Monty's Human
Alpha Buck
I just had to share Monty's latest moment, it feels like such a small thing but also such a breakthrough in our relationship
We've been trying to teach him the command "Up!" (hoping, once he has mastered it, to... encourage him to let us stroke him. Not just for selfish reasons - atm we have to comb him every couple of days and he hates it, but if I can run my fingers through I get rid of all the dead fur and make sure there's no knots, so less grooming and less stress) and so in that vein, now he's mastered jumping onto the bed, I've been taking his food up there and encouraging him up to receive food at the top. This evening did this with pellets. Five minutes of shouting "Up!... Up! Monty", goodness knows what the neighbours thought :roll:, but he did hop up. Not only did he come up and have the pellets, but fifteen minutes of him eating pellets quite calmly and me lying next to him stroking him, murmering things and just generally bonding. It was so lovely I even managed to kiss him at the end with no resentment - and if I didn't get anything back, well, he hopped up last night as I was settling in and licked my nose, so I still feel very loved!
Post-neuter he really does seem to be getting better, which I didn't dare hope for. Not perfect, by any stretch!, but definitely more willing to sometimes allow stroking and spending time on the bed running up and down us. (I think my partner would appreciate an end to the 5am arm grooms, but still.) He always ate from hands, too, but now he actively comes running up pleading for food, and will quite often nibble my finger tips if I'm silly enough to leave them in reach where I usually feed him. Perhaps he does love me too?
We've been trying to teach him the command "Up!" (hoping, once he has mastered it, to... encourage him to let us stroke him. Not just for selfish reasons - atm we have to comb him every couple of days and he hates it, but if I can run my fingers through I get rid of all the dead fur and make sure there's no knots, so less grooming and less stress) and so in that vein, now he's mastered jumping onto the bed, I've been taking his food up there and encouraging him up to receive food at the top. This evening did this with pellets. Five minutes of shouting "Up!... Up! Monty", goodness knows what the neighbours thought :roll:, but he did hop up. Not only did he come up and have the pellets, but fifteen minutes of him eating pellets quite calmly and me lying next to him stroking him, murmering things and just generally bonding. It was so lovely I even managed to kiss him at the end with no resentment - and if I didn't get anything back, well, he hopped up last night as I was settling in and licked my nose, so I still feel very loved!
Post-neuter he really does seem to be getting better, which I didn't dare hope for. Not perfect, by any stretch!, but definitely more willing to sometimes allow stroking and spending time on the bed running up and down us. (I think my partner would appreciate an end to the 5am arm grooms, but still.) He always ate from hands, too, but now he actively comes running up pleading for food, and will quite often nibble my finger tips if I'm silly enough to leave them in reach where I usually feed him. Perhaps he does love me too?