Tips to Stop a Dog From Barking When People Kiss or Hug

In this Omaha dog training session, we worked with Griff, a 4-year-old Australian Shepherd, to stop a dog from barking when people kiss. Griff learned he doesn’t need to interrupt his guardian’s affection.

Some people think that when a dog disagrees with people who kiss, that it’s jealous. Dogs can get jealous when they see people kissing or hugging, but in this situation, Griff probably thought his humans needed help.

Why Your Dog Doesn’t Like When People Kiss

If your dog doesn’t like when people kiss it could be for several reasons. If a dog is more attached to one parent, they might perceive romantic moments with others as a threat. Dogs like herding or guard breeds, which are naturally alert, may react strongly to any changes in their surroundings. Similarly, highly affectionate dogs may struggle to share their owner’s attention and show signs of jealousy.

Hugging and kissing might also be unsettling for some dogs because they perceive close face-to-face contact as threatening. Dogs typically approach one another from the side. This direct interaction can be confusing or stress-inducing rather than reassuring. Additionally, breeds with higher alertness or dogs experiencing separation anxiety may become distressed when they see their guardians being affectionate with others.

To deal with dog jealousy and discomfort, you can try different training activities. One option is the engage disengage game.

Another is spending quality time with your dog. You can also reward good behavior. These steps can help alleviate any negative reactions and promote a more balanced relationship.

How to Stop a Dog From Barking When People Kiss or Hug

As Omaha’s resident dog behavior expert, I’ve effectively used counterconditioning to prevent dogs from reacting negatively when people kiss. This process involves reenacting the behavior the dog doesn’t like, but in a small way to see if the dog reacts.

Then the action is followed by the dog being rewarded. The dog learns that the activity leads to a treat or affection, so they are happy to do it.

If your dog doesn’t like when people kiss or hug, you can do a simple exercise to teach them not to interrupt human interactions. All it takes is good timing, a controlled environment and some high-value treats that the dog really likes. You don’t have to have any formal training or be a professional Australian Shepherd dog trainer to do it.

Check out the free positive dog training video below for tips on how to stop a dog from protesting when people hug or kiss.

This situation was not ideal. We had been working with the dogs for a few hours with other people and distractions in the room. In fact, we had to stop our first attempt at recording the video because one of the guardians accidentally distracted Griff from the other. You want to find a time and place free from distractions so the dog can focus on the exercise and learn.

Pet owners should follow this tip to keep their dog from getting upset when they see people kissing a few times a day for a week or two. This is not the first time I have had to request that couples kiss in order to help their dog overcome a behavior problem, but it always makes me smile.

The key is for the dog to regularly experience this activity in increasingly intense or realistic situations. The best way to do that is a couple of times a day, every day for a week or two so that you get the strongest result.

Of course there were a number of other dog behavior tips that I shared in this in-home Omaha dog training session. To help the guardians remember them all, we recorded a short roadmap to success video that you can watch below.