In our house, far more often then not, the 3 dogs (2 beagles, 1 Aussie) gravitate to me. If I sit down on the couch the beagles both crowd to me, even if they’re already asleep. The Aussie follows me everywhere if I’m home and waits outside doors if I’m behind them. Is it love? Respect? Dominance recognition? Or just being the one that does pets and ear rubs best?

Our dog prefers me and also follows me around the house and outside. I expect its for the same reasons you mentioned. Additionally, I am the one to take him on walks and feed him 99% of the time.

Yep, I'm the one that feeds them.

but since my wife has been sick the Catahoula does sit on the couch with her as she watches TV this week.

No matter how far we breed dogs away from wolves, some things never change.

Dogs will gravitate toward and react to the alpha in a home.

Most often folks don’t realize their dog considers themselves alpha because poor hierarchy is mistaken for cuteness. In that event I’d wager most dogs gravitate towards the one they can get the most out of. Good, affection, walks, etc.

Some breeds, like my favorite ACD has a distinct trait of really connecting with one member of the family, they develop a much stronger bond with their partner or alpha than money other breeds.

They aren’t stupid, but their also way more simple than we like to believe.

I truly believe if dogs were as smart as we think they are they’d realize the one sided relationship and how shitty humans are.

We had two, one was clearly the wife's baby and the other is mine. We had to put hers down, so we just have the one left. He is definitely my 80 pound baby, as soon as I get home he is with me. He's just a big goofy mutt.

Some dogs need more 'alpha' than others. I had a Chow who needed a very firm alpha, and then he was totally fine. Same with an Old English Sheepdog I had, she was a stubborn and nasty thing with everyone who wasn't family.

Of course I have a parakeet that is the devil too... wow its a nasty ass little bird but it is fine with the wife. I come near the cage and it will charge with its beak open. I've never done anything to her, so I don't get it.

This is a fun subject. We have two rescue cats and a minature Schnauzer.

One of the cats LOVES my son. He is her favorite person and even has attacked me when I have fussed at my son. The other cat is special in that he thinks he is a dog. The whole street knows him by name because he loves strangers and is friendly as heck. He won’t let you ignore him and almost demands your love and attention.

My uncle has been a hardcore dog person his entire life. So when he asked me if I knew if my friendly cat had any kittens and that he wanted one that tells you how unique of a cat he is. It doesn’t hurt that he is also a beautiful tuxedo cat with white whiskers and boots.

My dog is my constant shadow. He has bonded with me maybe too much. If I hug my kids he gets jealous and tries to break up any affection I show to anyone other than him. It’s ridiculous to witness his jealousy but I will say getting a dog has been one of the best things I’ve ever done.

We have a fairly large Mountain Cur. He is extremely protective of the wife and follows her around the house and yard. However, he definitely favors me. It's strange, it's like he knows which one of us needs the protection.

quote:

Originally posted by Rev. A. J. Forsyth:
We have a fairly large Mountain Cur. He is extremely protective of the wife and follows her around the house and yard. However, he definitely favors me. It's strange, it's like he knows which one of us needs the protection.

Our Black Mouth Cur was the same, she wouldn't be away from my wife at all, if she went upstairs the dog followed her. Every room, there she was. She was a pleaser, if you even raised your voice to her she would get upset.

The Chow was the same, he would always protect my wife and son, but not me so much.

we have three; 14 year-old Shepard/Malamute mix (my wife's since a pup before we met), 10 year-old Brittany (mine since a pup before we met), and an [85 pound, 9mo. old Malamute.

Though DO NOT tell my wife, the two older ones definitely favor me (even "hers"). The Malamute (Remington) ; well he plays with my wife and has no problem jumping on her when she's laying down.

These are things Remington does not do with/to me but; he will come in the house when I call him, most of the time, and sort of listens to me. (If you've ever had a Mal, you will understand what I mean LOL)

And, I am typically the one who feeds the hounds.

Yep, my black goldendoodle hangs with me far more than my wife. She loves the big guy but is more remote.

Whoever has treats.

I'm definitely the favorite with our Pit. She's my shadow and sits wherever I sit.
My wife is just another member of the pack to her.

when my wife & I met, she had a Catahoula.
Once we were living together, he slowly became my dog.

Similar with our current Border/Dalmatian, came into the house as the wife's dog & now is usually by me or the baby. Exception being wen my wife's not feeling well, the pup keeps near her a bit more.

Pretty sure I've shared this here before, but even though my wife feeds the dog and is home all day with her, the dog comes to me and listens to me if I'm home almost exclusively.

When my wife complained about this, I explained that they instinctively know who the alpha is, at which point my wife got flustered and said "but I"M the one in charge..." I laughed and told her that while I might LET her tell me what to do most of the time, if we lay a doughnut on the coffee table and we both really want it and will do anything for it, I think we both know which one will end up eating the doughnut. And the dog knows, too. She thought about it and grudgingly admitted that was true.

Our mutt runs past the other family members to say hello to me first - and it pisses them off.

BUT, I'm the only male (that still has his balls anyway) in our family. So, I'm the alpha; and I'm usually the one who feeds him or walks him.

He will play with and beg food from anyone, but seems to love me most.

One cat definitely hangs with the youngest daughter and sleeps with her every night. The other cat is equal opportunity; he ignores everyone or loves on everyone as his will dictates.

Yeah, my wife. It's crazy because she's also their vet.

The dog I had when we met respected her, but was always my boy. In fact, he belonged to a girl I dated and he loved me so much that when we split, she let me keep him.

Yep we have many rescue dogs and they all pretty much follow me because I'm the main food person.

But this pup :

windows screen capture



"Chuck" comes to me several times a day for hugs and attention. I heard him crying way back in the woods a year ago. I went walking and found him, brought him back to the house and he's been my buddy since.

Jesse Mastiff and Odin Rottweiler, both males, were definitely attached to my wife. Woe unto he who would approach my wife in an unfriendly manner, either of those dogs would have defended her with their lives.

Heidi Doberman and Pippi Corgi were my girls. They wanted to go everywhere that I went.

No dogs anymore, we have one cat that SIGforum member paragon gave us when the cat started terrorizing her mother and siblings. The cat hangs with me when my wife is not home, but if my wife is home, the cat is her buddy and pretty much ignores me.

Ours do somewhat but any food related item can instantly change their allegiance.
We have one that can clear our couch without touching it to get to any suggestion of a treat.