Why Your Dog Sometimes Seeks Touch — and Sometimes Pulls Away

The very same touch can irritate a dog one day and barely register the next. A light stroke, a gentle nudge, a hand resting on the body — sometimes it triggers tension or irritation, and sometimes it seems to make no difference at all. Sound familiar?

Researchers at the University of Geneva have identified a mechanism that may help explain why this happens. And no, it is not about the dog being moody. It is about how the brain regulates the intensity of sensory signals. The study was conducted in mice, but the findings may also help us better understand dogs — and humans — especially when it comes to sensory processing issues such as touch sensitivity.

What Exactly Is Going On?

The researchers identified a previously unknown brain pathway involved in regulating sensitivity to somatic stimuli — that is, sensations coming from the body: touch, pressure, temperature, pain, and proprioception.

The key players are the connections between the thalamus and the somatosensory cortex, the brain region responsible for processing signals from receptors in the skin, muscles, and joints.

The thalamus does not simply pass information on to the cortex. It also receives feedback from it. This back-and-forth works a bit like a sensory volume control: it does not change the stimulus itself, but it changes how strongly the brain registers it.

This mechanism appears to depend on unusual glutamate receptors. Glutamate is usually thought of as an excitatory neurotransmitter, but here it seems to work differently. Rather than directly triggering activity, it changes how ready a neuron is to respond — in other words, it increases sensitivity to future input.

What Does This Have to Do with Dogs?

Many dogs show either hypersensitivity or reduced sensitivity to touch, movement, or pain. Some dislike being touched. Others seem oddly unresponsive even to clear physical discomfort.

This mechanism may help explain why the same stimulus — a light pressure, a leash jerk, a puff of air, a hand on the back — can sometimes provoke a strong reaction and at other times go almost unnoticed.

That matters especially when working with anxious dogs, dogs with a trauma history, or dogs with poor emotional regulation. Their nervous system may struggle to adjust this internal “sensory volume” smoothly, turning it up too high in some moments and too low in others.

What Does This Change in Practice?

A dog’s response to physical stimuli is not fixed. The brain is constantly interpreting sensory input in the context of emotion, arousal, fatigue, and the broader situation.

So this variability is not a sign that the dog is being difficult or unpredictable for no reason. It reflects a flexible nervous system that is responding differently depending on what state the dog is in.

Instead of asking, “Why is he upset about this again? Yesterday it was fine,” it may be more useful to ask, “What is happening in his nervous system right now that makes this same stimulus feel different today?”

What Can We Do?

In practice, it may help to focus on:

• reducing chronic stress,

• building a stronger sense of safety,

• giving the dog control over whether and when physical contact happens,

• and supporting their ability to self-regulate.

The better regulated the nervous system is, the less extreme the reactions to sensory input tend to be.

This study is a reminder that the way a dog experiences touch is not determined only by receptors in the skin or muscles. It also depends on a complex system of modulation in the brain. Perception is dynamic — and a dog’s response to touch depends, in part, on how their brain has set its sensitivity in that particular moment.

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Holtmaat, A., Chéreau, R., Aguilar, J., Calvigioni, D., van der Veen, B., Fard, M. A., Pêcheur, A., Muñoz, W., & Jabaudon, D. (2024). Thalamocortical feedback selectively controls pyramidal neuron excitability. Nature Communications, 15, Article 5387.