[Carruthers]

This piece of ground breaking research comes to you courtesy of the Psychology Department of the University of British Columbia.

I think someone found some spare cash slopping around in the research budget which needed to be spent before the end of last Financial Year.

The next time you want to show your dog some love, you might want to keep your distance. Your dog doesn’t want your hugs, according to Stanley Coren, a professor at the University of British Columbia in an article in Psychology Today.

Coren, who focuses in dog behavior, wrote that dogs dislike being held by humans in part because they are meant to be running animals, able to escape when being threatened. Holding a dog back, he added, “can increase his stress level and, if the dog's anxiety becomes significantly intense, he may bite.”

You can tell if your hug is making a dog anxious by noticing whether it is closing its eyes or averting them, flattening its ears, yawning, or licking its lips.

Coren downloaded a random sample of 250 pictures of humans hugging dogs, and found more than 80 percent of the photos showed dogs with at least one sign that they were stressed or anxious.

“The results indicated that the Internet contains many pictures of happy people hugging what appear to be unhappy dogs,” he wrote.

Instead, Coren suggested, pat your dog or give it a treat. If you love your dog, let them go.

LINK

So, cease that canine cuddling immediately.

Wait. What if your dog likes to hug you?

Roughly 2 years ago, Jose of Columbus, Wisconsin fell on hard times. He was going through a divorce, lost his house, became homeless and had no choice but to live in his vehicle.

Jose had his dog, "Chaos", since he was as a puppy and according to Jose, “Chaos helped me through so much in my life, I took him everywhere with me!” He is a very large dog with a lot of energy who had earned the name Chaos.

Jose knew that he needed to find a better temporary living situation for his furry best friend. A friend of a friend took Chaos and three months later Jose was back on his feet. Sadly, the friend refused to give the dog back, leaving Jose heartbroken. “I didn’t think I would ever see my dog again,” said Jose.

Just recently, a Winnebago County Services staff member was at home in South Beloit and found a dog in her driveway. An Animal Services Officer came out and brought the dog back to the shelter. The dog was wearing a collar with a 2014 National Identification Number.

A shelter staff member called the phone number that was associated with the ID number. Thankfully, Jose had the same contact information. The staff member informed Jose that his dog is at Winnebago County Animal Services. Jose excitedly said, “Chaos?!"

This is their reunion ....

Winnebago County Animal Services