I love dogs that try to pet you back. Used to know one who would walk up, give you a swipe, and then flop down with his tongue hanging halfway to his ear because then it was his turn for scratches and belly rubs. Master manipulator.
My dog gives hugs. If you get down on your knee, or if he’s on the bed to be tall enough, he’ll wrap his paws around your shoulders and pull you in. If you hug him back he’ll just stand there hugging you.
I’d like to sign up for a dog hug, please.
One of my dogs gave hugs while you were standing. His head was a good bit above mine while doing so. He was a big boy. Loved him so much 💕
Sounds a little like he’s trying to bury a bone.
He’d have an erection if he wanted to.
Ask me how I know.
I had a dog that wouldn’t pet you, she’d just walk up to you, sit, and put 1 paw on your knee and stair strat into your eyes.
I had a dog that was a cat. She wanted affection, but it had to be her idea. And ONLY her idea. She could be walking up to the couch to hop in your lap, and if you saw it and invited her up she’d turn around and walk away, because she did NOT answer to your commands.
But then you’d be watching the TV and notice that you were petting the dog, and have no idea when she’d snuck alongside you for her cuddling.
She also was super attached to her dog bed we’d made out of an old suitcase. She did whatever she could to stay in it.
As long as your communication towards your dog is clear and consistent, they actually thrive with certain boundaries.
I really feel this. My job has me interacting with the public a lot, and sometimes they have dogs that want to come to me for pets or to say hi. I don’t always know if they are friendly and just have to position myself both to be attacked and to defend myself. It almost always leads to confused dogs. I’ll pet them a little, but won’t let them on me. Too risky in the places I work.
It is pretty great when I see camper and dogs again, and I know they are friendly, and the dogs seem to recognize me, and then we can dance haha.
I always put my hand down, palm up, for a unknown dog to sniff first. If a dog is not very nice, or maybe too anxious at the moment for petting, they’ll mostly ignore it.
That’s the same behaviour people with food use. So its not sniffing you, it’s sniffing for the missing treat.
Palm down.
Yeah, back of the hand is always what you give to an animal if you’re attempting to be friends
Ya, part of the reason palm down is important is that if a dog does bite, it is structurally easier for us to turn around and away. But at that point it’s just nasty stuff and nobody wants that. We want happy dogs! So far I’ve only been bitten twice and and no skin was broken (small dogs).
My youngest dog actually learned to hug people it’s so funny and he is almost as tall as most people. He will hug me hello and goodbye.
I think it’s ok to set boundaries. I don’t want my dog jumping up because she can accidentally scratch or knock over little kids or elderly people. Over time she has kind of learned to come for a side snuggle hug with nuzzling, which pretty much everyone appreciates.
Yeah I think the size of the dog matters a lot in this equation
Exactly, 90lbs of dog creates a lot of impact!
I just checked, and I was already joined. But thank you for listing it like that with the ! at the beginning. Made double checking if I was joined super easy, barely an inconvenience. Just clicked the link, and there it was. Didn’t even need to use a keyboard or touch my balls or anything!
“rub rub” intensifies
It all boils down to claws scratching skin and clothes.
Luckily my dog doesn’t wear clothes so it only comes down to claws.
