temprements?

Ellie now 18 months, has never been a lap dog, although she would somtimes sit on my knee. But now she prefers to lie behind the chair..She just doesn't like cuddles ......It saddens me as I would love to have her on my knee........She is perfectly well and loves her walks.....My previous dog was a Yorki and a real lap dog.....
We are at home all day with Ellie, so she is never lonely.... And of course now she is getting older she doesnt want to play with her toys so much...
But we can choose our pups, but not how they will turn out.... We love hers to bits anyway......little miss independant

This isn't that unusual, especially for a girl. Some dogs are simply not lapdogs. One of my four is this way (female) while the other girl only occasonally likes to be on a lap then gets back down and likes to lie at a distance on the floor. The boys like laps, but they don't want to be there all the time. Many breeders and behaviouralists will say (and it has been said here many times as well) -- females of most breeds tend to in general be more aloof than males. This is a *general* point so individual experience may vary. But this has been true for me, over a lot of dogs and cats, over many years, for both dogs and cats. The more independent are the females, and the ones that are most affectionate and enjoy the most attention, handling, etc, are boys.

I remember you noting from the beginning that Ellie was very outgoing and independent and think I posted way back that she was going to very likely stay that way as an adult. Breeders are great advisers on puppy personalities -- they will know pretty well from experience which are going to be the calm lapdogs, which the more aloof, which more active etc.

Yes you are right karlin, and I do remember you telling me that when I got Ellie.....
I once had a female yorki, who was a real clingon, I could'nt move an inch without her and then a male Westie who never came on my lap .
I assumed ( quite wrongly) that cavi's where lap dogs.....With their soulfull eyes, I think she almost seems depressed and yet she has a wonderful home.....lots of walks, big garden etc:
When Jane brings Sally round for a sleepover, Ellie is a different dog. Full of life and very playful ......Another dog for us is out of the question
As we are pensioners, Ellie will be our last dog...I just wish she showed us more love.....we sure do love her

It sounds a little like Daisy. She's not really a lap dog and will usually prefer to go off and lie on a cool part of the floor. But I will say that the older she gets, the more "lappy" she gets. She will now often lay on top of me when I'm lying on the couch. I love it!

Both of mine will cuddle for a while...and then prefer to go lay on the couch alone. I'm always tickled when either of them decides to stay on my lap longer than usual. It doesn't happen very often thought.

Mine are snuggly in different ways.

Casey, my female, doesn't get too excited if I just come home after being away for a while but if I am on the sofa, she is on my lap. Also, she doesn't follow me around the house non-stop, but always come in the bathroom with me for a rub. In general, she is okay just napping on her own and comes to find me when she wants me. I would say she is more independent, but definitely my lap dog.

Ollie, my male, is my velcro dog. He follows me EVERYWHERE. I cannot be out of his sight for a single second. Every once in a while he will sit on me, but usually sits next to me or at my feet. He also sleeps in the bed with us. So, he is not so much a lap dog as my true companion dog. He would be happy if he were attached to me somehow permanently.

I feel I have the best of both worlds; I love to have Casey on my lap and I love that Ollie follows me everywhere I go, although this morning I accidentally stepped on his foot! ouch! :lotsaluv:

My females tend to be more clingy, lapsitters.. My boys greet and then find something to do. Three of my females are huggers (hubby hates it)-lol.

Charlie loves to jump up on the couch and curl up in my lap.
If he gets too warm, he will jump down and find a cooler place for a while.
He alway's comes back, though.
He is the most gentle and loving dog we have ever had.

You are obviously one who loves your cuddles. I am lucky now to have two that love to cuddle - my female Tibetan Spaniel/Cavalier, and my male Cavalier are both often on my lap together. My male is just a bit more relentless about lap seeking.

I have always loved the cuddly ones, and in the past had one more independent. I found a lot more pleasure in her when I changed my thinking a bit. She didn't like to cuddle, but she did always come into a room looking for me, and you could see the ease in her eyes when I was found. She also really appreciated rubs and scratches above her tail, so if I felt a need for some attention, I would go give her a scratch. Watching her pleasure helped to fill that need in me.

Have fun loving your girl for just who she is.

Arlene and her three, Rocky (Cavalier), Missie (Cavalier x Tibetan Spaniel), and J.P. (Alaskan Husky)

Monty has never been a lapdog and thank goodness as he's rather large. Izzy was probably the most lap loving of mine, but I think some of it was a means to get higher up than the others and thus emphasise that he was boss. His prefered place was under the pc desk or between the backs of my legs and my armchair. Teddy and Joly jump up sometimes, but don't stay long, yet Joly lies close when on our bed. Teddy takes Izzy's favourite places, now that Izzy is gone.

All like lots of fuss, but not on anyone's lap.

i just grab them into my laps.................

I think this is interesting how many of our dogs are not really lap dogs. I kind of thought Daisy was pretty unique in this respect.

Don't get me wrong -- she follows me around like a shadow most of the time and is generally laying somewhere she can see me, she just doesn't really like being on my lap unless I am holding her like a baby and loving on her. And I normally have to go pick her up to do that. She'll rarely come over and jump up on me if I call her. If I'm on the couch she will sometimes lay on me, but more often she lays across the end of the couch by my feet.

She was a little more standoffish than the other puppies in her litter when we picked her up from the breeder, so I think that may have been a sign. It wasn't that she wasn't friendly, but after we stopped talking to her and petting her, she would wander off by herself and lay down. She's much like that today.

It's probably best for our home situation that she is this way because we both work most of the year, so she is alone quite a bit during the day during the school year. (Never more than 6 hours, often less.) But it did surprise me. I was used to the dogs I had growing up who were up on our laps before our butt hit the chair!

My best cuddly lap time is in the morning. She always asks to get out of her crate at 6am sharp, out to go potty, then follows me around and just STARES at me while I am making coffee and emptying the dishwasher. She gets all wiggly and excited as soon as she sees me headed for the sofa with a cup of coffee in one hand and the morning newspaper in the other. She hops right up, snuggles into my lap and snoozes away while I have my morning time. This is my favorite time of the day!

The rest of the day is busy work so she just paddles around and waits for someone to sit down so she can sit on or next to us. She is also pretty content to stretch her body flat against the cool hardwood floor and sleep. I think some Cavs are more independent than others but they all seem to be happiest if they are in the same room as their people. I love that about them! Makes me feel, special.