Okay, so I’ve been thinking a lot about this whole “dog’s choice” thing lately. You know, how dogs seem to pick a favorite person in the family? It’s been on my mind because my own pup, Buddy, seems to have chosen my wife over me, and I gotta admit, it stings a little.
I started doing some digging, just to figure out what makes a dog choose their favorite. At first, I read something saying dogs might choose you by following you around, showing more excitement when you get home. Well, Buddy does both of those things for my wife, but not so much for me.
Then I got into this idea about how much time you spend with your dog matters. Makes sense, right? Dogs are social, they want to be around you. I tried to spend more time with Buddy. I played more fetch, took him on longer walks, and even tried to take him on errands with me.
Here’s what I started doing:
- I began feeding Buddy his breakfast and dinner. Used to be my wife’s job, but I took over. Figured the way to a dog’s heart is through his stomach, you know?
- I also started giving him treats, but not just randomly. I made sure it was for good behavior or when he followed a command. I read that positive reinforcement is a big deal, and that it may cause the “positive association” .
- I started to observe how he acted around other people, and try to learn his body language. I guess there is saying that “dogs communicate with each other in ways that we don’t get.” I want to know what he likes or doesn’t like.
- Finally, I noticed that Buddy is a curious boy, and that it is a natural instinctual behavior for him. I took advantage of this behavior and lead him to explore the world with me, so that I became a person that appears in his happy memory more often.
So yeah, it’s been a process. After spending more time together, and doing more positive association activities, I finally felt the connection between us has grown stronger. I’m not sure if I’ve become Buddy’s ultimate favorite yet, but I definitely feel like we’re closer now. I will just keep doing what I am doing and see what happens.
It is a good experience. I mean, it’s all about building that bond, right? It has been a good reminder that relationships, even with your dog, take effort. It is worth it though. Feeling that connection with your furry friend is something special.
Discussion about this post