Do you love one of your dogs..

Squidbert

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#1
.. more than the other? For multi-pupper owners or even for people who have had other dogs in the past..

I'm not sure if I actually love one more than the other.. but I get a stronger feeling of love for Squid than I do for Tiki.. and I feel bad about it! When I got Tiki 3 years ago I felt like she was the best dog ever.. like no other dog would ever make me as happy as her.. and I don't think Squid has replaced that.. I think it's just different..
Like when I look at him all curled up sleeping I just get this happy, proud, attached feeling to him that I don't get with Tiki.. I thought I got that feeling with Tiki until Squid came into the picture..

I know I don't LOVE Squid more than Tiki.. maybe it's just a different feeling cause I've raised Squid from 3 and 1/2 weeks of ago.. Tiki was 3 or 4 when I got her.. I guess it's just a different kind of bond..

Anyone else know what I mean and/or relate?
 

Lizmo

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#2
Yep...I know how you feel! :)

I love Major but he is not MY dog...Lizzie is MY dog and I have a STRONG bond with her and she really is my heart dog! :D I love her more than I love him but I still love him it is just a have a stronger love with her! :)
 
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Kase

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#3
I can't relate because I have only ever had Casey. But I do know she is my heart dog and if I was to get another dog know my feelings for him would not be as 'strong' as those for Casey. Just remember there are many different levels of love ;).
 

Lizmo

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#4
I can't relate because I have only ever had Casey. But I do know she is my heart dog and if I was to get another dog know my feelings for him would not be as 'strong' as those for Casey. Just remember there are many different levels of love ;).
Ditto! :) :D
 

Toller_08

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#5
Tango is the only one who truly belongs to me, so yes, I love her way more than the others and have a much stronger bond with her. This is going to sound absolutely awful to a lot of you I'm sure, but I really don't have much of a bond with the other dogs. I do love certain things about them, and if something were to happen to them, yes I'd miss them. I hope that makes sense and doesn't make me sound like a horrible person...I guess it's just different if you actually spend time with, raise, and train a dog. I help out with the others, but apart from that, I rarely even ever see them...they're always with someone else in the family.
 
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~Tucker&Me~

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#6
I know and can back you up that there are different types of love.

Not that I love one over the other, I just love them in different ways.

For example, Luke, our first dog had a great bond with me. He was like a 'father' to me, and was forever watching out for me. He was SO loyal to his family. For example, my little brother would go to bed first. Luke would lie at the foot of his bed, keeping him warm and 'protecting' him. As soon as my brother fell asleep, he would come into my room (as I was the next to go to bed) and do the exact same thing. Once I was asleep, he would move to my parents room and lay at the foot of their bed.
He was very sweet and SO tolerant of me grabbing his ears and pulling his tail :rolleyes: . However, if someone where to threaten my or a weirdo to come too close he would pull out his teeth and let them know that if they didn't back up, they would get a faceful of teeth.

Tucker on the other hand, is much more submissive and less protective. I KNOW I am in charge and am the one protecting him from the evil kitty next door :)rolleyes: ). He always comes to me when he is scared and looks to me for direction in situations in which he is unsure of what to do. He has a much better working bond with me then Luke did.

Nevertheless, I love each equally and wouldn't change a hair on their body.

~Tucker
 

sam

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#7
I don't think I love one *more* than the other but it would be fair to say I love them differently, they are such different dogs. I also think there are some typical differences between the different genders and therefore how we feel about them.

I tend to feel more protective of Sammy. He is so ridiculously sweet and just wants to be GOOD and do a job RIGHT. He worries if he thinks he hasn't done something right. He is also so very tolerant and polite with both people and other dogs. He isn't super cuddly though- even though he is very devoted and loyal- he is sort of a lay at your feet at night type of guy.


Rosie is such a hard driving, enthusiastic dog, when she is working/competing people tend to gather round and watch. She is the one people ask about.(the one Dr2 wanted to steal) She just oozes a love of life and love of everything she does. She is joy embodied. She is also a huge cuddler, lover of children and tries to get in the middle of everything. As much as a adore her and feel she is a once in a lifetime dog, the perfect aussie etc I don't think I feel the same connection with her as I do with Sammy. I think if I died he would be beside himself and mourn/fret for weeks - if she was rehomed with nice people who looked after her well, she get over it in three days ;)
 

RD

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#8
Not one more than the other, but in a different way. I have a different relationship with Ripley than I do with Dakota.

Ripley isn't my dog anymore. Something happened along the way and he bonded exclusively with my mother. My mom walks into the room and he just lights up. He doesn't do that with me. I still love him and he still loves me, but he's not mine anymore. Because of that, I don't spend as much time with Ripley since he's usually with mom. I still feed/groom/exercise/train him but he spends most of his time with her and sleeps with her at night. I still love him dearly and still think of him as my baby (and he still eats up the attention and spoiling I give him) but his heart does not belong to me.

Dakota is completely, exclusively mine. It probably does seem like I love him more because he's always glued to my side. I don't own him either, it's more of a partnership. We're totally wrapped up in each other. My relationship with Dakota is deeper than my relationship with Ripley, I think mainly because Dakota and I work together on a daily basis. For a long time I relied on Dakota to get a job done, and we've had to build a better understanding of one another in order to communicate clearly in agility.

it isn't so much about love, because I love both of my dogs dearly. I think for me it's more about the connections I have with each dog, and I definitely have a stronger connection with Dakota.
 

