Have you ever wondered why your beloved dog seems to prefer your dad over you? It can be a frustrating feeling, especially since you’re the one who takes care of everything for your furry friend. But is that really the case? Don’t worry, let’s explore this topic in-depth.
There are several reasons why your dog may like your dad more than you. It could be due to learned behaviors, respect for the pack leader and favorite person, resource guarding, obsession, stress, anxiety, the dog being a one-person breed, or simply being used to you. Interestingly, dogs can also understand emotional changes in humans.
While there’s no need to worry if your dog is attached to your dad, if the attachment seems excessive, there may be underlying problems that need to be addressed. It’s important to investigate and understand the root cause of this behavior.
Common reasons why your dog likes your dad more than you!
I know you are the dog owner, and you bathe him, provide water and food. You may give your bed to sleep in. In fact, you may take him out for walks and exercises.
But when your dad comes and gives tasty puppy treats or something, he may go nuts for your dad. So, I received tons of questions asking whether their effort for nothing or whether dogs only think about their stomach.
Really, is that so? It’s time to figure it out. So, here is the reasons.
- Your dog sees your dad as his pack leader.
- Learned behavior
- Resource guarding your dad
- Obsession
- Dogs also have favorite persons
- Your dad treats the dog well
- Some dogs can understand any emotional or physical changes in humans
- The dog is used to you
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Your dog is a one-person dog.
Your dog may like the dad more than you because he sees the dad as his pack leader.
This is the most common cause why you see such behavior from your dog. But, what I want to emphasize here is that dogs are pack animals. Indeed, your dog has accepted all of your family members as his pack.
But, his natural instincts show who has the most authority in the family, and that’s the pack leader from your dog’s point of view, and the pack leader is treated with joyous enthusiasm by your dog.
Think a little bit. Your dad has the most dominant person in the family, and we can both agree on that. There is nothing personal thing. Your dog still loves you.
Learned behavior
Suppose your dad came home at the same time each day after work and used to give a puppy treat at that time. Then guess what? When Dad comes home, your dog is looking forward to the event happen.
So, This behavior is what we call “learned behavior.” Mainly, we can divide this learned behavior into 4 parts.
| Learned behavior | Description |
|---|---|
| Habituation | This is a specific learned behavior that happens due to repeated stimuli. But your dog may gradually stop responding to it. For example, the first time when your dog hears the door slam. |
| Imprinting | Basically, this happens when your dog is 3-7 weeks old. In this stage, your dog has learned a lot of things from its siblings and mother. For example, Snuggling, Calm behavior, Successful interactions. |
| In classical conditioning | This learning process happens when your dog associates with things. For example, If you ring a bell when his mealtime arrives, your dog can learn about his mealtime associated with the bell. (Basically, your case belongs to this.) |
| In operant conditioning | Your dog learns to perform a task or behavior due to a reward or a punishment. For example, if you want to make your dog sit, you need to pull the leash upward while tightening his collar. |
Your dog may like your dad more than you because of resource guarding your dad.
If you feel something like your dog is overly attached to your dad more than you, it seems like a resource guarding situation. Usually, dogs tend to show resource guarding behavior for the following things.
- Food
- Toys
- Treats
- Rawhide
- Bed
- Bones
- Another dog.
- A person.
Check if your dog follows your dad everywhere. I mean, if he even follows him to the bathroom, it’s really unnatural behavior. So, there must be something wrong. So, check if your dog shows the following actions.
- Ears pinned flat against the head
- Braced body position over the dad
- Taking an item and moving away
- Raising lips and baring teeth
- Often growling
- Hard stare
- Freezing
- Biting
- Lunging and Air Snapping
If so, resource guarding is the reason why your dog likes your dad more than you. Since this behavior is abnormal, you need to wipe it out. Don’t worry, let’s discuss possible solutions under solutions.
Your dog may like your dad more than you due to the obsession situation.
If your dog is overly attached to your dad, it can be an obsession situation, and it seems not good. Mostly we can see this situation from puppies up to some degree, but we can expect it from even adult dogs.
Check if your dog follows your dad everywhere and tends to sit in the same room as your dad. In fact, Your dad will have a hard time getting out of the house for at least 5 minutes because your dog won’t let him go.
