We have always had ups and downs, but there have been times when he has been good and I have been down or not well or whatever, and unable to give him the exercise and/or input that he needs - and all I want is a cuddle. He used to cope with a couple of days of this, but any longer and he would start to turn on me for silly reasons again, his tolerance of everything became much much lower. On the plus side it gave me a really excellent incentive to power through any depression (its amazing what the threat of tooth holes will do when you don't want to get out of bed!!) but it also added to my woes when I was already low.Just the other day I suddenly realised - the last couple of months have been quite tough for various reasons, and I haven't had anywhere near the same amount of energy I usually do, so walks have been cut down, and we haven't really done any clicker stuff or anything either. BUT, Horus has not only been coping with this, without reacting at all, but he is actively seeking me out for cuddles, quite happy to curl up in bed with me at any time of day, happy to spend the evenings crashed out on top of me on the sofa, and will take any games or walks as he finds them. This is such a massive thing for us, and yet it has tken me several weeks to realise it!!
I have a dog who at one time I had decided he simply wasn't a cuddly boy, who would always prefer doing stuff with me rather than cuddling and fussing, who would bite if you approached him first or stroked too long, who is now the cuddliest boy I could ever wish for, in fact I have to start pushing him away because he wants to cuddle ALL the time!! He even has a wonderful bear hug that he gives me standing on his back legs with his arms wrapped around my neck. He is always up for a kiss and cuddle, and his little tail just wags if I look at him - it never used to wag at all.
You have no idea how precious this is to me, we still have issues, but I can help him by cuddling him now, instead of just making him worse. He thrives on contact and that is a truly amazing thing. I do love my funny wee man!!
It's a good feeling when your pup wants to cuddle and be held (and give hugs back in your case!) just as bad as we want to cuddle them!
