Why doesn’t my dog comfort me when I cry?

If your dog does not comfort you when you cry, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you a number of possible causes and what you can do about them.

So, why doesn’t my dog comfort me when I cry? Common reasons why your dog does not comfort you when you cry are confusion, being anxious, feeling intimidated, it thinks you’re ok, or that it thinks it is in trouble.

Since there are a number of possible reasons why your dog does not comfort you and it might be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are a number of things you can consider when figuring out the main reason.

Reasons why your dog does not comfort you when you cry

Below are a number of possible reasons why your dog does it and what would make each of them more likely.

Confusion

The cause might be that it is confused and it does not understand what you are doing. This would be more likely if your dog does pay attention to you, when you cry, but it shows signs of being confused such as turning its head.

Anxiety

Another possible cause is that it becomes anxious, when you cry. This would be more likely if it starts pacing or crying itself.

Intimidation

It might also be the case that it feels intimidated. This would be more likely if it tends to try to avoid you when you cry. It would also be more likely if it started avoiding you, when you cry suddenly, after you did something such as get mad at it while crying.

It thinks you’re ok

Another possible cause is that it thinks you are ok. This would be more likely if your dog does not behave any differently when you cry. It would also be more likely if you cry often.

It thinks it is in trouble

It might also be the case that it does not comfort you because it thinks it is in trouble. This would be more likely if it avoids you and if you have punished it when crying before.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider when figuring out the main reason why your dog has been doing it.

If your dog does comfort you sometimes

If your dog does comfort you, when you cry sometimes, it would help to consider what is different when it does comfort you. For example, if it does comfort you when you tell it to come to you, it might be the case that it normally does not know what you want it to do.

If your dog did comfort you in the past

If your dog did used to comfort you when you cried, it would help to consider what else happened when it first stopped comforting you. For example, if it stopped doing it when you punished it while crying, it might be the case that it does not do it now due to being intimidated or thinking it is in trouble.

What to do about your dog not comforting you

Below are some options you have when getting it to comfort you more.

Reward it for showing affection

It might be the case that your dog does not know that you want it to comfort you. It would help to reward your dog when it does try to comfort you with treats and attention.

Avoid encouraging it not to show affection

It would also help to avoid punishing it when it does show affection otherwise it might think that you do not want it to. Instead, it would help to give it rewards when it does show affection and to avoid rewarding it when it does not.