Why is my dog ignoring me for a new person? How can I change it?

Good question! It's one of those times where it would be neat if you could talk to your dog and they answered. Dogs, just like people, can get favorites without any real rhyme or reason to it. However, if you're trying to bond a bit more closely to Oscar, offering a favorite treat every time you spend time together, or playing with a favorite toy may help get him a little closer to you.

Great question. Most dogs respond best to the family member who spends the most time doing things such as feeding, walking, bathing. It sounds like you are that person. I'm sure she loves you but your Mom may have a special bond of some kind that seems to attract you dog's attention. Continue to work on it and over time find the special things such as rubbing her ears, or massaging her back, that makes you the person she wants to be around most. Small treats can be a great motivator. She is still a young dog so plenty of time to develop that special bond between you and your dog. Best of luck. Thanks, Dr Steve Popish.

Unfortunately this is never going to change unless every single person in the household is "training" Bear in the same way. That is just the reality of the situation. In this way, dogs are like children; they will go to the people who let them get away with the most stuff.

That has to be frustrating for you! Dogs have different personalities, and although most dogs are very bonded to their primary caretaker, some dogs seem to take that person for granted. Your dog might just assume that you will always be around. and these other people are more exciting. To increase the bond with Maximus, I recommend you spend quality time together alone. This may be walking, cuddling. or playing with toys. I also recommend working on training sessions. This will help teach him to pay attention to you. Here is a link that discusses teaching 5 basic commands. If Maximus is already great with these commands, look into adding more. Make sure there is positive reinforcement with the training in the form of affection and treats! http://www.akc.org/content/dog-training/articles/teach-your-puppy-these-5-basic-commands/ Training is a constant project, and can be a fun game for you and Maximus. Thanks for using PetCoach.

It sounds like Pepper has bonded closely with you. Congratulation! She considers you a friend and constant companion. She has probably never bonded with her former owners in this way-and often if reintroduced to former owners we think the dog may actually fear leaving their new home. Reassure her this isn't going to happen. Praise her and pet her often in their presence. Let her stay close. She will appreciate it!

It's normal for puppies to get more excited over "new" people than with their owners - someone new is a novelty and very exciting :) This does not mean that she doesn't love you. It sounds like she's very closely bonded to you, and everything is going just as it should be. So try not to be offended that she gets more excited about new people than she does over you - she's excited about them because they are new and different.

In my opinion this is a reflection of Danny's personality - some dogs are 'one person' dogs who are very attached to one family member. If you adopted another dog it might prefer your wife, or might seem to like everyone equally. You might develop a stronger bond with a new dog if you spend more time training it, but i don't think there is any guarantee that your relationship with a new dog would be the same as it is with Danny.