Gig 'Em Ags

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#9
My-oh-MY, that is a rather difficult question. I try to share my love equally among all my dogs, though I must admit, those that have been abused do receive a bit more TLC.
 
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#10
I do gravitate toward Lilly much more than I do toward Radar. I just feel like I am more tightly bonded to her. Now I fell terrible admitting this, and I would never say it anywhere but here, but I actually loved one of our shelter dogs more then both of them. She was truely my heart dog and Idon't think I'll ever bond to another dog as tightly as I did to her. We ended up having to have her PTS but I loved her dearly.
 

smkie

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#11
That to me is the difference between the dogs i love which i do, and the ones i call my heart dogs. You can't help but feel a stronger attatchment even if you don't want to feel that way you do. It is unforunate that they know it as well. I do believe they accept it as they would the ranking of a pack, but that is just a theory.
Bless you Gig Ems for those are the ones that need it the most.;)
 

Buddy'sParents

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#12
Well.... Buddy is my heart dog so that in itself entails a lot more than I could ever put into words. We have a strong bond, I love him in different ways than I do Banzai.

Banzai I also love, but it's different. Would I fight the same and do the same for him as I do for Buddy? Absolutely...it's just a different love... I can't explain it, I really can't.
 

Squidbert

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#13
I'm thinking the reason the bond between Squid and I is stronger is not only because I raised Squid from a little bitty baby but also because Tiki hasn't always been settled with one family or person.. I'm not sure of her history but she was certainly with at least one other person for 3-4 years.. and was then in a foster home for a while.. and then came to me.. the feeling I get from her is more of independence.. almost like she keeps a bit of distance, emotion wise.. but with Squid maybe since he's only known me as his family he's more open to giving his love and affections..? And that makes the bond between me and him feel stronger.. I think that makes sense.. ? :)
 

smkie

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#15
I don't know why Bronki and i were so tight, and i don't know why Victor slithered his wiggly self right into Bronki's spot on the bed and in my heart. I love my Mary dearly don't ever get me wrong, but she is content in her place with me and doesn't insist on the limelight. Mary is getting ready to leave me soon, i know that, and i don't know if my reaction is a way of self heart protection either. I have never felt and don't know if i ever will again that power that Bronki and i had, it was as if we were of one mind. He is the only dog i ever felt knew me through and through as i did him. Pickie was my playmate as a child, Charlie my protector, but Bronki was a part of my soul. THere are no words i can find to say that better.
 

Honey_Bear

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#16
I love Honey more for her protectiveness, loyalty, and smartness, Princess more for her cuteness, her sweetness, and her love, and Oscar more for his happy-go-luckiness, funniness, and his shyness. So I love them all more for different reasons.
 

elegy

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#17
i don't think i love one dog more than the other, but there's something special about my relationship with luce. maybe it's because i appreciate her drivey, intense personality more than i appreciate shroomdog's laid back, mellowness.

they're both my babies, and they're my heart.
 

Southpaw

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#18
I absolutely love Molly more. This is going to sound so horrible, but I just don't have that kind of 'attachment' to Lucy.

Lucy was supposed to be "my" dog, I paid for her, but that connection just really isn't there. I think my mom loves her a whole lot more than I do (not to say I don't love her.)
 
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#19
Okay, I only have one dog, but I have to be honest and say as a person seriously thinking about getting a second dog this thread is kind of depressing and making me second think it :(
 

Whisper

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#20
I love my dogs so much and in very, very different ways. But I do think my bond with Millie is tighter. Like Squid said I've had her for so long she knows nothing else. I've actually had her from day, hour, minute one. The bond I have with her is so overpowering.
I love Lucy so much, too, and we are getting closer each and every day as our bond grows while time passes. But Millie is absolutely devoted to me while Lucy is more independent.
When I look at my dogs, especially Millie, my heart just fills up and I beam. All the pain that I've felt in my life is no longer left a gaping hole. I will always know of my dogs as my soul savers. Sometimes I just have to give them an enormous hug and tell them how much I love them. I can't help but cry when I think of the day I will lose them. I don't know how life would go on without my babies. . .
Millie is absolutely my heart dog, though. . .she is from Mandy who I lost at such a tender age, and she has saved my mom's heart and soul as well when she was going through cancer. Millie would tuck her in with her snout and guard her, and run and bark to people when my mom was having a spasm or vomiting and choking from all the side effects on chemo and radiation. She always protects me when I am scared and I know my girl would do anything for me. Millie is like an alert dog, when there's something wrong with me or my mom she knows it even if we don't. She is just a pure gold heart of love.
I can't say I love her more, but I love them SO differently.
Lucy is a quite a character and she is so comforting when I am having a panic attack. I just reach down under the covers and feel her breathing and it calms me down. We are bonded very much and it grows each day. She is endlessly entertaining and she is quite a character. But she can switch into a cuddly, comforting, calm mode. She is sooo loveable.
I love my dogs.
 

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