Here are 10 things that humans often like to do—but dogs typically hate or find uncomfortable:
🧍♂️1. Hugging
- Humans love it, but most dogs feel trapped or stressed when hugged tightly. It can even trigger defensive behavior.
- Dogs prefer gentle petting or just being near you.
🎆2. Fireworks & Loud Noises
- Humans enjoy parties and celebrations with loud music, crackers, and fireworks, but dogs have sensitive hearing and find these sounds terrifying.
🚿3. Bathing Too Often
- People enjoy feeling clean daily, but dogs don’t need frequent baths and often dislike the bathing process—especially if the water is cold or the shampoo has a strong smell.
👃4. Strong Scents
- We love perfumes, room sprays, and scented candles, but dogs’ powerful noses are overwhelmed by artificial or strong smells.
📸5. Taking Too Many Photos
- Humans love selfies and posing with their pets. But dogs often dislike having a camera or phone pointed at them, especially with flashes or unfamiliar sounds.
🐶6. Dressing Them Up
- Humans find it cute to dress dogs in clothes or costumes. Many dogs feel restricted, overheated, or annoyed when wearing outfits, especially if they’re not used to it.
🐾7. Touching Sensitive Areas
- People like to pet dogs everywhere, but many dogs dislike touches on their paws, tail, ears, or muzzle, especially by strangers.
🛏️8. Waking Them Up
- Humans may find it fun or necessary to wake their dog for walks or play, but dogs value their sleep and rest time. Being disturbed from deep sleep can stress or confuse them.
🚗9. Taking Them on Long Car Rides
- Many people love road trips with pets. However, dogs can suffer from motion sickness, anxiety, or overheating in the car—especially if not conditioned from a young age.
💃10. Crowded or Noisy Places
- Humans enjoy socializing at parties, markets, or festivals, but dogs often find crowds and unfamiliar environments overstimulating and stressful.
Top 10 things dogs love but humans often dislike or find annoying:
🐾1. Sniffing Everything (and Everyone)
- Dogs love to sniff other dogs, humans, trash, poop, etc. It’s how they explore the world.
- Humans often find it gross or embarrassing, especially when dogs sniff strangers’ crotches or other dogs’ behinds.
💩2. Rolling in Smelly Things
- Dogs delight in rolling in poop, dead animals, or garbage—it’s instinctual behavior to mask their scent.
- Humans find this absolutely disgusting and it often leads to an emergency bath!
🐶3. Licking Faces
- Dogs lick to show affection or submission. They love licking your face, feet, hands—anything.
- Many humans find this slobbery or unhygienic, especially after knowing where that tongue has been.
🐕4. Chewing Things (Especially Yours)
- Dogs love to chew shoes, furniture, remotes, underwear—it’s soothing and playful for them.
- Humans hate the damage and mess, especially when expensive or sentimental items are ruined.
🐕🦺5. Jumping Up on People
- Many dogs jump up to greet you or get attention—it’s their happy hello.
- Humans may see it as bad behavior, especially if it happens with muddy paws or scares small kids.
🌧️6. Going Out in Any Weather
- Dogs don’t care if it’s raining, muddy, or freezing—they still want their walk or playtime.
- Humans often avoid bad weather and feel annoyed when the dog drags them outside during a downpour.
🐾7. Digging Holes
- Digging is fun, instinctual, and sometimes necessary for dogs to cool down or hide things.
- Humans hate torn-up gardens, destroyed lawns, or muddy paws tracking indoors.
🐕8. Eating Gross Stuff
- Dogs happily eat rotten food, dead insects, vomit, or poop (coprophagia).
- This often horrifies humans and can make us gag or rush to the vet.
🐾9. Barking at “Nothing”
- Dogs love barking—it’s their way of warning, playing, or communicating.
- Humans get frustrated with non-stop barking, especially at night or at things we can’t see or hear.
🐶10. Invading Personal Space
- Dogs love to sit on you, follow you into the bathroom, or stare at you while you eat. It’s loyalty and love for them.
- Humans sometimes just want space and privacy, which dogs don’t really get.
Dr. Suranjan Sarkar is a veterinarian and also a writer and editor for both print and digital with a love for travel, animal, and architecture. Much of his writing has focused on human and animal health and welfare. A life-long pet owner, His two favorite canine quotes are, “Be the kind of person your dog thinks you are,” and “Dogs communicate their feelings honestly and directly. There’s no hidden agenda or manipulation.”
