[marcieryan]

Our household consists of me and my husband, and now our newly adopted rescue dog, Meg, whom we've had for a month. When we've had dogs in the past, I've been the main dog trainer, feeder, walker, excerciser, play person, treater, etc. These dogs have always been more attached to me as opposed to my husband, as I have the most interaction with them.

With our new dog, though, my role is the same, but she seems totally over the moon whenever my husband enters the picture. Her body language is "I love you, I LOVE YOU, You, you, YOU!!!!" arty:arty: He is not that involved with her training, but will respond lovingly whenever he's greeted this way. He doesn't feed her, or have a steady supply of treats on him, like I do (I'm even feeding her kibble by hand, in order to establish a strong bond!).

I guess I'm a bit jealous. I'm having a hard time resolving my feelings of being a "second class citizen" whenever my man gets involved. Is there any way I can strengthen my bond with our new dog without detracting from the one she's developed with my husband?

 

[xxxxdogdragoness]

i feel you, one of the dogs we rescued i 'raised' from a puppy (3 mos); i was the one who took her out for her 2am bathroom breaks, fed her, walked her, trained her etc but we never got along for some reason. i dont hate the dog, but we just never 'clicked' like she did with my fiancee. we still have a bond, but its not like the one she has with fiancee.

its cool tho, our new rescue Buddy is like totally over the moon with ME lol so he balances itself out , just dont 'try' too hard bc that can make you come acrosss as overbearing & pushy & that can unnerve some dogs & push them away.

 

[marcieryan]

Thanks for the response. I know there is no logical reason that a dog would prefer one person over another, sometimes that's just the way it is.

It is very flattering to my husband that our "little girl" is so fond of him, especially when he doesn't have to do anything besides enter the same room to get a lovey-dovey response. I'm thinking it might be a bit similar to the "divorced dad" syndrome, where the dad gets to do all the fun things with the kids, while the mom takes on the role of teacher, disciplinarian, and mentor.

Meg is only about 10 months old, and has just been in our household for a month, so I'm hopeful that we will develop an equal bond with her as her new parents.

 

[Nuclear_Glitter]

Before you adopted her it's also possible that she had less good experiences with women. Just give it time and your bond will most likely get better. Even though she seems to love him more, she will most likely respect you more because you give her the guidance she needs in life.

If a stressful situation ever comes up and she doesn't know what to do, she will probably look to you for help.

So try not to become too jealous over what they have, because in the long run she most likely views you as more steady and consistent, and therefore will turn to you for help.

Either way, best of luck and congrats on her! =]

 

[PatchworkRobot]

My boyfriend and I recently (4 months ago) got a new dog. I do 99% of the feeding, all of the training, 95% of the playing, I take her fun places (without the boyfriend), etc. I do everything for this dog. However, she LOVES my boyfriend. I'll be honest, I'm jealous =P It sucks a bit.

 

[Willowy]

I've found that female dogs seem to like men best, and male dogs like women best. Maybe it's coincidence, but that's what I've seen.

 

[Amaryllis]

My MIL does none of the walking and none of the feeding and none of the training, but Kabota is her soul mate. Just yesterday, my MIL and I went to the store. We were gone for 10-15 minutes. I walk back into the house first and Kabota wags his tail. My MIL walks into the house and he starts shrieking with delight at seeing her again.

It's a bit lowering, I admit.