Why does my dog listen to my husband but not me?

If your dog has been listening to your husband and not you, this post will show you likely reasons why and what you can do about them.

So, why does my dog listen to my husband but not me? Likely reasons why your dog listens to your husband but not you are that he is the one that feeds and exercises it, he has trained it or that you have inadvertently encouraged it not to listen to you.

There are actually a number of possible reasons why your dog listens to your partner and not you and it might be due to a combination of them. However, there are some things you can consider to help figure out the main reason and there are some things you can do about it.

Why does my dog listen to my husband but not me?

Below are likely reasons why your dog listens to your husband and not you and what would make them more likely.

He is the one that feeds and exercises it

If your husband is the one that feeds and exercises your dog, it would be very likely that your dog listens to him because your dog wants food or exercise. In this case, it would help to try being the one to give it food and exercise sometimes.

He gave it training

It might also be the case that he has trained your dog to listen to him. This would be more likely if he tends to reward your dog when it does listen to him with a treat. In this case, it would likely help to try giving your dog positive reinforcement training yourself.

You have encouraged the behavior

It might also be the case that you have inadvertently encouraged your dog not to listen to you. If you tend to give your dog things such as toys, treats or other rewards, when it does not do what you say, it will likely continue doing it since it is rewarded.

He interacts with it differently

It might also be the case that he interacts with the dog differently in terms of his body language and your dog is more responsive as a result. This would be more likely if he tends to be calmer around the dog and uses training to get it to listen to him instead.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider to help figure out the main cause.

If your dog has always only listened to your husband

If your dog did listen to you in the past, it would help to consider what else happened when your dog stopped listening to you. If it stopped suddenly, it could be due to a change in how you interact with it, you stopped being the one to feed or exercise it or because you started rewarding it when it misbehaved.

If your dog does listen to you sometimes

If your dog does listen to you sometimes, it would help to consider what is different when it does listen to you. For example, if it does listen when you interact with it in a certain way, such as by being calm, it could be the case that it does not listen when you are loud around it because it is reacting to your energy.

What to do about your dog only listening to your husband

Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.

Be the one to feed and exercise it

If you are not the one that normally feeds or exercises it, it would likely help to be the one that does feed and exercise it occasionally.

Avoid encouraging the behavior

As mentioned above, it could be the case that it has learned that it is rewarded for not listening to you. Instead, it would help to avoid giving it rewards when it does not listen and to reward it when it does listen.

Give it training

It would also help to give it training so that it learns to listen to you. It would help to start by training it to do simple things in an environment without too many distractions and then to build up from there.

Why does my dog listen to my boyfriend but not me?

Likely reasons why your dog listens to your boyfriend and not you are that your dog is not as used to being around him, he rewards it when it listens to him, you have not trained your dog to listen to you or that you have inadvertently encouraged it to not listen to you.

Why does my dog listen to my wife but not me?

Likely reasons why your dog listens to your wife and not you are that she is the one that feeds or exercises it, she gave it training or that you have inadvertently rewarded it for not listening to you.

Why does my dog listen to my girlfriend but not me?

Likely reasons why your dog listens to your girlfriend and not you are that she rewards it for listening, your dog is not used to being around her so it gives her more attention or that you have inadvertently rewarded it for not listening to you.