# Help with cuddling



## diana_D (Jan 27, 2008)

Doesn't he like massage in a certain area? Belly or scruff? You could try that and see if it works.

Can't help much, sorry, I have a major cuddler here.


----------



## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

His favorite areas seem to be his belly and behind his ears, so I try to concentrate on those areas. But some days he likes it and some days he doesn't depending on his mood.


----------



## Abbydabbydo (Jan 31, 2007)

Treats in pockets do wonders to increase their lap-sitting, too!


----------



## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

And Brady is very food motivated, so maybe I'll try using some "extra special" treats reserved just for cuddling....


----------



## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

Hope the treats-in-pocket work. My Sam, who was my Canine Soul Mate and shadow, wasn't a huge cuddler either. He was glued to my side, but preferred a quick ear massage or throat rub and then to just 'be'. We would spend an entire day side by side and just enjoying each others presence. Our new Golden boy Ike is a huge cuddler but not a shadow. He will stay in his own fave spots, usually in another room, until the evening and then he's in your lap wanting to snuggle. He's always shared the couch with my hubby downstairs. The couch is affectionately known as the ManDog Couch...but now Ike comes upstairs to where I am and will try to climb into my lap regardless of what I'm sitting on, usually a rocker. It's pretty funny. He can curl himself into a lap dog and sit like that through 2 hour long programs. Yes, my legs are numb by the end of the first program.


----------



## PowderPuff791 (Mar 12, 2009)

This does not relate to a golden, but I adopted a Yorkie, Princess, from my parents who passed away. She had a rather tragic life, one of 4 dogs in the house. When I first got her, she was so shy and scared she wouldn't make eye contact and would shrug away from any contact. I had a trainer come out to the house, he taught me to boost her confidence in herself first, so I let her be. I let her come to me when she wanted attention and I didn't throw myself at her as much as I wanted to smother her with my kisses and love. The trainer had shown me that the attention my mother tried to give her was actually seen as punishment - my mom would bribe the dog with treats and then hold her, hug her and try to kiss her. 

Well to the point of the story... it took 6 months and she finally began to come around. When I came home from work, it was the first time she licked my nose... but it was on HER terms. Now, a year and a half later, she is by my side constantly. She is not a snuggly dog, but she will now sit next to me and when she wants to be rubbed, she'll roll over. I give her loving in short spurts and she's ok with it.

So maybe just let your dog come next to you and don't try to pet him or rub him, just let him be... and maybe in time, you could pet or rub him and he would be ok with that... just a suggestion.


----------



## Merlins mom (Jun 20, 2007)

Merlin isn't a huge cuddler. He's almost two years old and he has just started curling up next me on the couch on a regular basis instead of curling up at the opposite end. And he will cuddle up next to me in bed.

I think some dogs just aren't as cuddly as others? Maybe he'll grow into it.


----------



## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

It could be heat. Goldens don't like heat. They like cool places. That's why they like to lie on hard tile floors, fireplace slate area's, etc... It keeps them cool.

Comet and Dakota both slept on my bed. If I happen to put an arm over them in my sleep it drove them nuts and they got up off the bed and went to the floor.


----------



## Karen2 (Jan 5, 2009)

I second that...
Sierra loves to cuddle and likes to get invited into bed once in awhile. But she usually only stays for a short time, she gets too hot.
Karen





NuttinButGoldens said:


> It could be heat. Goldens don't like heat. They like cool places. That's why they like to lie on hard tile floors, fireplace slate area's, etc... It keeps them cool.
> 
> Comet and Dakota both slept on my bed. If I happen to put an arm over them in my sleep it drove them nuts and they got up off the bed and went to the floor.


----------



## Trixie (Feb 4, 2009)

I think it's how he is. But maybe this is also a fase. My Sienna, a rough collie, she likes to cuddle but for the rest. She doesn't give kisses, and she enjoys staying with us, and she likes to get pet, but when i put my arms around her, she doesn't like that, but she do likes to cuddle but in her own way. Totally different from my parents dog, he loves to cuddle and also gives a lot of kisses.


----------



## beargroomer (Jan 2, 2008)

They're all different. Mine is a major cuddler and has been that way since he was 7.5 weeks. Actually, the breeder says he was like this even as a 4 week old. He's a constant shadow around the house (I can't escape him for more than a few seconds) and wants to be touching some part of me most of the day. 
But don't give up hope! I've heard people on this forum say that their more aloof puppies got much cuddlier as they got older.


