# How do you get a dog to bond to you instead of someone else?



## Polistes (Feb 14, 2011)

As the title states how can I ensure that when I get a GSD it bonds to me rather than someone else from my family. I will be moving in the next year or so and I dont want the dog (If I get one) to feel bad because he house mates are gone.(Case and point my brother's lab loves everyone and she will be upset if she cant be with everyone, even if your giving her one on one attention she wont care, she wants to be with everyone else.)

In the same vein I dont want him being mean to anyone either, I just want him/her to see me as its primary buddy if you know what I am saying.

And no I dont have a GSD yet. Still looking and making sure the finances work out.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Spend more time with him than everybody else. Train him. Work with him. Walk him. Everybody else is just there; _you're_ the one who provides most of the dog's physical, mental, and social needs. 

Case in point: my dogs love my husband but they are most closely bonded with me. Why? I walk them, I train them, I work with them every day. He feeds them and plays with them occasionally.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Emoore is exactly right.


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## bruiser (Feb 14, 2011)

I'm not an expert but I think if you are the one doing the feeding, training, playing, walking, and the dog is primarily depends on you, then I think the dog will bond with you. 

I wanted Bruiser to bond more with my son, but he doesn't do all the work, so at this time Bruiser's bonded more with me. They are pack animals so they will always want to be with the pack though.


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## VomBlack (May 23, 2009)

For me I take care of my dog's feeding, training, and play times. When Odin was a pup I was living with a bf at the time and our other 2 dogs and I made sure to make separate time for Odin and I. I did a ton of socializing and he loves people, but I like to think him and I have a good bond. I now live with 2 roommates and there's no issue with him being too attached to anyone else in the house, because him and I spend so much time together.

Going to training classes I think is very helpful too, you and your dog learn to work together. Schutzhund training has been great for my dog and I. I also spend a lot of time just hanging around the house with him, petting him up and talking to him. 


ETA: Looks like everyone beat me to it as I was replying.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

You can't. Dogs choose who their special person is. If you're worried about it, I'd do what everyone else has suggested. But in the end it's up to the dog. I've always done all the training and the grooming, but our females have always chosen my husband, and Keefer has chosen me. They've all loved both of us, but it's always been clear who they'd rather be with if they have a choice.


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

Dogs are more hardy than you think. Don't worry about your move, as your dog will adapt to your new situation just fine. But, the more training you do with the dog (interpreted by dogs as work, which they love doing), the tighter your bond will be. Even if your dog has bonds with others, the bond you've established will always be there. In fact, don't be surprised if the bond becomes even tighter when the others leave the picture.


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## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

My pibull--who is my heartdog--actually prefers my son. She slept in his room until he left for the Army but he did not feed or walk her on a daily basis. She became depressed when he was in Basic but went into ecstasy when he returned on leave. After that, she seemed to grasp that he wasn't gone forever. When my son is here, she is never far from him.
I think the key is that she got personal one-on-one attention from my son. My husband and I already had our GSD X girls.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> You can't. Dogs choose who their special person is. If you're worried about it, I'd do what everyone else has suggested. But in the end it's up to the dog. I've always done all the training and the grooming, but our females have always chosen my husband, and Keefer has chosen me. They've all loved both of us, but it's always been clear who they'd rather be with if they have a choice.


Ditto. But maybe you can tip the scales in your favor with cheese filled hot dogs. It's worth a try.


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## will_and_jamie (Jul 8, 2006)

Good_Karma said:


> Ditto. But maybe you can tip the scales in your favor with cheese filled hot dogs. It's worth a try.


Gross. My husband loves those from Oscar Mayer. Ew, ew, ew. When he buys them, I feed them to the dogs.


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

Don't forget leadership.

Many owners complain that they do all the feeding, walking, brushing and coddling and the dog prefers other person of the family even when that person spend 10% of the time with the dog. Dogs need to feel secure and someone to look for guidance in case things become rough or confusing and training is the best tool for that. Training and rules, you don't need to be a Sargent, but dogs love to understand what ground are they stepping in and very often the person that provide most love is not necessarily the same person that provides leadership.

In my experience you can buy attention with cheese, but not bond.


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## Ace952 (Aug 5, 2010)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> You can't. Dogs choose who their special person is. If you're worried about it, I'd do what everyone else has suggested. But in the end it's up to the dog. I've always done all the training and the grooming, but our females have always chosen my husband, and Keefer has chosen me. They've all loved both of us, but it's always been clear who they'd rather be with if they have a choice.


Right there with ya sister.


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

Wanted to add:

I've noticed also the female-male thing with dogs and owner, may be a myth, may hold some truth but is one of the reasons I wanted a male now and while I've bonded with my females they are comfortable with anyone, while so far my male pup is more into me.


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## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

My first two dogs ended up on my parents farm. The Australian Cattle Dog ended up there @ age 7 for a couple of years when I moved into an apartment but then I got him back when I moved up the coast into my house. The kelpie I put out on the farm @ 2 years old when I left Australia to reside in Cambodia. In both cases both dogs had lived with me as the pack leader / trainer but easily adapted to the new "owners" and "surroundings" or although that being said they knew the farm and my parents from birth as I was up there every other weekend. I believe PET dogs ( not highly trained one person dogs ) are able to move to new leaders / owners with relative ease.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i think through training, feeding, spending
quality time, playtime, etc. your pup will bond with you.
my pup came home at 9 weeks old. our next
neighbor came in 2 to 3 times a day (or more)
to let our pup out, feed him, treat him. our next door neighbor
taught our pup "give me your paw" and to retrieve his ball.
our dog is 3 years old. sometimes our neighbor
will bring our dog to her house if we're gone for
to long of a time. my dog listens to my neighbor.
even though our dog listens to our neighbor
you can tell he belongs to my GF and i. i was never
worried about who he bonds with besides they can bond
with more than one person and still be yours.


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