I really never gave this much thought, until I saw it on another list and they were discussing about a hug, being interpreted by the dog as a dominant posture. I’ve always hugged Murph and Maddie. I love to pick them up, put my arms around them and kiss’em on the top of the head or rest my cheek against their face. Neither has ever protested this and Maddie actually gives me a kiss back on my nose. I notice though that Oz doesn’t much care for it. I can’t exactly pick him up, so I usually try to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him on the nose. He usually struggles. He much prefers to sit beside me as I scratch him, so maybe he is interpreting it as a dominance issue.

Holding their face in your hands, supposedly is interpreted as dominant too. Oz doesn't much care for that either, whereas M&M are perfectly fine with it. So I wonder if he's looking at all this affection I'm aiming at him, as me trying to dominant him? Is trying to hug him then any different than trying to pin him on the ground? Should I not try to force him to accept hugs or should I be working with him to accept them?

Anybody else have this issue?

Par...