And when he arrives home, the situation can be worse, surely your dog will not leave dad’s side unless he forces him away.
Because dogs also have favorite persons
We all know that we have our own favorite persons in our minds. So, there isn’t much difference when it comes to dogs. So, your dog’s favorite person can be your dad because he is the pack leader.
But, don’t get this wrong. Because it doesn’t mean that your dog won’t love you. Your dog loves to enjoy your dad’s company because he is your dog’s favorite person.
In fact, these are the factors how your dog choose its favorite person
- Who they socialize in the early stages
- Affection and attention
- Positive association
- Breed and personality
- Similar personalities and temperament
- Quality time spent with him
So, you have to keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with this situation. In fact, you cannot do anything regarding this matter. But improving the bond between you and the dog can be done. So, let’s discuss how you can do that under Solutions.
Your dad treats the dog well.
If you feel something like your dog likes your dad more than you, the most common reason can be your dad treats the dog pretty much okay.
Actually, this is not something to worry about. You must be happy because there is someone who cares about your dog, even in your absence.
Some dogs can understand any emotional or physical changes in humans.
You may hear that dogs can understand any emotional or physical changes in humans. Some breeds are extremely sensitive and they can understand if a person is ill or sad. So, They naturally tend to do something to relieve people’s stress or provide some relief.
As I said to you, there are some breeds excellent in this duty. So, here is some of them,
- American pit bull terrier
- Border collie
- Cavalier kind Charles spaniel
- Australian shepherd
- Golden retriever
- Rottweiler
- Labrador Retriever
- Doberman pinscher
- Dogue de Bordeaux
- Staffordshire bull terrier
- Brussels Griffon
- Affenpinscher
- Irish Wolfhound
- Chihuahua
- Great Dane
- English Bulldog
You may feel your dog likes your dad more than you because the dog is used to you.
Actually, this is not something to worry about. We know that you are the one who cares about your dog, and you may stick around him all the time.
I mean, you probably dedicate a lot of time to your dog. When both of you stay alone all the time, he might get used to you.
But don’t be worry because it’s a really normal situation. It doesn’t mean that your dog doesn’t love you. The point is, you need to understand that you are part of his life.
Your dog may overly be attached to your dad due to Stress.
If something has happened recently that could be stressful for your dog, he might show some abnormal behaviors such as being overly attached to your dad.
So, stressed dogs tend to exhibit the following behaviors,
- Shaking and pacing
- Barking and whining
- Hiding
- Escaping behavior
- Panting
- Drooling
- Yawning
- Excessive licking
If so, your dog is stressed due to some reason. The most common reasons can be,
- When left alone for a long time
- Change of residence
- One of your family members leaves the house for an extended time
- Loud noises
- Traveling in a car
- Separation
If any of these happened recently, most likely, your dog gets stressed. So, that can be the reason why does your dog is overly attached to your dad. Don’t worry, let’s discuss solutions under solutions.
Due to Anxiety
If you feel something like your dog likes your dad more than you, the reason can be anxiety. Dog’s are suffering from anxiety tend to exhibit such abnormal behaviors.
So, dogs that are prone to anxiety tend to exhibit the following signs
- Escaping behavior
- Balking and howling
- Destructive chewing
- Digging
- destruction
- pacing
- Urinating
- Defecating
If so, your dog is prone to anxiety due to some reason. The most common reasons can be,
- Boredom
- Loneliness
- Left alone for a long time
- Rescued dogs tend to show
- Medical issues
- Change of residence
If any of these happened recently, most likely, your dog is prone to anxiety. So, that can be the reason why does your dog is extremely attached to your dad.
In fact, Some breeds quickly become anxious. So, here is the list of breeds,
- Greyhounds
- Cocker Spaniel
- Labrador Retriever
- Vizsla
- Border Collie
- Havanese
- King Charles Spaniel
- Shorthair Pointer
- Bichon Frise
- Some toy breeds
- German shepherd
- Australian Shepherd
Your dog may like your dad more than you because the dog is a one-person dog.
Usually, one-person dogs tend to be extremely attached to their owners or one person in the family. So, here is the list of one-person dogs.
