Why doesn’t my dog like me anymore?

If your dog seems to have stopped liking you, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you a number of possible causes and what you can do about them.

So, why does my dog not like me anymore? Common reasons why your dog might not be liking you are intimidation, injury or illness, an issue with its diet, depression, or you stopped feeding it or walking it yourself.

There are actually a number of possible reasons why your dog might have been doing it and it might be due to a combination of them. However, there are a number of things you can consider when figuring out the main reason and there are a number of things you can do about it.

Reasons why your dog does not like you anymore

Below are a number of possible reasons why your dog has been doing it and what would make each of them more likely to be the main reason.

Intimidation

It could be the case that it has become intimidated around you. This would be more likely if it started doing it suddenly after you started shouting or getting mad at it. Instead, it would help to be calm around it and to use positive reinforcement training to change its behavior.

Injury or illness

The cause might also be that it has gotten an injury or illness. This would be more likely if it has started doing it suddenly and if it has been showing other signs of being ill or injured such as limping or vomiting. In this case, the best option would be to take it to a vet.

Encouraging the behavior

It might also be the case that it has learned that the behavior gets rewarded. If you have been giving it rewards such as extra attention, toys, or treats, when it behaves like it does not like you, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards.

An issue with its diet

Another possible cause is that it has been having an issue with its diet. This would be more likely if your dog has started behaving differently since a change in its diet or if it behaves differently when it eats certain foods. It would help to ensure that it is eating the right diet and that nobody else has been feeding it without you knowing.

Someone else started feeding and walking it

If your dog has been giving more attention to someone else since you stopped feeding and walking it, the cause could be that it is hoping to get food or exercise from the other person. In this case, if you start feeding and exercising it, yourself, again it will likely start giving you more attention.

Depression

Dogs can become depressed and it might be the reason why yours has been behaving like it does not like you. This would be more likely if it started behaving differently way since an event that might have caused it to start being depressed such as an owner or another pet dying.

In this case, if it does not begin to improve over the course of a few weeks, it would help to take it to a vet.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider about your dog behaving like it does not like you anymore.

Your dog might actually still like you

It is likely to be the case that it does actually like you but it is showing affection towards you in ways that you might not be noticing. I have written more about the ways that it might be showing that it does actually like you in this post.

What else happened when it started behaving that way

It would help to consider what else happened when your dog stopped liking you since it is likely that there was an event that caused it to start behaving that way. If it started doing it suddenly, it could be due to things such as a change in its diet, illness or injury, something causing it to be depressed or you suddenly stopped feeding it or giving it exercise yourself.

What is different when it does show affection

If your dog does show affection towards you sometimes, it would help to consider what is different when it does it. For example, if it does it when a certain person or animal is not around, it might be the case that it is afraid of that person or animal.

What to do about your dog not liking you anymore

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

Avoid intimidating it

It might be the case that it has been doing it due to being intimidated. Instead, it would help to use positive reinforcement training to get it to behave the way you want and to be calm around it.

Give it sufficient food and exercise

It would also help to ensure that you are the one that feeds it and gives it exercise most of the time. Doing so should get it to pay more attention to you.

Positive reinforcement

It is also important to give your dog lots of training. By training your dog you will be able to get it to become more responsive to your command, it will behave in the way that you want it to and it will look at you more as the leader. This will help to reduce any bad behavior and to help improve your relationship with it.

Ensure it is not ill or injured

If your dog has been showing signs of being ill or injured or it has started behaving very unusually, the best option would be to take it to a vet. By doing so, you should be able to get expert advice tailored towards your particular dog and to rule out medical causes.