—MCT via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4310720/hugging-dog/","name":"Why You Might Think Twice About Hugging Your Dog"}}]}] ```