My daughter and I have a poodle we rescued. No real problems with the dog. My question is this: How do I keep the dog from bonding with me instead of my daughter? She feeds ,walks started obedience training, and all general care. I help with grooming, toenails etc. The dog has already started following me around,and sitting with me.Any suggestions would be helpful.
Lorelei

I'd be interested in hearing what others have to say about this, and whether it's something you can change now, or whether you should even try (may take keeping dog away from you, which doesn't sound like a great idea for the dog considering the dog was a rescue). It's been my experience that dogs choose the person they bond with within a family, no matter for whom the dog was meant. Maybe your dog is used to you being home more often if that's the case (?), so would naturally end up with you more often, following you around for company when your daughter isn't there, getting closer to you that way and then naturally following you around when your daughter is there. I think it's like people...we gravitate more toward some than others. We once got a black lab/short-haired pointer for my older son, she ended up following my younger son around everywhere. Other than that, all dogs I've had since my childhood have all wanted to hang out with me. My pup, now 11 wks old, did the exact same thing from day one at 8 1/2 wks old, chose me and won't let his eyes off me, even when my son is spending time with him. If I walk out of the room, he leaves my son to be with me. Flattering to say the least but sometimes I feel bad for my son, but he's 22, he can handle it <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My daughter is ten and mature for her age. We both have about equal time around the dog. I tend to be the one who gives the more serious verbal corrections right now since my daughter is still learning(chasing cat). I have been slightly ingnoring him some and this seems to help. I make sure my daughter knows when I am doing this so she can give the appropriate attention to the dog. Today he hung out with her more so I think we have progress.Thanks so much for the answers so far. I would love to here more though if anyone has thoughts on this.

Lorelei