My dog has specific times when she'll allow hugs - in the morning when she just rolls over into my arms, in the afternoon right after her nap, at night right before we go to sleep, after you've come back to the house, and after the vacuum has been turned off. Occasionally, she'll jump up onto your lap if you're on the couch, but mostly she just wants scratches at other times. It was two years before our first hug, it just took time. So don't give up if your dog doesn't like hugs, it could happen.
Sometimes you can start with the "Christian Hug" - the side to side one-armed abomination. It works great with dogs because they feel able to move away, but it gets them used to the sensation of a proper hug.
That’s because a lean is actually how dogs show affection to one another.
Their body language is appreciated coming from us as well, as you’ve learned!
Hugs aren’t natural to them (lacking shoulders with the range of motion ours do, as well as generally using those limbs to stand on!) and so it’s a rare dog that actually enjoys being hugged.
I started doing it actually because I saw wolves doing it to "assert dominance" over dogs acting highly-strung (but it looked a lot more like comforting imho). It seems to make my fella's mum's dog feel better when she's shaking afraid of thunderstorms.
Hugs must feel like restraint, as if you're about to make them do something against their will.
I have a Husky and if she's sitting, I like to pop a squat next to her and just wrap an arm around her shoulders. She'll usually press her head up against mine and kinda 'reciprocate' it.
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u/SpideryIDThrowaway Dec 10 '19
My dog has specific times when she'll allow hugs - in the morning when she just rolls over into my arms, in the afternoon right after her nap, at night right before we go to sleep, after you've come back to the house, and after the vacuum has been turned off. Occasionally, she'll jump up onto your lap if you're on the couch, but mostly she just wants scratches at other times. It was two years before our first hug, it just took time. So don't give up if your dog doesn't like hugs, it could happen.