Who's your dog more bonded to?

[ParNone]

When I got Gull, several trainers told me, that he shouldn't be having any alone time or play time with Oz. That in order to bond more with me, he needed to be mostly with me, at least for the first few months of his life. Weeellll, I didn't exactly follow that advice. Oz was so much better at really exercising him, that I let them play together a bunch. In fact, except for going off to training class with Gull, once a week, we all did things as a group. So he really didn't spend very much alone time with me at all.

Welp, fast forward a year and half later and who is Gull more bonded to? Me... Actually although all 3 get along pretty good, if any of the 3 had their druthers, it'd be just me and him and we'd oust the other 2. Even Oz, as well as he gets along with everybody, after a week of being alone with me on vacation, it took him about a week to adjust back to being part of a pack again. He was a bit standoffish to the other two, not wanting to share any attention with them.

So anywho, I was just curious if those who have more then one dog, find that the two dogs are lil' more bonded to the other dog vs themselves? Also, whether they're more bonded to you or the other dog, how have you handled the time spent amongst the various dogs?

Par...

[finn's mom]

Finn loves everyone. He loves my parents, he loves my nieces, my step brothers, my sisters-in-law, etc.....but, he LOVES me. He's most assuredly my dog. He waits at the window and watches for my car. If my parents are downstairs, they know when I pull up, because he goes to the door. They know when I lock my car (it honks, but, they don't hear it), because Finn whines.

Ha, I just realized this was aimed towards people with other dogs. Good grief, sorry!

[K9soul]

We got Tommy when he was about 6 months old and Tasha was 2 years old. He obviously adores her a lot, loves to play with her and follows her lead in many things, but his deepest bond is with his people. He will follow us over her and cuddle with us and choose to be in whatever room I'm in regardless if Tash is there or not. If I call him and don't call Tash, he will come even if she stays where she is. I'm positive both of them are bonded most deeply to us, though they do share a bond with each other too. If I take one somewhere and leave the other, they are both elated to see each other when I come back home, but don't show any distress while the other is actually gone.

[Giselle]

Nope, my dogs don't like each other. In fact, I joke that if I weren't here to supervise them, they'd kill each other (nooo, not really). However, they definitely don't find companions through each other. Giselle would wholeheartedly choose my company over Lucky's. I generally split my time 60-Giselle/40-Lucky. I know I should be paying more attention to Lucky now that he's becoming older and actually NEEDS the attention, but Giselle always finds a way to snuggle next to me. Her head is always on my lap

[gemini9961]

I'd say mine have a stronger bond with me than each other. They play with each other and chase each other around but they can get scrappy too with each other. They will always want to be just with me though. When we are sleeping one is on one side of me and the other one is on the other side. I keep them separated when I leave as they tend to fight. I don't think they would rather spend time with each other over me though. In fact, I am giving Sadie more attention then Maggie scraps at her, she's a little selfish sometimes.

[beeniesmom]

We can tell straight away that Frankie is going to be a mommas boy. He doesn't care whn my husband picks him up. He squirms then runs to me.
Beenie seems to prefer both of us both equally. Daddy is for playing catch and mommy is for cuddling with!

[Pam]

Bella and Ripley have bonded more to me than hubby. If I am away overnight Bella sometimes won't eat and it is guaranteed that Ripley won't eat. They enjoy each other's company a lot and romp and play in the yard, each one looking to see where the other is when they have gone off to sniff separately. They can't remain out of each other's sight for long. They love a good tug-o-war inside and do a lot of playing with each other, but I am the real hero in their eyes. Silly dogs!

[pitc9]

Sierra is more bonded to Buddy
She can't go a second without knowing where he is, and doesn't really care where I am half of the time!

Buddy is stuck like GLUE to me!!

[Chilli]

When we got Frisk, I was still in school. My mum had just quit her old job to go to college again to train to be a nurse. She was home all day to teach Frisk right from wrong (like where to go potty and not to chew on things). He bonded to her more over that time, but he still insists on sitting in my lap on car rides and sitting in the same chair as me.
Ethan, on the other hand, is slightly more bonded to me, mainly because I don't yell my head off at him when he has an accident on the floor. He always lays in the doorway of the office while I am on the computer and follows me everywhere. Also because I am the one who lets him out of his cage when I get home But he does seek refuge with mum when a storm comes.

The funny thing is that mum was against me getting a dog, now she doesn't mind them following her around and taking naps with her She won't admit outloud that she loves them, but I know she does!

[micki76]

Chester is 100% bonded to me. Hubby says Chester & I are soulmates.

Millie is about equally bonded to all of us. Perhaps a bit more to me. She looks to me when she feels insecure or scared. She also defends Chester all the time against any other dog, including Cinny.

Cinny has bonded mostly to Millie, then hubby. She has very little to do with me, even though I take care of all her needs.

[Jamieejo85]

Both Chico and Guapo are bonded more to me. They will have fun being around anyone but as soon as I come home or come in the room they are like glued to me. I can't say I don't enjoy it

[My Peanuts]

Sylvia is SUPER bonded to my dad. We have something called the six inch rule at my house. If Syl is more than six inches from my dad she starts to feel uncomfortable. That’s how obsessed she is with him.


Harley is bonded to me. He freaks out when I come home and won't stop until I pick him up. He sleeps with me always & he comes to me for approve. He’s my special little man!

I think Morty is too new to figure out. He's only been here for a month and he's still adjusting. Poor little guy is only one year old and has had at least 4 homes. His first home, then the home his foster mom got him out of, then the foster home, and now here. There could have been more for all I know. He doesn’t realize this is his forever home yet. I don't blame him for not getting close to us yet. I have a feeling Morty is going to be a total lover and just love everyone.

[ParNone]

Oh that's okay finn's mom... I was just kind curious if people who's dogs were more bonded to them were following the expert's advice. And if so, did that cause friction amongst the dogs, since you're keeping them more separate and spending more alone time with each one or do they all get along?

I guess can you have the best of both worlds, where everybody gets along and spends time together as group, but the dogs would still choose you over any of the other dogs?

[luvofallhorses]

Jenny-she loves everyone! She is such a lovebug! but here at home she is more bonded with me. I think the reason is because I trained her in 4-H. She listens to me when I tell her to come inside and not my mom She is a family dog, though.

Rocky- He is more bonded with my dad. When my dad is home and we have company, he won't go to anyone but my dad. But when my dad is not home, he isn't as 'stuck-up' towards the company. Him and my dad are like two peas in a pod.

Ginger- she is more bonded with my mom. well she's more of my mom's dog than a family dog.

Buster- He is more bonded with my mom, I think. But he loves everyone, he is more of a family dog.

[RobiLee]

I keep pondering over this question. I remember when we first got Tori that for the longest time we felt like Tori was Katie's dog. I felt like I never had any one on one time with Tori. The girls are almost always together. It took some time but I feel Tori and I are pretty well bonded now. She is my baby. Both girls seem to always want to be with us and even if they aren't they have to know where we are in the house. I would have to say that Katie may have a tighter bond with us though. She not only has to know where we are but what we are doing. I don't think Tori really cares about what we are doing...lol.

LOL..you have no idea how long I have been sitting here trying to figure out who is more bonded to who. All I know is that it seems to work