# All dogs don't like to be hugged.



## momtoMax

Someone posted this bit of info once - and I forget who but it's someone I think knows what they are talking about most of the time (no one knows everything all the time, so no offense there!) but I wonder about this one because my dog (who is a dog) loves to be hugged - always has. So I thought I'd start a poll to see how other dogs tolerate it. For those of us with more than one dog, you can vote on more than 1 choice.


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## RedDogs

Most clients are surprised when I tell them its typical for dogs to not like hugging. They argue. And then we watch their dog. And see head turns, lip licks, stiffness, etc.... 

In all dogs? No. Most? Yes. 

Some dogs are okay with it, some like it, and many we train to like it.


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## Golden123

Sadie loves to be hugged. Our last Golden, Heidi, didn't care for it. She would pull back and her eyes would bulge. Haha. It was cute though.


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## Laurie

All of my guys liked to be hugged and cuddled.....especially Lincoln!!! He is such a big baby.......


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## kwhit

Savanah loved it...Chance, not so much. He always starts off on my bed at night, but if I even happen to touch him at all, he'll jump off...wants to be left totally alone. He'll come over for petting and scratching, but once that's done, he leaves. I love to look at everyone's pictures of their Goldens in their laps or sleeping right next to them. Chance just isn't that type of dog. 

Savanah loved to be close and touching us. She would lean into hugs. The tighter the hug, the closer she would try to get. God...I miss her so much.


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## Duke's Momma

kwhit said:


> Savanah loved it...Chance, not so much. He always starts off on my bed at night, but if I even happen to touch him at all, he'll jump off...wants to be left totally alone. He'll come over for petting and scratching, but once that's done, he leaves. I love to look at everyone's pictures of their Goldens in their laps or sleeping right next to them. Chance just isn't that type of dog.
> 
> Savanah loved to be close and touching us. She would lean into hugs. The tighter the hug, the closer she would try to get. God...I miss her so much.


Duke loved being cuddled when napping. I'd get sleepy and lay down on the floor cuddling with him in the office (home office) and we'd take a nap. Cole loves to be cuddled on my terms for maybe 30 seconds. On his terms forever. That might change when he becomes more mature.

But, his favorite hug is standing on his hind feet and actually giving us a side hug. My husband taught him that and it really is his favorite hug.


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## Duke's Momma

kwhit said:


> God...I miss her so much.


 I inadvertantly quoted in my previous quote, but I wanted to comment on this - I know. We miss Duke horribly as well. Coley helps with that.


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## Enzos_Mom

If I'm laying in bed, Enzo will lay next to me or stand over me and press his head into my chest until I hug him back. lol So cute.


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## Megora

I think cuddling and hugging means different things for dogs and people. 

Their way of hugging and cuddling is touching or leaning or climbing up into laps and tucking heads in. Our way of hugging is wrapping arms around and confining - and it can also be a sort of "alpha pin" to the dog. 

If you have an edgy dog, a human type hug is enough to cause them to stiffen up, let out a warning growl, and then snap if the growl doesn't work. 

My guy enjoys being hugged when he's scared of thunder - because he wants the safety of being confined in a small place. Case in point, he wedges himself into tight spaces like a corner between a bench and the wall. 

But other than that, you can see him holding his breath and patiently waiting for people to release him when we're hugging him. 

But he does the doggy hugs all the time.


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## Adriennelane

My girls definitely _did not_ get that memo. I spend a good ten, fifteen minutes hugging my girls when we first wake up in the mornings. In fact, Lucy often won't do her business outside until she gets some hugs and kisses - and I mean honest to goodness HUGS.

We're such huggers that when Dory had kennel cough and would start an attack of coughing and hacking, I would calm her down by hugging her and rubbing her chest.


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## janine

My boys love a good hug.


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## kwhit

Duke's Momma said:


> Duke loved being cuddled when napping. I'd get sleepy and lay down on the floor cuddling with him in the office (home office) and we'd take a nap.


That would be heaven for me.  

