If your dog often worries when you sneeze, this post will show you likely reasons why and what you can do about it.
So, why does my dog worry when I sneeze? Likely reasons why your dog worries when you sneeze are that your dog thinks you are in trouble, your dog has learned that the behavior is rewarded, or that your dog thinks it is time for play.
There are actually a number of possible reasons why your dog worries when you sneeze. However, there are some things you can consider to help figure out the main cause and there are some things you can do about it.
Why does my dog worry when I sneeze?
Below are likely reasons why your dog worries when you sneeze and what would make each of them more likely.
Your dog thinks you are in trouble
The cause might be that your dog thinks you’re in danger. This would be more likely if your dog does it more when you sneeze repeatedly, when you sneeze louder than usual and if your dog runs over to you and barks. In this case, it would help to give it positive reinforcement training as mentioned below.
Encouraging the behavior
It could be the case that your dog has learned that the behavior gets rewarded. This would be more likely if your dog tends to appear to be excited when you sneeze. If you tend to give your dog things such as extra attention, toys or treats, when you sneeze, it would also be a lot more likely that your dog has learned that the behavior is rewarded. If you want it to stop, it would help to only reward your dog when it does not react to you sneezing.
Your dog is confused
The cause could also be that your dog is confused and it thinks that you are trying to tell it something. This would be more likely if your dog does things such as turn its head sideways and it sits and watches you.
Stress
It could be the case that it was previously punished when someone sneezed in the past and it now causes it to become stressed. This would be more likely if your dog starts showing signs of being stressed such as pacing or chewing on things.
Fear
The cause might also be that it causes your dog to become scared. This would be more likely if it shows signs of being scared such as crying, hiding and making its body appear smaller. Again, positive reinforcement training would likely help in this case.
Your dog thinks it is time to play
Dogs will often sneeze when they are playing and your dog might think that you want to play when you sneeze. This would be more likely if your dog shows signs of excitement when you sneeze such as by wagging its tail, having a lot of energy, having its tongue out, and jumping around.
Things to consider
Below are some things to consider to help figure out the main cause.
If your dog has always worried when you sneezed
If your dog has not always worried when you sneeze, it would help to consider what else happened when your dog first started doing it. If your dog started doing it suddenly, it would be more likely that your dog has learned that the behavior is rewarded or that your dog thinks it is time to play.
If your dog always worries when you sneeze
It would also help to consider if your dog always seems to worry when you sneeze. If your dog only seems to do it when you sneeze repeatedly, it would be more likely that your dog does it because it is worried about you or because it thinks you want to play with it.
Your dog’s body language
It would also help to consider the body language your dog shows. If it shows signs such as wagging its tail, having its tongue out or jumping up at you, it would be more likely that it thinks it might get a reward for barking. Whereas, if it shows more anxious signs such as hiding or crying, it would be more likely that it becomes anxious when you sneeze.
How to stop my dog from worrying when I sneeze?
Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.
Avoid encouraging the behavior
As mentioned above, it might be the case that your dog has learned that the behavior is rewarded. Instead, it would help to try to ignore your dog when you start sneezing and to reward your dog when it does not react to you sneezing or when it has been calm for a while.
Positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement training is where you encourage your dog to behave a certain way by rewarding it when it shows signs of behaving that way.
To use it to get your dog to stop worrying when you sneeze, you could:
- Play sounds of people sneezing quietly or imitate mildly sneezing yourself and reward it for not barking.
- Gradually increase the volume or pretend to sneeze more loudly and reward it when it does not bark
- If it starts barking, reduce the volume and build it up again.
Avoid punishing your dog
It might be tempting to shout at your dog to stop worrying when you sneeze. However, this is not recommended since it is a form of attention and could actually encourage it to worry more. Instead, it would be better to ignore it and to reward it after it stops worring.
Give your dog distractions
Another option would be to give it something to be distracted by when you are about to sneeze. One way to do so could be to quickly throw it a toy to play with.
Why does my dog run to me when I sneeze?
Likely reasons why your dog runs to you when you sneeze are that it thinks you are in trouble, your dog thinks you want to play with it or that your dog has learned that the behavior is rewarded.
It would help to consider the type of body language your dog shows and if your dog does things such as grab toys.
If you tend to give your dog things such as treats or extra attention, the. Most likely reason would be that it has learned that it gets rewards when you sneeze.
Why does my dog lick me when I sneeze?
Likely reasons why your dog licks you when you sneeze are that your dog has learned that the behavior is rewarded, your dog is stressed, your dog thinks you are playing with and your dog is excited. It would help to consider if your dog also does things such as wag its tail and get a lot of energy when doing it.