told him so....

[debbiej]

I want to share something. as a bit of....shall we say.....education??

I know Boris does not like to be "cuddled" I give him his space, he adores me (it is mutual) but our mutual affection does not involve "snuggles".

But my dear husband likes to cuddle the dog. and insists the feeling is mutual. hah.

I have told him that Boris does not see hugs and cuddles like he does. and to leave him alone.

so tonight, he was showing me how Boris likes to be hugged. Boris finally snapped, lucky that it was a warning only. growl and snap. John is quick, and now he is a believer.

I am angry. my dog was pushed into protest. he did no harm. but he lost bed privileges and he got away with something I would rather he not get away with.

I respect my dog, so very very much. I love his dignity. dang it. he does not like to be hugged!!!!!!!!!

[SABELLESMOM]

Well then DH has had an epiphanal moment. No harm in that. Boris will forget. And your husband will remember.

My girls are pretty tolerant. I'm glad, actually. And it's not so much tolerant with hugging as it is tolerance with roughing up the head and neck area. They seem to like that.

But they do have an idea of how close is comfortable for them... with adults they know. Sable will pull away. She will leave, if her message is not received. Raven turns her head away. That's her sign. Then, she'll move a bit, and pull away as well.

We have 2 year olds in the family and a new baby. What amazes me is how they "know" these are children. Just as they would comply with puppy friskiness. Now, my neices don't "bother" the dogs, nor would they be allowed. They're far more interested in playing. But they do share their toys with them and prop themselves against them to watch Sesame Street. I've seen both girls kiss the top of their heads. I've see the dogs, if left out of the cartoon watching, go to them.

Yet, even with the children...the R-E-S-P-E-C-T is there. Just as you say. They accomodate the children because they're small, but also because the children are respectful. It's a barely perceptable communication between them, but it's there.

The adults they know also respect. The dog turns the head or pulls away, they can see it's too much and stop. Your husband didn't see what you saw. It means we should know our dogs, too. Look for signs of stress. One has to hear what another sees obvious, even with dogs we know well.

[keller27]

Originally Posted by debbiej

I want to share something. as a bit of....shall we say.....education??

I know Boris does not like to be "cuddled" I give him his space, he adores me (it is mutual) but our mutual affection does not involve "snuggles".

But my dear husband likes to cuddle the dog. and insists the feeling is mutual. hah.

I have told him that Boris does not see hugs and cuddles like he does. and to leave him alone.

so tonight, he was showing me how Boris likes to be hugged. Boris finally snapped, lucky that it was a warning only. growl and snap. John is quick, and now he is a believer.

I am angry. my dog was pushed into protest. he did no harm. but he lost bed privileges and he got away with something I would rather he not get away with.

I respect my dog, so very very much. I love his dignity. dang it. he does not like to be hugged!!!!!!!!!

Khori isn't into the cuddle thing either. He is better about it. Before he would be across the room and didn't even care if you were in the same room with him. Was working with a trainer and now he will come over and lay beside the couch more and more and he never did that before. I have another trainer friend and she was watching him be with me, and she saw that whenever I would learn over him to scratch his shoulders, in his eyes she could tell that he did not like that. At my angle I could not see his expression of his eyes, so that was helpful to me, so I watch what I am doing.

[Cdn1050]

My dog doesn't mind being hugged. I don't make a habit of hugging her and I don't allow my kids, or anyone else to hug her. I've noticed that the few times I have hugged her, it's her way of getting people to giving her belly and butt scratches.