Chance is extremely loving, just not a cuddler.

I had to get this picture of my daughter with Chance because it's so rare for him to do this...but if you notice she had her arm under him scratching him. She was smiling saying, "See, Mom, he'll lay with me." As soon as she stopped he got up. Still a cute picture of them:


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## Huggenkiss

Levi is a hugger and a cuddle bug. I think he was so scared and unsure of the world when I resuced him that me holding and hugging him was comforting and he just got used to it. Now he'll get into bed with me and we "spoon" and I wake up with one arm under his head, my head on his shoulder, and the other arm draped across his body. He sleeps with his head on a pillow and his body pressed into mine. It's too cute and funny!


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## Mssjnnfer

Missy LOVES being hugged. She's so laid back about a lot of things, though, so I'm not surprised.

Mojo has learned to like hugs. He would pull back while growing up, but he allows them now. My favorite way to hug him (and the one he tolerates the best) is when he sits between my legs while I'm in a chair or the couch and I lean forward and hug him from behind. I love it.


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## FlyingQuizini

Just curious, those of you who say your dogs love being hugged... are you going ventral to ventral (chest to chest)? That's a VERY unnatural dog behavior and as Red Dogs said, if you watch the majority of dogs, they're merely tolerating it vs. enjoying it.... which is why... parents... PUH-LEASH teach your children NOT to go up and hug dogs! 

A greater percentage of dogs will enjoy different types of contact we might consider hugging. Quiz, for example, likes to spoon when we're on the couch.


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## Mssjnnfer

FlyingQuizini said:


> Just curious, those of you who say your dogs love being hugged... are you going ventral to ventral (chest to chest)? That's a VERY unnatural dog behavior and as Red Dogs said, if you watch the majority of dogs, they're merely tolerating it vs. enjoying it.... which is why... parents... PUH-LEASH teach your children NOT to go up and hug dogs!
> 
> A greater percentage of dogs will enjoy different types of contact we might consider hugging. Quiz, for example, likes to spoon when we're on the couch.


Missy and I go... side to side. I don't know how to explain it... like a one arm hug. Then I press my cheek against her cheek and kiss.


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## Katie and Paddy's Mum

I answered that I think she learned to love it over time. I just torture her with hugs and kisses. I honestly cannot help myself. 

She never shies away from my badgering; in fact, she often leans into me for more!! I think I will go give her another hug now (steal a kiss too) 

Kim


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## Ranger

Ranger loves to be hugged, snuggled, and smothered with kisses. He lets kids pull him around by the collar/neck in a headlock because in his mind, that's still a hug. That is one of the things I love best about him! He's usually up for a good snuggle and has been since i got him at 9 months and we didn't know each other at all.

Alternately, my brother's dog doesn't like being hugged or snuggled. He's not aggressive, but he'll wriggle out and continue on his way. My old border collie really didn't like being hugged but he gradually came to accept it. He only really liked it if it was my dad hugging him.


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## Adriennelane

Huggenkiss said:


> Levi is a hugger and a cuddle bug. I think he was so scared and unsure of the world when I resuced him that me holding and hugging him was comforting and he just got used to it. Now he'll get into bed with me and we "spoon" and I wake up with one arm under his head, my head on his shoulder, and the other arm draped across his body. He sleeps with his head on a pillow and his body pressed into mine. It's too cute and funny!



I think both my girls are the same way. I hugged Lucy from the beginning when we got her, reassuring her. Then I made sure that I hugged Dory a lot to make her feel loved, because she did have such a rough first couple of months. Now they both think they have to have hugs all the time, not that I mind.


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## paula bedard

I answered 'does not like', but after reading the further definitions, then both liked doggie hugs but human hugs were not really enjoyed, but tolerated. Sam was more a silent shadow or velcro pup and dog. He definitely did the lean in and head down into my lap, I just never considered it a 'hug'. Silly human.  Ike takes human hugs as an invitation to rumble. His version of a hug would be sitting with his back to me, butt on my feet, and me massaging him.  

