I've watched two different pugs who both get angry when my husband and I simply hug each other. Anyone know what might explain this behavior?
My boyfriend's mini schnauzer would do this too! Even though he likes me a lot, he'd start barking like crazy whenever we hugged or even if it was some other small gesture, like he knew! But I think he got used to it because he's calm now. My bf would put him in his crate when I'd come over because he was being disruptive and I hated that :/ So I'm glad he doesn't have to do that anymore. Maybe that somehow unintentially trained him not to go nuts anymore? We figured he just thought we were being aggressive with each other from his doggy point of view.
I also have a mini schnauzer who barks and growls ONLY when my boyfriend tries to hug or kiss me. He is a very friendly dog, but just gets really territorial when someone is embracing me. I think it is a protective behavior, and not necessarily aggressive. Good to know I'm not the only one!
Since dogs don't show affection the same way humans do, they're unlikely to understand what hugging is - it may look more threatening or just strange from their perspective. Additionally, dogs will often have a favorite person, even if they like others in the household. Their reported anger may be anything from telling you to stop fighting, anxiety if they feel one of you is acting aggressively (remember, putting a head or paw over another dog can be confrontational), jealousy over one of you being in their favored person's space, or just frustration at not understanding what you're doing.
Dogs can get territorial over their owner. When they see them being approached or interacting with someone else, they see you as a threat. They bark or growl to protect their human.
This has been an interesting issue with our labradoodle who sees me as her owner and has reactions toward my wife hugging me or my son hugging his grandparents when they visit. We've never seen this behavior in a dog before. She either growls or nips at people's bodies just to disrupt what they're doing, not to hurt anyone.