Actually, I did think of something.
It has been in the news the past couple of days that scientists are saying it is bad to hug your dog. They say that even though the dog might look happy, he or she is feeling intense stress over the hug.
Personally, I try not to hug Bookshelf Q. Battledog as he is a vicious man eating beast who has devoured 951 intruders on BQB HQ premises.
Bookshelf Q. Battledog is too f&*king manly for hugs.
But what do you think? Dog hugging – bad or good idea? Needless to say I mean dog hugging within normal limits. All you people who were spooning your dog and dancing the waltz with your dog were weird to begin with.
I’ve been known to pat BQBD on the head while watching Scandal Thursday nights on ABC with Alien Jones, the Yeti and of course, Video Game Rack Fighter, who brings Video Game Rack Fighter Cat.
Now that I am writing this, I have questions. Do they mean never hug your dog ever? Or are they talking about weirdoes who hug their dogs for hours and hours?
Because honestly, maybe after like a 24 hour dog hugging session the dog ends up feeling like a furry hostage or something.
Maybe he wants space. Maybe he wants to see other owners.
I don’t know. I’m not a dog scientist.
What say you, 3.5 readers?
Bookshelf Battle 
I read quickly through one of the articles that came out on this the other day and I find it really interesting so thought I’d join in the discussion! This is based on no science or deep understanding of animal behaviour but only my own thoughts from life with my own animals. I accept that there will be truth in the fact that by instinct a dog’s reaction to being hugged would be to be feel stressed and threatened, but I think to say that all of our dogs feel that way whether they appear it or not is to ignore the two-way relationship between an owner and a pet. While we learn from dogs’ behaviour and that is a great tool for understanding them, they are intelligent animals and learn from us too, and we shouldn’t belittle that or not take into account that they can become comfortable with and fully understand as positive human behaviours that instinctively they wouldn’t choose. I have a horse too and there was a school of thought a while back that patting a horse on the neck when they do well was misunderstood by them and seen only as a hit – again while this might be the horse’s instinctive reaction, I know when I give mine a well-done pat and he tosses his head happily that he understands the meaning even though it’s a human behaviour. I think all these potential ways for us and our animals to misunderstand each other are good to bear in mind and help us understand their nature better but we have to realise they change to adapt to our behaviours and become relaxed in them too as they get to know us.
The main problem I see with the scientists’ argument is that I’ll sit down and Bookshelf Q. Battledog will run over and jump up on my lap, whether invited or not, and just park himself there…if removed due to me being busy with something he’ll jump up again. Sometimes he stresses me out! I wonder if scientists take into account there may be a diversity of dog personalities.
The scientists actually say dogs don’t like hugs and kisses (it raises their cortisol level)-they have been saying it for some time now. Dogs get stressed when they are restrained (they don’t like being walked on short leads either). They don’t like not being walked. Or shouted at. I wonder why hugs suddenly got all the publicity. If your dog likes physical contact with you it’s perfectly ok to hug him (even better when you leave space for him to move away if he wishes). Side/one arm hugs leave enough space for the dog to decide when he’s had enough. It’s enough to learn to recognise signs of stress in your dog (tongue flicks, whale eyes, turning the head away) and just don’t do things that stress him out 🙂
I feel like there was an experiment where dogs were attached to those electrodes that monitor brain waves while scientists in white lab coats hugged them and studied the results.
something like that 😉 though the ones in Hungary actually teach dogs to stay perfectly still when they have MRI scans 🙂 Scientists are weird…
Reblogged this on carsonrenomysteryseries.com.
Oh!! it´s so cute!!! 💕🐶
Thank you. Yes that is Bookshelf Q Battledog or BQBD