Nobody told me that my dog might not love me back…?

Nobody told me that, throughout dog ownership, I would constantly be asking myself ‘does my dog love me?’ I would love to say that the above photo taken of Clover was during a moment of her looking at me with pure adoration. In reality, I was eating pizza.

Does my dog love me? ?

It’s not that Clover doesn’t love me at all. I think she does, in her own way. At least, I hope she does… given how much money I spend on her, how much time I devote to her, how much I worry about her, how guilty I feel every time I leave the house without her and how much she has completed my world. It’s just that the way Clover shows her love is very different to the love that I received from childhood dogs, and I’ve struggled to get my head around it a bit.

My childhood dogs were Spaniels and Labradors. Loving, needy dogs who weren’t entirely happy unless they were invading my personal space… which I was totally happy with. Clover isn’t a needy dog, in fact she’s quite the opposite. She has days where she can be more needy than others, where she will lay on her bed beside me all day whilst I work and she will follow me from room to room. Those are my favourite days. But most of the time, Clover is very independent, and that’s a good thing really. From the moment I got her, I trained her to be used to being alone for a few hours because, at the time, I was working in the office everyday and I needed her to be ok with that… which she was. Now I can work from home which makes me so happy because I get to be with her… Clover couldn’t care less. Some days she just stays in a completely different room, fast asleep on the bed or on the sofa. I guess it’s good, because I know that’s what she is doing if I do ever have to leave her alone for a few hours, and it also means that I can work uninterrupted which is important if I want to keep funding Clover’s spoilt lifestyle.

I think a lot of it boils down to what I was saying in my previous post, that every dog is different. When I researched French Bulldogs, I read that they were companion dogs who can be clingy and like lots of fuss. Sometimes I wonder if Clover is a French Bulldog at all. She’s not clingy, she doesn’t like fuss, her energy levels are through the roof and her ears are floppy- but that’s what makes her unique. She does like fuss sometimes, but it’s very much on her terms. She will come and sit on my lap most evenings, but she faces away from me and I often think she just finds it comfy, as opposed to choosing the lay there to be close to me. She likes an ear scratch from time to time too, but again only when it suits her. I find it really hard because I am a very affectionate and tactile person and all I want to do is hug Clover every time I see her, but I know she doesn’t always enjoy it, so I have to reign it in.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve spent time googling how to let your dog know that you love them. Treats, walks and playtime is the answer, in case you were wondering. Obviously Clover gets all of that anyway, so I feel there isn’t much more I can do to let her know that I love her… and I just have to hope that she feels the same back.

Want to read more? You can head back to the homepage, visit top ‘tips before getting a dog‘, or check out more blog posts at either ‘the dog ownership topics that nobody warned me about’, or ‘a diary of my ruff reality.’

CLOVERS INSTAGRAM

Subscribe below for more insights into the ruff reality of dog ownership

*Disclaimer- I have no animal related qualifications whatsoever. Which begs the question as to exactly how much of my advice you should take. This isn’t really an advice blog- not properly. It’s more of a ‘these are my experiences- maybe we can all learn from them’ type of blog. You should probably seek actual qualified veterinary/animal behaviourist/dog dietician advice if you genuinely have any dog related concerns. I’m just here to share the things I’ve learnt in my three years of dog ownership. Some of which may be useful- some not.*