Is There Anything Cuter Than Dogs Hugging? Here’s the Real Reason They Do It

As someone who spends way too much time staring into the abyss that is social media, my social algorithms know exactly what I want, and they do their best to serve it to me 24 hours a day. Because of this, pretty much all of my feeds are full of precious dogs hugging.

They’re inescapable in the best way possible: Some fluffers snuggling here, some goobers embracing there, absolutely adorable cuddles everywhere. But why do dogs hug — and how is it that some of them know how to do it on cue?

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Wait… is there a way to train our dogs to do this, and if so, how easy is it? I had to investigate. So I talked to two experts — Mary Huntsberry, associate certified applied animal behaviorist and founder of Helping Pets Behave, and Animal Behaviorist Katenna Jones owner of Jones Animal Behavior — to find out both why dogs hug, and how long it would take me to teach my own pups to do it.

Why do dogs hug?

If you’re looking at two dogs who are hugging, chances are one of two things is happening: They’re either trying to take charge, or someone taught them to do it on cue.

They’re trying to be in control.

If you see a dog wrap their front legs around another pooch unprompted, they’re probably trying to assert control over the interaction. But contrary to what humans often think about doggie dynamics, that doesn’t mean that one dog is “dominant” over the other in a fixed, set-in-stone kind of way.

Dog relationships are fluid, so dogs often take turns being in charge. For instance, Jones says, “It could be, ‘I'm in control during playtime, so I’m going to put my chest on top of you, but you might be in control inside the house.’” If one dog puts their chest over the other, that could be a sign they’ve decided it’s their turn. 

“People think that one dog is dominant over everybody in the house,” Jones says, “... and that dog is just dominant over everybody all the time. But it can be moment-to-moment.”

They were trained to do it.

If you’re watching a dog hugging on video, especially after someone prompts them, then some training was probably involved. But that doesn’t make it any less cute.

It’s a double-dog trick, Huntsberry says. (Say that five times fast.) Based on videos like this, she says, “One dog was taught to just sit still while the other dog was moving around. The other dog was taught to get up on his or her punches and wrap its legs around something.”

How does she know? She’s taught her own dog to do this, of course.

Do dogs know what a hug is?

Of course not! As Huntsberry puts it, the homo sapien embrace is “a weird human behavior, and dogs kind of learn what certain human behaviors mean.” Our dogs don’t have a clue what we’re doing when we hug them, but as long as they expect a good outcome, many will tolerate it.

“I hug my dogs,” Huntsberry says. “I'm a very affectionate person with my dogs, and I think they tolerate it. They do not threaten me. They don’t back away from me.” At the same time, she admits, “Do they ever lean in? Do they ever seek it out? No.” 

I know what you’re thinking right now: Does this mean my dog doesn’t know what’s happening when I hug them? I’m sad to report it’s true. In fact, a lot of dogs might not even like it.

Per Jones, dogs who like to be in charge of their movement, like herding dogs, are particularly likely to dislike our snuggles. “Many dogs have an issue with it,” she says. “But I find it particularly common with Corgis and Border Collies and dogs that like to really control movement.” 

It’s the trust that matters here. As long as dogs expect a good outcome from our weird human habits, they’re likely to react in a neutral to positive way, Huntsberry says, citing her dogs’ reaction as something along the lines of, “Okay, Mom, get it out of your system.”

Why does my dog get aggressive when I hug another person?

Sometimes, dogs get the wrong idea and think that people who hug are in conflict. In those cases, they might get upset, or even defensive. “They just don’t understand,” Huntsberry says. “It’s like a person jumping on a trampoline. A dog will never understand why a person is jumping up and down on a weird thing.”

The results of this fear can be brutal. Thinking back, Jones says, “I have one Corgi that would jump up and bite its owner's boobs when they were hugging.”

If your dog becomes aggressive when you hug another person, back away from the person to reduce your dog’s stress in the moment. Then, once your dog has calmed down, approach a professional for help as soon as possible.

How to teach your dogs to hug

Curious how to get your dogs to replicate those adorable videos in your feed? Not to worry. Huntsberry offered a full breakdown.

Step One: Touch!

This is a multi-step process, and it starts by teaching the dog you want to be the hugger to touch their paw to a sticky note. In training her own dog, Huntsberry says, “All he had to do was accidentally step on the Post-it note, and I would say ‘yes’ and give him a treat. And then before I knew it, he was just intentionally looking for the post it note on the ground, stepping on it, ‘yes,’ gave him a treat.”

Step Two: Play footsie.

Then, put the sticky note on your foot so that your dog touches their paw to it. Offer more praise and treats when they do it. 

Step Three: Raise the stakes.

Once your dog knows to touch your foot with their paw, start raising your foot into the air. Looking back at training her own dog, Huntsberry says, “He was starting to pick his [arm] up to touch it. And when he could do that, I started to leave my foot on the ground, but now I have the Post-it higher up on my leg.”

The idea is to start easy and work your way up to your shin, then knee. Eventually, your dog will begin to lose balance and wrap their arms around your leg. Give them treats again and again and again, and presto! You have a dog who knows how to hug on cue.

Now you just need to train the other to really obey the “stay” cue (to receive the hug), and before you know it, your embracing dogs will be TikTok famous, and you’ll be able to say you knew them when.