You would think that a dog’s favorite person would be the one who gives them the most food and attention, right? While that often happens, it’s not always that simple.
Maybe you have a friend or family member that your dog loves so much, they will knock you over to get to them. Why so? It turns out that there are a number of factors that can influence your dog’s decision about who their favorite person is. Here are a few of them.
1. Who they hang out with early is an important factor
For dogs, their key socialization period is from birth to six months. Puppies’ brains are very receptive at this age, so the social experiences they have as puppies will affect them for the rest of their lives. It is important for puppies to have lots of positive interactions with a variety of people, places, and things.
For example, if you adopt your dog at an older age and they are raised by a single female for the first six months of life, they may be much more comfortable around women and have may have difficulty bonding with men since they are juveniles. ‘t introduce them at a young enough age. That can affect who they become attached to as adults.
It’s never too late to start socializing your dog. The more experience they have and the more people they meet, the easier it will be for them to get along with others in the future.
2. Care and affection improve relationships
You may be the one to walk the dog and feed the dog, but if your partner gives the dog more time, attention, and affection than you do, they’ll likely favor him or her more. While the level of care and affection you give your dog makes a difference, the quality of the attention can be the deciding factor. For example, a half hour walk is not the same as a half hour interactive play session with you.
3. The positive associations are huge
Why do we reward our dogs when we train them? That is so they develop an active association with the following commands. Obey orders, get rewarded. Whenever they like something, they form a positive association with the person who gave them the thing or experience they enjoyed. Your dog’s favorite person may just come up with something that no one else does or can.
How to be your dog’s favorite
If you believe you are not your dog’s favorite person, but you want to be, there are several things you can do to improve your relationship with them. The best thing you can do is spend at least 30 minutes in private with your dog each day. This time should be spent doing something active like playing pitching or tug of war, taking a training session, or trying out a new sport such as brisket or pitching, where you and your dog can work together as a team.
(H/T: Rover)
