[Rockdiva]

I have been doing a lot of research on dog behavior because of somethings that I have been dealing with Wookie on. He is not bad by any means, but has somethings that he does that I cannot seem to get rid of. One of the things that drives me crazy is everytime I reach for him to pet him or anything he backs away from me. Like I hit him or something!!! He is also not a very affectionate dog. He wants to be by me, but not on my lap. Unless he is tired then he can be cuddly or when he first wakes up in the morning. He does get very excited when I come home from work and wants to be picked up and cuddled, but just for a second and then he is done. With other dogs he can take them or leave them. The ones who are more energetic he gets scared of. Others he gets excited to say hi then wants nothing to do with them. Anyway, there are many other things (I wont list them all) where I can tell by his actions that he is a very insecure dog, and it breaks my heart. I just don't know what to do about it. We got him at 9 weeks old, and I don't think that he was abused but he did come from a puppy mill. (Please don't blast me, this was before I was informed about what they were. I am TOTALLY against them now and ashamed I contributed to them. But he is my baby now, and I don't regret getting him) So what I am thinking has happened to him is that he got taken away from his mother and siblings too early. He didn't get that interaction and socialization from them that he needed. I am discovering how important that is now. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is there anything I can do to help him? He doesn't seem to be unhappy but from what I have read, an insecure dog is not happy. He plays with me and runs around acting normal, it is just some of these little quirks that worry me. I take very, very good care of him (being spoiled could also be a problem!) and he has everything he needs and is comfortable. It just breaks my heart to think he may not be happy.