[Ttyna]

Hi. I am new here and this is my first post. I have a 1,5 y.o. german shepherd named Nero and we had him since he was 2 months old. There are 3 adults in our house, myself, my husband and my brother. I spend the most time with him as I am self employed and work from out of house. My brother also works from home so Nero has never been lacking attention. He is almost never alone. Even though he shows affection and obeys all three of us, I noticed that he is attached to me the most. It makes sense since I am the one who takes care of him on a regular basis such as feeding, walking, training, etc. He is an awesome dog and we never had any issues that we couldn't have dealt with. Until now. So my mom came to visit from abroad a couple of days ago. He has never met her before so she was a total stranger to him. At first he barked at her and seemed somewhat intimidated by her. I said "NO" to his barking a few times and he stopped. My mom, being very fond of dogs, started to interact with him, pet him, gave a few treats and showed a lot of affection. I was relieved that they seemed to get along as my mom is visiting with us for 3 months. But I didn't anticipate what happened next. It's been only 2 days since Nero met my mom but he already follows her everywhere and seems "all over her". If I call him, he would come but then turn around quickly and run back to Mom or keeps watching her at all times. I realize she spent the whole 2 days with him, playing and cuddling but I can't help feeling "betrayed". Is this a normal behaviour for the dog? He has never done this with any other outside people, but again, none of them was as affectionate with him. Sorry for the long post but I don't know what to do, should I just accept the situation or try to do something? Is it just me who is irrational and too sensitive? Thank you for any feedback or advice.

 

[fuzzybunny]

I think your mom is just new and exciting to him. She's the fun person right now because all she does is play with him and give out affection. It reminds me of a child who gets excited when their favourite aunt or uncle visits. I wouldn't sweat it

 

[Shade]

We jokingly call my parents Grandma and Grandpa to our dogs, they spoil them rotten and all of our dogs go nuts when we go to their house for visits. They have 23 acres to run on, lots of doggie friends to play with, many willing hands to pet them, and yummy treats = doggie heaven for them

That doesn't mean they love us less, they just love the spoiling they get from my parents

 

[Midnight12]

I too have Granddogs who love it when I am there and are fine when I leave kind of like kids I would not worry about this, and just be glad he loves his grandma I don't think your dog loves you any less. Take him for a walk or do some training if it worries you but he knows you are right there too.

 

[JackandMattie]

At 1.5 years, he's still a youngster. Grandma came to visit and she brought treats and affection! Don't worry. He won't lose his bond with you. He's just temporarily distracted

If it's too much, ask her to discontinue the treats and you start handing those out instead. I have to do this with my young male. I'm the only person allowed to feed him. Also had to quit letting the neighborhood kids play ball with him. I feel like such a meanie (to the kids, not the dog, lol), but am doing it on the trainer's advice to keep his attention and focus on me. Since it's for training, the kids mostly understand.

 

[TAN+ZAK]

Zak has been doing this too , ever since my grown up son moved back home, they even shower together .lol.

 

[Ttyna]

Thank you all for your quick replies. I feel way better about the whole situation now. Everything you shared and suggested makes total sense to me. I think I have overreacted about the whole thing. I should just relax and enjoy that extra free time that I now have when Nero is busy with my mom. Thanks again!

 

[Rangers_mom]

We had a dog that used to do the same thing. We used to joke that she was always looking for a better home. Of course that wasn't the case but she did LOVE visitors. I was always happy that she loved visitors. It sure beat the alternative. Despite this friendly behavior she remained a loyal family member for nearly 16 years.

 

[brebrehj]

My mom is visiting is from out of state.
Our 3 yr old is doing the same thing. He is bonded with me and doesn't obey my husband at ALL. He has taken to my mom so strongly. He follows her everywhere, sleeps with her, ignores my command of coming inside yet listens to hers.
I find it sweet and endearing. To me its like he knows he's one of the kids here.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App

 

[doggiedad]

your dog isn't betraying you because i don't think dog's
can reason like that. our dog gets very excited when our
neighbors visit or pull into their driveway. sometimes when they
pull into their driveway i let our dog out and he runs to them.
they pet him and make a big fuss over him. sometimes they
let him in their house. now that i think about it our dog gets excited
no matter who comes to our house.

 

[Ttyna]

your dog isn't betraying you because i don't think dog's
can reason like that. our dog gets very excited when our
neighbors visit or pull into their driveway. sometimes when they
pull into their driveway i let our dog out and he runs to them.
they pet him and make a big fuss over him. sometimes they
let him in their house. now that i think about it our dog gets excited
no matter who comes to our house.

I see this as a different thing though. Nero gets excited every time our friends come over. I don't sweat it a bit. In this particular situation, my dog ignores me completely. I used to think we shared this special bond. I heard of some dog owners having a hard time bonding with their new puppy. I considered myself lucky to have bonded with Nero from day 1. He would follow me everywhere, every time I come home he runs to the door, when I wake up in the morning he waits outside my bedroom door to greet me... These were my happiest moments with him. Now he is not there any more, and I cannot but feel sad and disappointed. After reading some reassuring posts from other dog owners I feel better and try to deal with my emotions hoping things will settle down and I will have my dog's affection back.