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I'm the one that found him as a stray. I give him treats. I take him out to the dog park regularly. I even let him sleep on the bed with us.
My husband, on the other hand, is harsh on him. He yells at the dog when he does something wrong. He never takes him out to the park. He disciplines him.
In other words, I give him carrot and my husband holds the stick. Whenever my husband yells at him for, say, chewing on something he's not suppose to, he would run to me and hide behind me. So, he knows I'm soft on him.
And yet, the dog always goes to my husband. We would be watching a movie and the dog would cuddle up with my husband instead of me even though I just fed him left-over turkey.
I'm not jealous. Just wondering why the dog loves my husband more?
We are watching LOTR. It was my idea to put sheets on the couches so the dog could go on them.
I'm guessing that your dog is trying to gain his love an acceptance at the same level that he gets from you. He's just working *that* much harder at it. lol
Because dogs feel secure and relaxed with strong leaders. They don't like weak - that makes them anxious and insecure, unless they are dominant, in which case it can make them aggressive. This is the same reason the owners get upset when I dog sit their dog for a few days and when they return, it is bonded to ME and looks to me for guidance. They are always a little hurt by this and can't understand why their dog seems to prefer me.
I'm not going to go to that "Alpha" stuff, which I am convinced is stuff and nonsense. What I will tell you is this - some dogs are "one-person" types. Now, I've got a lifetime of knowing dogs, and I never used to put much faith in the "one person" dog concept. Dogs can refocus affections from one person to another, given time. But working with my current dogs, and talking to others who own similar dogs, I've come to realize the "one-person" trait is real. For instance, a breeder of my acquaintance - her primary male listens to her husband. She can tell him what to do, but if her husband is there, the dog will look to the husband for approval to go ahead and follow her commands.
Mine listen to me, and do the reverse - they won't listen to my wife or son. It's not an "Alpha" thing - it IS a cooperative mechanism - an instinct to work with a person. And in some breeds and dogs, that is ONE person. And often dogs PICK their people - and there is probably instinct at work at some level of that.
Obviously, you don't see it in all dogs. But we can find enough examples in the news - like the village dog who saved a girl's life by pushing her out of the way of a motorcycle, and lost his jaw in the process. He just picked the girl. Or the dog who picked a small group of endurance cyclists in a race across Costa Rica. Or the dog who picked an endurance runner in the Himalayas or somewhere back of beyond. These were all village-type dogs - your basic dog, no breed. So you see the instinct to pick a human is there.
I think it's possible that your dog's instinct kicked in and he picked your hubby, for better or worse. Maybe that's not the case, I'm only guessing based on your post! But, since the whole alpha thing has been scientifically debunked, and since my experience with dogs has shown me that the "one-person" instinct does exist, and that sometimes some dogs do pick their people? I'm going with the "picked".
And, btw, it's not a love thing, or maybe it is. You know how it is with people - we don't always pick who we should, right? Who we end up loving is often beyond any common sense or reasoning.
I would suggest you work with the dog mentally as well - training sessions - agility - fetch - something. That should enhance your bond more than feeding and walking.
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