Don't hug your dog

Dogs hate being cuddled and humans need to stop projecting their needs on to their pet, Martin "The Dog Man" McKenna says.

NATALIE Brabham loves cuddling her chihuahua Taco, but a new book has warned hugging can make dogs aggressive.

Martin McKenna, author of What's Your Dog Telling You says hugging is akin to putting a dog in a headlock, a signal for a play fight.

"Dogs don't like being hugged," he says.

"When we think of hugging we think of it as a human thing, but in the dog world it's seen as a fight."

He says blinking and licking are signs of nervousness and submission, not affection, while a dominant dog may bite to communicate its discomfort.

Mr McKenna, a regular guest on ABC Local Radio, estimates 97 per cent of dog owners do not understand their dog's behaviour.

He says owners should show their affection by taking their dog for an extra walk or by letting them lie down beside them.

RSPCA Victoria president Dr Hugh Wirth supports cuddling dogs, but says it is important owners select their dogs carefully.

"I think that anyone who has a proper relationship with a dog - and it's a dog that has been carefully selected - cuddling is a way of bonding with the dog," said Dr Wirth, who is also the author of Living with Dogs: A Commonsense Guide.

"My dogs certainly like being cuddled and I couldn't imagine not cuddling them."

Forever Friends Animal Rescue co-founder Natalie Brabham says though you wouldn't cuddle a stray or wild dog, pet dogs are completely different.

"My dogs would be very mad if I went a whole day without paying them that much attention. It is a way of nurturing them," she says.

Taco was a rescue dog and only formed a bond with people when they picked him up and cuddled him, she says.

What is Your Dog Telling You? By Martin McKenna, ABC Books, rrp $25