I have a wonderful German shepherd that my family and I love to death. My parents got me the dog, but since we live together, there are some disagreements on how she should be treated.
Some basic information first: She’s four years old and entirely bonded with me, rarely leaving my side. She’s a rescue with a fear of men and long objects like umbrellas and flashlights due to a past of abuse. It used to be that anything held above my head would make her flinch (I tried not to do this tho). She was also used for breeding and still has protruding nipples, over 3 years later. She’s better now for sure, the poor girl, but she’s still a bit different than most dogs because of it. She also has really bad separation anxiety.
My problem is, she doesn’t like my dad all that much. He tries so hard and she’s super sweet so she tries to like him too, but he just doesn’t seem to understand her.
For example: She’s crate trained, and sleeps in my room. I have a weird sleep schedule and often stay up rather late. I try not to disturb her, but I don’t think it’s an issue since I hear her snoring through my gaming sessions. I’m not loud for the entire night straight, and often times it’s just me sitting quietly with headphones on, but my dad seems to think that the fact that my light is on, and I’m not 100% quiet is why she doesn’t sleep the whole night. He thinks dogs sleep for the whole night straight like humans.
Another example: he plays with her like he would a toddler. He likes wiggling his fingers and dancing, both of which make her whine and sometimes run to me. Or he’ll steal her toys and put them all around the house to get her to grab them, like a scavenger hunt.
Another: while she patrols the house (checking in with everyone, and watching the street/ driveway for cars and people to bark at), he thinks she wants to play, and will chase her down the hallway, or have her chase him in the direction of my room. He views it as a game, but she seems rather panicked.
Another: he likes to bend over her to pet her. He’s 6’2”, so she goes flat to the ground when he does. She often stares at me and licks her lips a lot too, during all of these for reassurance.
Am I wrong about any of these? She’s everyones first dog, so I definitely could be. I just want what’s best for her and it’s so obvious that she doesn’t like these things, or him for that matter. We’re inseparable and she really is my best friend, so it’s hard to watch her like this. If you have articles or advice or ANYTHING that would get my dad to change his behavior, or get me to realize he’s not wrong, I’d be grateful. Thank you for reading my long post, regardless.
