I have a maltese dog. It's four months old and I got it about a month ago. My mom bought it for me, but the thing is the dog loves my mom more.. It is supposed to love me more (I don't care how selfish I sound) I feel so stupid... I don't know what to do.. what should I do to make him love me more? :\
when my mom gets out, it becomes.. more or less depressed. I am playing with it, and it's cheerful , but when we stop playing Luca becomes depressed again until my mom returns home I don't want that any more..it's so sad to see him looking so depressed. I need help :\

who spends more time with the dog? Who walks/feeds/trains/plays with it?

I'm the person responsible for my dog and he'd pick my over my OH any day as he knows where his food comes from and who he can cuddle.

I don't know much about maltese terriers but maybe they're a breed that attaches to one person? and maybe that person is you mum.

Sorry, i know thats not very useful but it's a start.

On the other hand, my dog is very calm and content around me but when we go to my mums he becomes very lively(putting it nicely) because he gets away with more at her house(my mum doesn't understand dogs need boundaries and she doesn't leave him alone to settle), so could it be that you have rules but your mum has less?

right or wrong I can totally understand how upsetting this is for you - I got a rescue dog when I was 13 and I wanted her to love me more than anything else in the world but the first 2 weeks "home" she just sat by the door crying and it broke my heart.

What you need to do is make yourself the most wonderful interesting person in the world to your puppy.

Your puppy's still very young so change will come REALLY easily - play play and MORE PLAY.

Good luck - my thoughts are with you

Maltese are a breed that tend to attach themselves to one person.
My Maltese cross is walked and fed by all the members of my family in turn however has decided to bond with me, she'll cry if I leave the room and try to follow me everywhere.
I've worked really hard at her not becomming dependent on me but I'm afraid she's never changed her mind and as a result suffers from seperation anxiety when I'm not their.

Your little boy is still young if possible you need to take on all the feeding, grooming, walking, training, playing and snuggling for a while, but be careful he doesn't become to dependent on you, let him spend time with other people still, or otherwise you could create problems with seperation anxiety.

And where are the pictures? - Maltese are my favourite breed, one day I hope to own a KC reg Maltese

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A dog Possesses Beauty without Vanity,Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, And all the Virtues of Man without his Vices.

Thanks quys I'll try to spend more time with him.. but it's not easy.. my mom loves him so much and I doubt that she will agree to pull away a bit, so I can be the one more responsible for him... Nevertheless I'll try ) Thanks
Btw I have posted a pic of my doggie on my profile.. but since I am new I don't know how to put it as my profile pic.. yet :$

Just had a look at his picture - Luca is a real cutie.

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A dog Possesses Beauty without Vanity,Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, And all the Virtues of Man without his Vices.

Luca is GORGEOUS!

Antonija, can I ask how old you are - just wondering if you are maybe a student? Are you out all day and your mom at home all day? If so Luca is around your mom more than you so will attach himself to her as she would be doing more for him, feeding, walks, company, maybe.

Both OH and I are retired and at home all day. Poppy attached herself to me right from the start, always sat at my feet, followed me wherever I went, if I went out of the room and shut the door then she would wait at the door for me to come back even if OH was in the same room as her. He has mentioned that Poppy prefers me, she wont even go for a walk with him alone, but I tell him "What have you ever done with her?". I'm the one who has trained her, brushed her every day, bathed her when necessary, instigated play with her. He has never done any of this so it's no wonder she shows a preference.

Try and spend more time with him, feed him, brush him, play with him, take him to lovely places like the park.

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Poppy's blog: Poppy's Puppy Tales

Sounds like my Oscar....he's a Shih Tzu, but I think they're similar in that they get very attached. He's clearly my mum's baby, no doubt about it, but he's like a little brother to me, so when my mum can't be there to feed/walk/bathe him or she's going out for dinner with the girls from work or something, Oscar knows it's time with his big sis, and attaches himself to me instead.

I'm not home very often at all - pretty much as soon as I moved to a different city for University, my mum got the puppy so I was gutted at first, only getting to see him once in a while, and then only summer holidays, but give it time, he's 2 years old now, and knows me as his big sis, and likes me better than my sister who lives there full time lol . Maybe you and Luca will develop your own special relationship within the family, you've not had him long, you'll all find your place with each other.

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I agree with the others - if your mum is doing a lot of work with him then it's understandable that he'll see her as his 'mum'.

My pup loves everyone she meets but especially my friend who lives downstairs. I used to feel a little bit like maybe she loved her more than me as she was always SO happy to see her. But over the months our bond has really developed and now even though Kenzie still loves my friend, me and Kenzie have a really special bond.

My advice would be to try to share the care more with your mum, and give it time for a bond to develop. You say that your mum brought the puppy for you, so maybe explain to her that you'd like to help a bit more with the care but make sure your mum still has special time with the puppy too

One more thing - dogs don't really get depressed as such. You say your puppy seems happy when you are playing with him but not afterwards - it's probably far more likely that when you're not actively engaging with him he's taking the opportunity to rest and build up his energy for the next exciting event, which may be when your mum comes home.

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When David and I got our first dog Honey, the chap we bought her from told me she was a ladies dog.

For 2 weeks Honey wouldn't come near me and would only sit with my Hubby!

I was really upset and thought that she didn't like me. After 2 weeks I accepted this and then the tables turned and she indeed became a ladies dog - my dog!

I think she sensed my uncertainty and when I chilled out and just got on with looking after her we became a little duo. She still adored my hubby but was a Mummys girl!!!

I think just try and do all the things he likes. Maybe if your Mum sees him all day, you should be the one in charge of training and taking hime to puppy socialising!

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He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.