Hi all,

About a year ago I got myself a shihtzu male puppy . Most of the time though he seemed to bond more with my sister than with myself. I didn't prefer it but there's nothing I can do, seeing that I have more work commitments than my sister does.

However, the strange thing was that last December I was away from home for almost 2 months. Leaving my dog behind with my sister. I would have imagined that he would've bonded even more with my sister and will not even remember me when I come home.

What I noticed was that when I returned, he was so happy to see me that he followed me around the house (which never happened before) and seemed more attached to me than ever before! Everytime I come home, he'll be very happy to see me, and jumped around like mad. This only happened after I went away for 2 months.

He is still attached to my sister also, but I can easily say that he pays more attention to me now.

I was wondering whether it's because he has grown older and understand better? Or has anyone ever experiened this before? Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with the change but just confused .

Any similar experiences would be great!

Thanks all

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

In my family, I am the dogs' "favorite" human (because I'm the one who walks them). But every day when my husband gets home from work, they are VERY excited to see him, and wag their whole entire bodies excitedly, waiting for him to sit down so they can greet him and get their loves. And they always greet the boys with enthusiasm (maybe not as much as for their daddy) when they come home from being out too.

It is obvious your little doggy missed you, and loves you, and enjoys being with you, even if your sister might be his "favorite" human-- he still loves you too.

nope haven't experienced that..but i guess some dogs missed your scent

[Lunareclipse]

I have this problem with my mom's cat. Whenever I go over to her house, she will come out and let me pet her and pick her up and play with her. My mom made a comment to me about not being able to pick up her own cat. But her cat only does that with me and nobody else. I feel bad for my mom. She's the one who scoops out the litter box.

[DoggieVogue]

Originally Posted by Mydogiscute

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

In my family, I am the dogs' "favorite" human (because I'm the one who walks them). But every day when my husband gets home from work, they are VERY excited to see him, and wag their whole entire bodies excitedly, waiting for him to sit down so they can greet him and get their loves. And they always greet the boys with enthusiasm (maybe not as much as for their daddy) when they come home from being out too.

It is obvious your little doggy missed you, and loves you, and enjoys being with you, even if your sister might be his "favorite" human-- he still loves you too.

I have a similar situation. My dog is more attached to me, because I am the Mommy and I feed him, walk him, bathe him, etc. He is more laid back and cuddly with me, but he gets more excited when my boyfriend comes home, and kisses him more and plays with him more.

[aliensong]

I think, dogs like to human being. You should always to train feelings with your pet. You should let him/her to familiar with your scent, behavior and softly pet and etc. If you do these things with your pet, I think they will love you more and more!

[wishbone]

Wow that's sweet and romantic for you! What a feeling. That happened to my friend's boyfriend too. After being away for 3 months, their dog was the first one that greet and welcome him when he arrive home, even they are not so close to each other before he leave.

I think it was probably because he liked you, but just liked your sister more. When you went away he realized that you were more important. When you came back he showed his affection by following you around. He probably missed you too and wanted to make sure you wouldn't go anywhere without him again.

That was easy to answer.. your dog has your smell and since it was
gone for a long time.. he was glad that his master is back.. maybe he
was just looking forward for you to give him more time that is why his
not attached to you during the past few months.

And yes I have experienced it.. with my cat, I thought he was gone
he was lost for almost a month or 2 but when he came back *I don't
know if his really my cat, he has the color of the fur but clean and
grown up* he was like a crazy cat meowing all over my room and
I can see that his really happy to see us again..