If you are feeling anxious or emotional, it may not be a good idea to cuddle up with your favorite pooch. A new study finds that dogs are more likely to bite people who are emotionally unstable.

The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, examined 385 households and 694 people in total, and asked them questions about dog ownership, bite history, overall health, personality types, and even demographics. They found that a quarter of all participants had been bitten at some point, although just a third of those people had to get medical treatment.

Those who owned multiple dogs were much more likely to get bitten, but the study found that you are actually much more likely to get bitten by a dog you do not know than your own pet. Also, the study found that men were more likely than women to be bitten, although researchers could not explain why.

But one glaring standout in the data was the fact that people who are less emotionally stable were much more likely to get bitten by a dog, which may explain the gender disparity, as men were more likely then women to be anxious.

“Personality type may be linked to a heightened risk of being bitten by a dog, with people of a more anxious disposition more likely to be nipped, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health,” reads the statement from BMJ. “And the actual number of dog bites may be nearly three times higher than hospital records indicate, the findings show.”