Your dog is not weird if they only want to be with you.

NOTES: I’m not referring to resource guarding, reactivity or separation anxiety, but a dog that does not bother to interact with others.

“Oh my dog is weird for not wanting to interact with every dog is it?”

“My dog only wants to be with me, I want them to have doggy friends...”

This is the common thought process for the owner who wanted a “social dog”, and there is a perception that if your dog does not end up liking other dogs and wanting to only be with you that they are odd or “not a normal dog”.
I want to encourage you to know if anything it is actual one of the most helpful things your dog can be and that is how they were made to be!

Dogs are meant to be driven by their close pack, or comrades: and that includes us and the few chosen dogs (or maybe even no dogs!). Pack animals DOES NOT mean being content meeting every dog.

Think about us as humans and our social gatherings for a minute:
We are fairly social as a species and even we like to stick to our close friends and families. We tend to remain neutral to outsiders unless we connect, and we are certainly not going up and meeting every person who we see. We actually avoid eye contact with majority of people as we walk past (looking away, going on your phone), because it is respectful to give space unless invited in.

We know those people who do love to talk to everyone, and most of us do not like those people. This sociability in humans also change over age (more social when young), and this is the same with dogs.

Now think about our dogs:
Most puppies are dog social, but most grow up to be dog selective with age. It is normal and we certainly should not be punishing them or forcing them to interact with every dog (this can also lead to reactivity but that is a different post altogether). Majority of dogs into adulthood benefit best when they are neutral around each other or meeting dogs that mutually want to meet them back, rather than being overly playful (which is usually the culprit for dog fights).

So what may have caused us to think it is weird for them to be this way?
This will be blunt but it is needed to be said: new phenomenon in the last decade is to treat dogs like accessories and force them to essentially do “cute” things so the owner is happy. Cute things like play with the dogs we want, wear the things we want and essentially be the dog we want, not the dog that they are. Dogs that were once used for working and human companionship and not expected to meet every dog, is now forced into a strongly unnatural position.

It is not your fault if you were conditioned to think like this, given the commonality in this mindset. However, now that you are aware, it is a responsibility to do what is best for the dog. So dear owner, take heart and know that your dog is not “odd” for wanting to be your best friend, and start working with your dog’s drive for yourself and use it to have a better relationship.