Is Your Dog Secretly Giving You the Side-Eye? 11 Sneaky Mistakes That Might Be Breaking Their Little Puppy Hearts!
Added on October 29, 2025 inASTROLOGY CARDS
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Ever notice how dogs can be the absolute light of our lives one minute, and the maddening, shoe-chewing gremlins the next? It’s like they live in some alternate universe where barking at the mailman or turning your living room into a disaster zone is just part of their charm. But here’s the kicker—while we get frustrated and sometimes lose our cool, our furry pals don’t speak human. They’re left scratching their heads, wondering why we sometimes snap or tease them. And that’s a problem, especially now with Mercury doing its retrograde dance, messing with communication left and right. Could it be that our reactions sometimes hurt their little feelings more than we ever realize? Let’s explore the sneaky ways we might be tossing emotional curveballs their way—and why giving them a break (and a belly rub) could be the best thing we do all day. LEARN MORE
Our furry friends bring us an abundance of joy and unconditional love we can’t imagine our lives without. However, that doesn’t mean our dogs don’t get on our nerves every once in a while. While it’s normal to be upset with them from time to time, they don’t communicate the same way as humans, and the ways we react may cause harm. Whether it’s responding in anger or teasing them, there are common mistakes that hurt your dog’s feelings without you even realizing.
Dogs bring joy and laughter into our lives with their playful antics and boundless energy. Their enthusiasm for life is contagious and helps to uplift our spirits. They accept us for who we are, flaws and all, without expecting anything in return. So, the least we can do is reciprocate what they give us, providing them with the love and support they deserve as cherished members of our family.
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Your dog may do things that upset you, whether it be barking at the mailman, rummaging through the trash, or chewing up your favorite pair of shoes. While your feelings are valid, it’s never okay to express your anger toward your dog by yelling or being physically aggressive with them.
When we raise our voices at them or lock them up in cages as punishment, they become scared and confused as to why they are being treated that way. In fact, a study conducted by the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare found that when an owner yells at their dog, their stress and cortisol levels increase.
Anger is an emotion that most dogs are unfamiliar with, and they’re unable to comprehend why they are being treated differently by someone they love. Even if you are angry with your dog, training experts advise you to talk to them in a soft, quiet yet firm voice instead of yelling.
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In the wild, dogs would not survive if they did not guard their food and it was taken by other animals. If their owners suddenly take their food bowls away from them while they’re eating, they may fear that they’ll never see a meal again.
Even if you simply want to change their eating location or decide you’d rather feed them later, your dog doesn’t understand why you would take their food away. This also causes them to eat at unnecessarily fast paces, which can result in stomach aches and vomiting.
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How would you feel if you were pouring your heart out about how much you loved someone, and they ignored you and pushed you away? This is precisely how your dog feels when you shove them away while they are giving you kisses.
While their tongues may be slobbery and messy, licking us is as close to kisses as they can get, but pushing them away is one of the common mistakes that hurt your dog’s feelings without you even realizing.
“Licking can be a sign of affection. It might also give a dog a feeling of security and comfort, just as the dog had when licked by its mother in the litter,” certified applied animal behaviorist Dr. Mary Burch explained. Pushing your dog away while they’re licking you can feel like you are rejecting their love and cries for attention, ultimately hurting their feelings.
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Although our cute aggression may be at an all-time high when we see our dogs, this’s no reason to tease them. Blowing on their nose or poking them while they’re sleeping will only make them feel frustrated or confused.
According to dog trainer Mikkel Becker, teasing a dog may also lead to behavioral issues such as hypersensitivity, lack of manners, and aggression. Furthermore, consistent teasing can also damage your relationship with your dogs, causing them to distrust or feel threatened by you.
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While this behavior is normal from time to time, consistent ear or paw scratching could infer some underlying health problems in your dog. According to veterinarians, constant paw licking or ear scratching could mean that your dog is suffering from chronic pain, inflammation, infection, or allergies. It could also be the result of anxiety or stress.
The best course of action is to bring them to the vet so a professional can determine the root of the problem and provide medication if needed. However, if you ignore these symptoms in your dog, they may view it as a lack of care for their well-being. This leaves them not only feeling hurt, but can negatively affect their overall physical well-being.
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When your dog is seeking affection from you, whether it’s nuzzling under your arm or licking you, withholding that affection from them is extremely harmful. That’s not to say you shouldn’t follow the advice of a professional when your dog is in training, but in any other circumstance, doing this is just cruel.
Because dogs associate affection with safety and security, not giving them the love they desire in that moment may hurt their feelings or make them think it’s a consequence of “bad behavior.” It’s confusing at best and harmful at worst.
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According to registered veterinary technician and certified dog trainer Staci Lemke, allowing a dog to sniff on a walk helps fulfill their instinctual desire to explore. But when you rush them through their walk, it’s another of the common mistakes that hurt your dog’s feelings without you even realizing.
“Imagine someone taking you to an art gallery, then blindfolding you. You wouldn’t get much out of it, would you? I imagine that’s how it is for dogs that are rushed along on walks without the opportunity to stop and sniff,” Lemke explained.
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Just like it would be unfair for someone to yell at or punish you when you felt afraid or stressed, the same goes for a dog expressing their anxiety or fear and being met with punishment. Even if a dog is dealing with behavioral problems, doing this is not recommended by experts.
As experts from the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists pointed out, “Fear and anxiety are not voluntary. Dogs cannot turn them on and off at will. If you think that’s untrue, try increasing your heart rate and making your palms sweat by thinking about it… Punishing a fearful animal will… likely increase, not decrease, its fear. And the nastiness of the experience is judged by the dog, not by the punisher.”
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Inconsistency in a human’s life can decrease their chances of success and overall satisfaction, but to a dog, it can be destabilizing.
Veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Coates explained, “Dogs don’t have a lot of control over their lives, but they like to know what’s coming next. If your dog is used to spending some quality time with you before bedtime, for example, skipping this nightly ritual may make them sad.”
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While dogs can adapt to being left alone for hours at a time, like during the week when you’re at work for 8 or 9 hours, they still need daily socialization and to take care of their basic needs like relieving themselves. It’s a gradual process for dogs to become accustomed to this time alone, but leaving them in solitude for extended periods deprives them of what they need.
Veterinary behavior expert Dr. Vint Virga revealed that doing this is yet another of the common mistakes that hurt your dog’s feelings without you even realizing. “For a dog to spend all of their day alone is too much. Dogs are very social animals. Domestication has furthered that. To afford dogs social time is essential to meeting their behavioral needs,” she said.
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Every person has their own personal space bubble, and so do dogs. Whether it’s a hand in their face that someone wants them to sniff or a hug that catches them off-guard, invading your dog’s personal space can not only annoy them, but hurt their feelings as well.
Dog trainer Dee Hoult explained that dogs will exhibit certain types of body language that indicate they don’t want to be touched. “Some dogs are very clear, dodging your hands or backing away from you to avoid any type of contact, but other, more subtle dogs may have a separate approach in asking you to back off,” she said.
Hoult added that consent is essential in a dog-owner bond, pointing out, “Understanding the types of signals to pay attention to and only engaging with a dog when they offer their consent isn’t just a good way to avoid bites, but it builds a relationship of trust and respect between you and your dog.”
Samantha Maffucci is a writer and editor for YourTango who has written hundreds of articles about relationships, trending news and entertainment, numerology, and astrology.
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