I have had my puppy since she was 5 1/2 weeks old. I am the major caregiver of the most beautiful 10 1/2 week old pomeranian. I love her so much and she has come into my life when things were not going very well for me. The question I would like to ask is; why does she go crazy with happiness when either my husband comes home or really anyone that stops by our home, but she never shows happiness (not even a wagging tail) for me? I give her lots of love and encouragement when she does good things and I try to remain consistent in any training with her. What is going on with her and me?

I am desperate to find out what I should be doing differently.

Thank you,

saralin, your puppy is still new to your household and probably has not fully bonded with anyone yet. Bonding to their new family takes time, but please understand that doesn't mean the dog will be excited about seeing you 24/7. If you are the person who is training, feeding, walking, and encouraging her with positive reinforcement, trust me, you will be the person that she will be bonded to the most. :) It may not appear that way to you, but she will rely on you first before anyone else, as her leader. But, please understand that dogs don't go into happy, tail wagging excitement mode that easily. Are you at home with her all day every day? What happens when you leave the house for a couple of hours, and then you come home? Isn't she excited then? If she isn't, she will eventually be. Just give it time and your patience will pay off. If you haven't left her for any length of time, and you are always around, it is very normal for a dog not to show excitement. You are always there. So, what is there for her to be excited about? But, when someone new shows up, or someone that she hasn't seen in a few hours shows up, it is a very happy time greeting that they will receive from her. That is how dogs operate. Toys and treats may produce a wagging tail and get their attention, but the excitement that you are describing comes from a dog greeting someone they haven't seen in a while. If I am busy working, and my dog is sitting in the room with me, the dirty looks she throws my way at times would curdle the mood of any good natured person. But, if I leave the house for 15 minutes and walk back in, she acts like she hasn't seen me in years. Dogs are highly social animals and express joy at seeing new people and "old friends" (your husband coming home after work). Hope this helps ease your mind a bit.

For the moment, I don't have an answer. 5 1/2 weeks was too early to be away from her mother and litter, which could cause some problems, but I wouldn't expect that. Familiarity breeds contempt? Even if she sees plenty of you, I would think she would welcome you the first thing in the morning.

Labman, depends on where the dog sleeps.;)

If she is sleeping with sara and can see her all the time, she might not necessarily react with a happy butt wiggle in the morning. But, your point about 5 1/2 weeks is a good one. Not sure what kind of effect too early removal would have on this issue.

When my husband and I rescued our newest dog, Ava, from the shelter she took to him right away. He was so happy because our other dog and 2 cats prefer me, and he was hoping to find a dog that would his little buddy. Well she was, that entire weekend, and she basically ignored me. But then I got to thinking, HE was the one to open her gate at the shelter and let her out, and HE was the one who walked her out to the car to take her home. So naturally she would be loving to him, she saw him as the one who got her out the shelter.

But, my husband works all day, and I'm a stay at home mom. So once the weekend was over and my husband had to go to work, I was her care giver. I was the one who gave her food and water, and let her out to potty. I was the one to take her for walks and lounge with her. Slowly you started to see she was following me around instead of him.

It's different for every dog. Some may have a big attachment to you and get excited when you come home, some may realized they see you all the time, and get excited when a new face shows up :)

And as Labman and Ruby stated, 5 1/2 weeks was too early to be adopted out... but like them, I don't know if that would have affected the pup or not.