*Upon further thought, Ike loves to hug all the time. In fact, he's a constant hugger. He greets with his butt, tries to sit his butt on you, whether you're standing or sitting, and has to be told, 'no butt'!, before he'll stop and give you his head for a pat.


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## West

Cooper initiates the hugging all the time  He just loves it. And not only with us, but also with our neighbours or the other dog owners he often sees in the park (those of them who want a huge dog to hug them, of course!). He does it every time I arrive home, in the mornings when I wake up and multiple random times during the day.
And he also loves cuddling! Though he mostly sleeps on the floor, there comes a time at night or in the morning when he climbs to bed and lies down smack in the middle of me and GF. And if either one of us get momentarily out of bed, he hogs our place and demands being petted by the remaining one.


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## lgnutah

Brooks tolerates hugs, he just waits patiently, but I wouldn't say he is looking forward to them. He likes to be close by-if you move to another room, he moves with you, but he isn't usually close enough to make contact with you. 
Sometimes he will bury his head into you, but that is only once in a while.


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## missmarstar

Sam LOVES hugs.. he demands them. He will come to me, face to face, wrap his neck around mine and press his snout into my back to almost hold me against him. It's very sweet. Sometimes he will lick my cheek, ear, or neck while we're hugging. He does the same thing to Jeff.

I believe Dillon likes hugging too, but he's not quite so demanding about them. He will gladly accept them though, and makes no moves to get away or that he's uncomfortable. His tail will be wagging hard the whole time (he's not a tail wagger unless he's very happy).

I don't know if it's just that they are extremely comfortable and not at all threatened by Jeff and I, or if they'd act that way with anyone trying to hug them.


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## momtoMax

To Quiz, every direction. He can be sitting on my lap facing away from me or laying side to side or if I'm sitting down he'll walk right up to me, put his head on my shoulder and I hug him front ways. He also leans against me often when I'm standing or against most people who come to pet him. Most of the time, I end the hug because I can't spend all day hugging him even though that wouldn't be such a bad thing!


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## LibertyME

None of mine are fans of arms wrapped around their necks type of hugging....all tolerate it, and have never growled etc.... but it is not something that they relish.
As Stephanie pointed out...spooning is a very different story!


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## LifeOfRiley

None of the options really fit with Riley, so I didn't vote.
He likes hugs, but only on his terms, when HE wants one.

If I'm sitting in my chair, he'll come and stand up on me with his front feet on my legs (which is odd, because we are chest-to-chest that way.) He'll lean in, looking for a hug and if I don't give him one, he'll just keep leaning further in until our chests are touching and his chin is all the way around my neck. And he won't get down until he gets his hug and kisses.

If I approach _him_ and initiate a hug, chest-to-chest, he doesn't like it. He'll tolerate it, but he stiffens up and turns his head away. I know he's not exactly loving it, so we don't do that.

If he's just sitting on the floor next to me and I lean down to hug him, either from the side or behind, sometimes he likes it and leans into me, and sometimes he'll stiffen up and lean away.
So, it's like everything else with Riley - on his terms. lol.


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## Dallas Gold

LifeOfRiley said:


> None of the options really fit with Riley, so I didn't vote.
> He likes hugs, but only on his terms, when HE wants one.
> 
> If I'm sitting in my chair, he'll come and stand up on me with his front feet on my legs (which is odd, because we are chest-to-chest that way.) He'll lean in, looking for a hug and if I don't give him one, he'll just keep leaning further in until our chests are touching and his chin is all the way around my neck. And he won't get down until he gets his hug and kisses.
> 
> If I approach _him_ and initiate a hug, chest-to-chest, he doesn't like it. He'll tolerate it, but he stiffens up and turns his head away. I know he's not exactly loving it, so we don't do that.
> 
> If he's just sitting on the floor next to me and I lean down to hug him, either from the side or behind, sometimes he likes it and leans into me, and sometimes he'll stiffen up and lean away.
> So, it's like everything else with Riley - on his terms. lol.



