Jealousy In Dogs: A Pathology That We Must Control

Jealousy in dogs is something more common than it seems, especially when it comes to capturing the owners’ attention. At first it may be funny, but it is something that we must correct in our pet, since they can become irritated, show teeth or even a sudden change in their mood. All this would cause conflicts in coexistence or in the relationship between family members and the dog.

But it should not be strange to you that dogs feel jealous, since this also happens in humans. Next we are going to talk in this article about jealousy in dogs and how to control it.

Reasons for jealousy in dogs

Jealousy in dogs can arise for various reasons, it is often caused by a change in roles and sometimes it costs them the arrival of a new member in the family or that their owner pays more attention to another pet or even another people.

One of the reasons is the arrival of a new person to visit home, a neighbor or a relative. They quickly perceive that little time is spent on them and then they feel insecure and may even become sad. If someone comes home we must introduce him to the new person  and we can also give him a toy to play with.

If it happens that the one that comes to our family is a baby, we must let him smell it, lick it and even bark at it, it will be his way of recognizing it. Let him have that relationship as long as they are watched. You have to make him understand that although he is a baby, in the hierarchy of the house, he is ahead of the dog.

If the one that comes home again is another animal, you have to let them organize themselves as they see fit, it is better not to intervene in this relationship. You just have to watch that they do not fight abruptly and hurt each other. They will know how to choose and adapt on their own, it is worse if people intervene in this situation.

It may be the case that jealousy is not caused by another animal, a baby or another person. It may happen that you pay more attention to something, then they will feel displaced and they will want to get your attention.

Recommendations to control jealousy in dogs

In general, dogs quickly get used to new situations that arise in the home. Whether they are jealous or not will depend on many factors, but mainly you have to educate them from a young age. You have to get them used to lending their toys, to interacting with other animals and people. In these cases, education is basic.

Get your dog accustomed when he leaves the house, to interact with other animals and let them smell each other, to play together and even to share his food. This is going to be essential for situations that may arise in the future.

Jealousy will also depend on you. In the case of the relationship with another dog, try not to make distinctions with any of them, treat them the same, give them the same affection and attentions and even if the other dog is a puppy, give them the same treatment, so that the adult does not feel displaced.

From the beginning establish a hierarchical order in the home, where the dog occupies the last place and you have to let him know. That is why you should not let him do what he wants , you must put limits on him.

How do you know if your dog is jealous?

It may happen that we do not realize that our dog is jealous and this causes suffering. So there are some indications that this may be happening:

– It may be the case that he suddenly begins to break or bite things at home when he did not before. This he does to get attention.

– There are also sudden changes in mood, suddenly he growls at you and shows his teeth, as he stays calm.

– If you perceive that in front of the same person he is nervous or begins to bark, it may be because of jealousy.

– You may also suffer from jealousy if you are suddenly possessive of a member of the family or another animal.