how deep is the bond?

Bugsy is not an affectionate dog.
Well he loves you and will show you that he loves you but he isn't the dog that is going to snuggle up with you or allow you to pet him.
I accept this about him and am happy when he chooses to lie down within 5 feet of me.

However, I have seen our bond deepen, day by day, event by event and outing by outing.
Oh, and injury by injury.
Sadly, we have spent a lot of time rehabbing. Bugsy doesn't seem to mind but its been hard on me.
I have been able to see though that my involvement in rehabbing - which has been solely my involvement - has deepened our bond.
Training classes, field work, and all 'silly' training have deepened that bond too.
By silly training, I mean the little bits of clicker training we do just to use his brain for a bit or the little games we play also to use some energy.
Our lake trips and downtown trips and car trips all include some type of communication that is training based. And each one adds to our bond.
I marvel sometimes now at our communication. I smiled earlier as he was standing on the deck looking into the kitchen and all I had to do was give him a look and he came in.
That is a bond.
Too often I find that people have expectations that dogs fully understand human communication and ways, some do, but only when effort by the human has led to the depth of bond for the dog to know what is desired.
Each of us, as a dog owner is responsible for creating a communication system with our dog(s). They excel at interpreting our communication but only when we are consistent and work WITH them.

Some times I am sad that Bugsy is going to be 8, at his size he's been a senior since he was 5, but in other ways I understand why the love for an older dog is deeper than when they are young.
I miss the youthful nuttiness, don't get me wrong, but there is something powerful about looking into your dogs eyes and seeing the bond, that is born of time.
I suppose that some people experience this when their dogs are young, I didn't. So I equate this incredibly deep bond with his age and the time and energy spent in teaching him what I want and helping him to recover from orthopedic surgeries.
I pray that you don't need to rehab your dog, but if you do, I assure you that the time and emotional energy you put into their rehab isn't lost on them.
They know.
And they are thankful