You just described Toby! He always hugs hubby when he returns from
a trip though.


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## LifeOfRiley

Dallas Gold said:


> You just described Toby! He always hugs hubby when he returns from
> a trip though.


Aww - well that's a special occasion. He misses 'dad.' 

They can be so funny though, can't they? I know Riley has definite opinions about _everything_. He knows what he likes and what he doesn't, and he's usually pretty clear about telling me!


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## GinnyinPA

Ben isn't a cuddler. I think he hasn't had a lot of attention in his life. He does like to be scratched and rubbed, but he won't seek it out. When I sit on the floor next to him, he lets me pet him for a while, and will roll on his back to give me access to his belly, but he won't move toward me to put his head on my lap and after a few minutes he usually moves away. OTOH, he's likes to lie in the middle of the floor so we pet him as we pass by and he'll put his head on our feet sometimes. He's learning.

Funny though - one day at Petsmart, a little girl (2 or 3 years old) ran over to him as we stood in line and threw her arms around him. Her mother said that she was used to goldens and had no fear of them. I was really unsure how he would react since I've seen him get very jumpy around kids. Instead, he just sat still, then licked her face once. He doesn't usually give kisses - so it was a surprise on many fronts.


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## Loisiana

Conner loves to be hugged. Flip, while he loves petting, thinks that anything that restrains his movement is a stupid waste of time.


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## jackie_hubert

I made this video for the DogSense training I do with the volunteers at the shelter. It shows the dog's perspective, obviously uncomfortable. 

We've been hugging him since he was 7 weeks old so in this case getting him used to it doesn't mean he enjoys it. If I hug him less restrictively (?) he's better but still not happy.


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## MittaBear

Chester looooves hugs! When I come home from work, I'll sit down, and he actually stands up on me and puts his paws on my shoulders specifically so I can hug him.


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## lgnutah

jackie_hubert said:


> I made this video for the DogSense training I do with the volunteers at the shelter. It shows the dog's perspective, obviously uncomfortable.
> 
> We've been hugging him since he was 7 weeks old so in this case getting him used to it doesn't mean he enjoys it. If I hug him less restrictively (?) he's better but still not happy.
> 
> YouTube - Hug


I think this is exactly how my dog reacts to "being squeezed". He tolerates it because he trusts me, but I would never say he enjoys it.


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## tippykayak

As others have said, our dogs like dog hugs (body contact without being encircled) but not people-style hugs. Jax doesn't mind them, but Comet will simply tolerate if hugged without enjoying it.

Both dogs love spooning, putting a head or shoulder on you when you're lying on the couch, etc.


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## FlyingQuizini

jackie_hubert said:


> I made this video for the DogSense training I do with the volunteers at the shelter. It shows the dog's perspective, obviously uncomfortable.
> 
> We've been hugging him since he was 7 weeks old so in this case getting him used to it doesn't mean he enjoys it. If I hug him less restrictively (?) he's better but still not happy.
> 
> YouTube - Hug


Yup. The video definitely shows a dog who is not comfortable with the frontal hugging. Mouth changes from relaxed and open to closed at :07, followed by turning his head in attempted avoidance and lip licking at :12.

That's good for people to see. I'd like to make something like that and add subtitles to point out the dog's behavior.


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## Oaklys Dad

FlyingQuizini said:


> Yup. The video definitely shows a dog who is not comfortable with the frontal hugging. Mouth changes from relaxed and open to closed at :07, followed by turning his head in attempted avoidance and lip licking at :12.
> 
> That's good for people to see. I'd like to make something like that and add subtitles to point out the dog's behavior.


You are THE one to do it Steph. In fact a whole video on dog language for that matter. I would buy it if Quiz is the featured presenter.


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## LifeOfRiley

jackie_hubert said:


> I made this video for the DogSense training I do with the volunteers at the shelter. It shows the dog's perspective, obviously uncomfortable.
> 
> We've been hugging him since he was 7 weeks old so in this case getting him used to it doesn't mean he enjoys it. If I hug him less restrictively (?) he's better but still not happy.
> 
> YouTube - Hug


 
Yep - That's exactly what Riley does when I initiate a 'frontal' hug. 

