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People normally want a dog for some sort of alternative companionship or something that they can embrace or hug when they want to. Such is common for the ones who are nuts over their pooch but the question now is do canines love being hugged?

A recent article from Pyschology Today sheds more light on the subject and the gist of it all may come as a surprise to many. It turns out that dogs get stressed when their masters hug them, something that is a bit strange considering it is their way of showing their affection.

The study came up with that conclusion by studying about 250 Internet photos where people are hugging their dogs. The process included scanning the photos for possible signs of anxiety which included the dog turning his head away or showing the whites of his eyes.

After the assessment, about 82% of the dogs showed at least one sign of stress, 8% were happy to be hugged while the remaining 10% was neutral.

The study further explains that dogs are known to be cursorial animals, meaning that pooches are made to run. In short, dogs like it more when they are off their leash and run away as perhaps some dog owners have experience by now.

"Behaviorists believe that depriving a dog of that course of action by immobilizing him with a hug can increase his stress level and, if the dog’s anxiety becomes significantly intense, he may bite," says researcher Stanley Coren via US News.

With that in mind, it may be perhaps better to use some other way to show your mutt some love. But aside from hugging, what other things could possibly irritate your pet? Here are some which you may want to take into consideration:

1. Staring too long. Dogs have a lot of things going on in their mind and a stare could mean them being challenged. Such could make the dog aggressive or edgy and when that happens, you may want to look in the other direction and start walking to avoid any mishaps.
2. Avoid Yelling. Dogs bark and when people raise their tones, it could be misinterpreted that normally leads to trouble. Rarely would yelling be a good thing to anyone and dogs are no different.
3. Isolation or left alone. Dogs need company in the same way that people do so try to give them as much time when you can. Leaving them alone for long could result in some behavioral or psychological repercussions and may eventually get mixed up and lost especially if they are trained.
4. Avoid bringing them in crowded places with other dogs. Folks who walk their dogs may have noticed that their mutt tends to get anxious when they spot another canine. There are exceptions of course but the thing here is that they consider the other ones they see as strangers. Dogs normally react and at times may become uncontrollable.
5. Keeping a tight leash. As mentioned earlier, dogs are made to run. So strapping on a leash could be a bad idea though there are some who prefer to use it to keep them within site. Loosen up that leash a bit and you may just see a more relaxed dog though not literally since they still want to scamper like crazy if they had their way.