Diana is concerned over the fact that her daughter’s dog lacks affection towards his owner. Glynne highlights the importance of bonding with your dog in order to build a relationship.

Question:

Hi
We have a Westie, 1 1/2 years old. Our daughter got her for her 16th b’day. She loves her to death. Went twice to dog school with her. She’s a good dog too. But recently the dog has slowly, continuously started to ignore our daughter. Jumps for joy when anyone comes home but doesn’t even leave her basket when our daughter arrives. I feel sorry for her (our daughter). What should we do?

Hi Diana
I feel sorry for your daughter … and for the dog as well.
It’s not so much as what you should do, but rather what your daughter should have done when the dog was a pup, which was to have bonded with her, which has obviously not happened from the dog’s point of view.
Unfortunately, the dog is no longer a puppy and has probably bonded with the person with whom she spends the most time
Gushing over a dog and occasionally playing with it is not the answer either. It could be too late to change Westie’s loyalties now, but I guess it’s worth a shot.
The best way I know to try bonding is for the dog to sleep with your daughter. It works a charm, along with continuous training, feeding, grooming and taking the dog for daily walks, which may just do the trick, but unless your daughter is 100% committed to getting involved, she is fighting a losing battle because there are no easy fixes to gain a dog’s affection.
Glynne