I wonder why some dogs (like Riley) enjoy it when _they_ initiate, though?


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## Florabora22

Every morning Flora will jump into my bed and scoot herself up onto my pillow, at which point I will wrap my arms around her and bury my face in her neck as I attempt to sleep for a few more minutes.

She never argues with that!


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## Jamm

Joey loves being hugged! Every night before i put him in his crate for bed time we sit across from each other outside his crate and I hug him and he rests his head on my shoulder. Every morning its the same thing! through out the day we will have little hugs too.


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## Selli-Belle

I think it is like humans and hugs.....it depends on who is doing the hugging and when and some people are huggier than others. If someone you barely know and don't particularly like runs up and hugs you, you would probably have a very similar reaction, being stiff and looking away with a closed mouth. Or when a mother insists on hugging their kid in front of their friends, the kid is not thrilled with the hug. 

But if you have a relaxed dog who is in an affectionate mood, then relaxing into a routine hug may make then very happy. 

My Duffy likes hugs. Often when we are on walks and his sister is off exploring he will come over to me and position himself just right so I can give him a hug. I never squeeze and he know he can pull away when ever he wants to so it becomes a moment of "US" time. Selli on the other hand is not a big hugger. With her it is a play move on my part, when she is being putzy or moochie I will tell her I am going to "Hug her and kiss her" and it gets her all excited like a twelve year old kid would in a similar situation.

In short. I believe most pet dogs realize that it is a way humans show affection and accept it as that even if is not a instinctive part of their dog vocabulary. But who is doing the hugging and when is critically important.


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## GRTigger

my dog loves to hug. he knows whats "huggie time" he would hug me back with one paw on my shoulder.


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## laprincessa

I think it's in The Other End of the Leash - Patricia MacDonald - there are a couple pictures of dogs being hugged, and it's clear that the person is LOVING it, but the dog is pretty much tolerating it. I think most of our babies have learned from the beginning that it's our way, and they accept it from us. And most learn to like it, too.


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## Kula's mommy

Our Kula loved to be hugged and would always press her face right on mine but our Beagle does NOT care for it....she just tolerates it.


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## Claire's Friend

I am just reading that book now and had to chuckle at that part. Jordan demands to be hugged, stands on her back feet and wraps her arms around you and will give you kisses if you let her. Maybe it's a Golden thing


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## Caesar's Buddy

Caesar and Jenni both loved to be hugged. Both of them would move in closer. I never thought that a dog might not feel natural hugging. When my buddies were puppies I would hold them and they would turn their heads into my neck and hug me. It just kinda stayed that way every day, so I guess that is how it happened.

I sure would give all I have for another one of those Golden hugs.

Pat


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## BayBeams

Baylee had to learn how to be touched for things such as grooming but she totally dislikes anything that interferes with her space. Petting and hugging are definitely out for her but she has other ways of showing her appreciation...


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## Suni52

Sadie never got the memo. She is a big hugger. She's not content unless she's cuddled up in your lap or on your chest or as close to you as she can be. She loves any attention, and she'll actually wrap her arms around us sometimes and give us a people hug. It's so cute.


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## Golden123

Our last GR didn't care much for being hugged. She would let you, but she would sort of pull away and her eyes would get big. With Sadie from day 1 I would hug her, and suprise hug her sometimes (just incase any kids tried to run up and hug her), so she got used to it. She loves hugs now!


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## cgriffin

My dogs love to be hugged and cuddled!


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## Wendy427

I say to Lacey, "Let's go cuddle!", and she runs to the bedroom and jumps on the bed! We LOVE our cuddle time!

A couple of months after I adopted her, I was laying on my side on my bed, and all of a sudden she just jumped on the bed and spooned with me! It was SO cute!! She hasn't done that since, unless I make the first move!


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