----------



## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

I was physically unable to cuddle with Sam until he was about 5 or 6 months old... he was way too bitey and fidgety and busy.... now, I can't get that dog OFF of me!! Some are just more cuddly than others.. some grow into their cuddly-ness... Sam is a total lapdog through and through now.. Dillon is more reserved and happy to sit next to me on the couch with a head on my lap or a paw on my arm. It has taken Dillon a year to get this way.. he was always one to be in whatever room we were in, but never really cuddly until recently. Sometimes it just takes some time for them to get comfortable enough to do it. Good luck... nothing better than a cuddly Golden (or two!)


----------



## Merlins mom (Jun 20, 2007)

Marlene, when I think of a cuddly dog, your Sam is the first that comes to mind!  he is truly a lapdog! LOL!


----------



## Tailer'sFolks (Feb 27, 2007)

Tailer sat on my feet for the first few months, but never a real snuggler. He does shadow me all day long, but he just Lovez Daddy-O at night...they have a bedtyme game they play...digging at the covers n squishing up MY blankets...Tailer then flops down on him and conforms to what ever shape he's layng in...I get the sliver of the bed that's left!

Not a cuddler, but that's ok with me...I'd like it, but it's just not in Tailer...at 3.5 years old.


----------



## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

Thank you everyone for all of your thoughts and ideas. I feel better knowing there are other goldens out there that are like him. I'm going to try the treat idea and let him come to me on his terms. He is sleeping next to me at the moment.


----------



## Celeigh (Nov 29, 2007)

I have one of each. Fergus is a cuddle bunny, but he does get hot and need to move to a cooler location. Lily is very needy petting-wise, but she will not cuddle. She'll lay at her end of the couch, or lay with her feet or her rear end facing me, but won't sit on my lap or curl up next to me for anything. I think it isn't in her nature. She's loving, but only on her terms.

On the bed, Fergus wants to curl up behind my knees. Lily true to form, lays with her feet facing me and kicks me all night. Guess which one has unlimited access to the bed?


----------



## Cosi (May 22, 2008)

I saw this topic on a show .. They said if you want your dog to lay next to you do not pet her .. that will cause them to get up and move away, cause they just want to sleep...and won't be able to if you keep petting her. I find mine will leave if I pet too much. .so I end up just putting my arm around her.


----------



## slkuta (Feb 14, 2009)

Tucker does not like to cuddle much either. He likes going outside by himself (I put a thread on that) and chews on bones. He is nine months and I figure that is his personality and also think he gets hot inside. He will jump on our bed in the morning and snuggle for a while. He is a very good dog, but I would like it if he snuggled a little more too.


----------



## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Lucky's first year he seemed to be adverse to petting and cuddling. I considered him "independant". Then at about a year...he started getting more cuddly. As he gets older, the more he wants to cuddle. He's classic cuddle now.

Its funny ...when he was a pup, petting was a real annoyance for him. Now he clammors for it.


----------



## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Lucky's mom said:


> Its funny ...when he was a pup, petting was a real annoyance for him. Now he clammors for it.



That is Sam exactly... as a puppy I couldn't put my hand within a foot of him without getting bitten or have him run away from me to grab a toy and want to play. Now he literally FREEFALLS onto my lap and if I don't immediately start rubbing his belly or scratching his ears, he starts making a whining noise LOL Sometimes it's cute, sometimes its a little irritating...


----------



## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

Well, you all are really making me feel a lot better about this since I started out thinking I was doing something wrong or his personality was unusual for a golden. But tonight he curled up on the couch next to me and fell asleep. I petted him a few times when he first came up and then left him alone to sleep (as some of you suggested), and he stayed there next to me for over an hour! Now he's moved down to his bed on the floor, but I feel really good about the time he spent next to me!


----------



## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Doodle said:


> but I feel really good about the time he spent next to me!



It really is the best. Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night to one of them sprawled over me and frankly its not the most comfortable for me (which is probably why I was woken up in the first place) but a huge part of me doesn't even want to move because I don't want him to wake up and move... LOL it's silly and demented, I know... but there's nothing better than a puppy cuddle


----------



## avincent52 (Jul 23, 2008)

duct tape.


----------



## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

avincent52 said:


> duct tape.



Ouch can you imagine ripping that off a hairy dog? LOL


----------

