Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'

[BG and Gavin]

A recent discussion brought to light something that I did not know:  dogs do not like to be hugged.  People posted examples and videos showing the stress that dog’s display while being hugged.  I suppose I never thought of it before.  I was raised with horses and my dad taught me to always approach from the side (not head on as they can get a better look at you this way) do not move suddenly, work in close to a horse and maintain physical contact when you are out of their sight so they feel where you are as well as sing, whistle softly or talk to give them further information that you are there. 

I began to think about how Gavin approaches me when he wants physical contact.  The most common thing he does is sit up nice and tall with his back to me as close as he can (sometimes sitting on my feet).  I call this his ear scratch invitation.  Another thing he does is rest his chin on some part of my body (lap, hand or even shoulder when in the car).  I call this the chin scratch invitation.  The third thing he does is put his head down and literally bury it in my chest.  I call this the shoulder rub invitation.  I also give him chest rubs, particularly during training.

When we were in puppy K, the trainer said it was important to “own” every part of your dog’s body so that he knows you have the right to touch it whenever you want.  As a puppy, every evening, when Gavin was relaxed and lying on his bed, I would play the “I own this game.”  I would systematically touch him all over, every toe, tug on his ears, curl back his lip, touch his teeth, tongue, nose, belly, you name it… and softly tell him “I own this, and this, and that and this.”  Some of the spots I touched likely annoyed him a bit, but it became almost like a relaxation exercise. 

So, how does your dog ask for affection?  What is the best way to interact physically with your dog?  How did you socialize him to being “handled,” particularly by children?

[Bonnie and Kona]

He cracks me up! Modern Family is one of the funniest shows on TV.

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Haley growled when the video started playing!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Poor Coleman. The hugs are the least of his problems if he's eating Beneful.

Did you notice his reaction to the bear hug, though? First the lip licking and then the struggling to get away. he was fine with the loose "casual" hug below his neck.

I keep forgetting to mention that there are hugs and then there are hugs. Putting one arm around your dog's shoulders and giving a little squeeze is very different from encircling his neck in a choke hold. A one-armed brief hug doesn't restrict or restrain the dog, and is not the kind of hug that is meant in these articles that advise against hugging dogs. They are talking about both arms encircling a dog and trapping a dog, especially around the neck, which is usually the way kids do it. That's what is being cautioned against.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I was watching for Coleman's reaction to being hugged too!  He was definitely stressed by it and this is a dog that, I would imagine, get's a lot of handling!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Thank you for explaining what is meant by hugging. I "hug" my dogs all of the time but I don't do what you are describing... nor would I let my grandchildren do that. 

[BG and Gavin]

Funny bit, but leave it to Beneful to bring more harm to the canine world lol!