- Akita
- Irish wolfhound
- Kuvasz
- Rough collie
- Chihuahua
- Dachshund
- Doberman pinscher
- German shepherd
- Great pyrenes
- St. Bernard
- Sky terrier
- Yorkshire terrier
- Beagle
- Boxer
- Brittany
- Shih Tzus
What can you do if the dog over-attached to dad and thrive on the bond between you and the dog?
As we discussed so far, both normal and abnormal factors could cause this problem. So, when it comes to normal reasons, you don’t wanna be worry too much. Because it’s just natural behavior.
But, when we think about abnormal circumstances such as obsession, anxiety, stress, and other related factors, It is really crucial to take the necessary steps to prevent the development of these behavioral problems.
So, here are the approaches you can take,
- Take care of what your dog likes and dislikes
- Physically touch him
- Stimulate your dog’s brain
- Spend time together and show your care
- Be playful with him
- Train him
- Communicate clearly with your dog
- Release its stress and anxious
Take care of what your dog likes and dislikes
Each individual dog has a different personality. As the person who cares about the dog, you have to figure out your dog’s likes and dislikes.
So, Find out what the dog’s preferences are based on the following things.
- Foods
- Games
- Toys
So, you can use his preferences to build a strong bond between the two of you.
Physically touch him
What I mean by this is you fulfill its grooming, bathing needs on your own. Many studies have shown that physically touching them, the ways I have mentioned cause to decrease their stress level and thrive the bond between both of them. Set aside some time to be with him, pet him.
Stimulate your dog’s brain
If you feel something like your dog likes your dad more than you and needs to thrive the bond between you, it’s crucial to stimulate its brain right away.
Here are some ways to stimulate your dog’s brain.
- Provide adequate exercises
- Give puzzle treats
- Give Raw bones
- Bring him another companion
Spend time together and show your care
If you want to thrive the bond between you and the dog, it’s necessary to spend quality time with your loving canine companion.
So, take a walk or go to the dog park. Play a little in the backyard. These things will be much helpful to achieve your purpose.
Be playful with him
When you have some free time, try to play with your dog. It would be extremely helpful to increase the bond between you and the dog.
So, here are some games that you can easily try with your dog.
- Fetch
- Hide and seek
- Frisbee toss
- Digging in the sandbox
- Treat dispensing toys
- Casual agility
- Retrieval games
Train him
If you feel something like your dog likes your dad more than you, it’s not something to worry about. But increasing the bond between you and the dog is really exciting.
So, conducting some training sessions would make this process easier. But you need these things on your own. I’m not talking about basic training. It’s more about training him to do some fun stuff.
So, I suggest trying one of the following things.
- Field events
- Rally
- Lure coursing
- Agility training
Communicate clearly with your dog
When you interact with your canine friend, it’s crucial to communicate with him very clearly. Be sure to use all the commands used in his training sessions to prevent some unexpected misunderstandings and confusion.
Release its stress and anxious
If you feel something like your dog likes your dad more than you, it can be stressful or anxious. So, The following things can help you deal with such situations.
- Use calming coats
- Stick with a routine
- Consult a Veterinarian
- Use music therapy techniques
- Massage your dog.
- Keep physical contacts to soothe your dog
- Give enough exercises
Things to be aware of
We have discussed many causes and solutions for this matter. But, there are a few essential things you need to be aware of. So, let’s figure out what they are.
Set aside some time for your dog
You can be such a busy person. But, it’s crucial to dedicate some time just to your dog. Otherwise, what is the point of adopting a dog?
Consult a veterinarian.
If you suddenly feel that your dog’s behavior is abnormal, consult a veterinarian right away. Because you are the one who knows your dog best.
Correct your mindset
If you feel something like your dog likes your dad more than you, actually, you need to correct your mindset. Because there is nothing wrong with that. Do not be jealous. It’s terrible for your health.
Conclusion
Sometimes dogs are crazy creatures. They tend to act strangely due to many circumstances. If you feel that your dog likes your father more than you, it may be for normal and unusual reasons. So, this complete guide contains comprehensive knowledge of this matter. I hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to share your experiences with this as well. Have a nice day.
