Have you heard of the saying; "I want to be the person my dog thinks I am"?
Dogs may simply regard an owner as the leader of the pack, but often a dog is devoted to its owner for other reasons. For example, a dog will know if its owner is totally trustworthy and a reliable care provider.
Do you know what your dog thinks of you?
God.
Kidding, of course.
He DOES have too good an opinion of me though, I'm sure. I wouldn't obey myself half as fast as he does, or follow me around the house, or carry around clothing with my scent every time I go to class. I certainly want to take very good care of him to be worthy of that kind of trust and affection.
I think my dog thinks I am her care provider but not the leader of the pack. My chow responds well to me, she for the most part behaves herself. She does not give me a hard time when I have to give her a bath or groom her. She does not tug on her leash when we go for our walks (except when a cat approaches her) and does not get into any mischief inside the house. When she is in the garden however she does not respond immediately when I call her. My husband on the other hand is her pack leader. He calls her and she comes running. He can even take her on walks without a leash.
We had two dogs. Both of them were strays. We got one of them around the time I was born. As a result, we think that she thought that I was her puppy. When we went outside, she would always make sure that she could see me. We might be wrong but we think that she was trying to make sure I did not become lost. Since I was small at the time it seems possible that she thought I was a puppy. She might just have realised I was small and young so she thought she should take care of me rather than believing I was literally a puppy. We got our other dog when I was rather older. I am not sure what she thought I was but she probably thought of me as a playmate rather than anything else. To her, my father was the "food source". Since I rarely provided her with food, she probably thought I was there to warm the bed for her sometimes and generally to keep her entertained. We did have another dog but he died when I was about four years old so I really do not know what he thought of me (if anything).
I really had to look back at my dogs behavior when she sees me come home everyday. She gets really excited, and it can last for five minute before calming down. I give her lots of hugs and kisses to let her know that I love her and I appreciate the love that she is showing me. When I do all of that I realize that she may think that I am her mother. I know dogs have certain instincts but I kind of believe that she thinks that. it is the way that she acts towards me and the mother that gave birth to her. Her mother lives next door, and she will growl at her sometimes and don't want her mother to touch me. So, I think that she feels that I am more than her owner. And I make sure that I treat her as if she is my own child.
I've noticed my chihuahua will show her teeth to other people, but she never does it to me. I've read that dogs will do that to show dominance. Luckily, most people just think it's cute since she's so small, and usually she does it while licking them to death anyway. She's very friendly, even to new people, she doesn't growl at them or anything hostile like that. I like to think that she doesn't do it to me because she thinks of me as her alpha dog. Does anyone know if I'm right about this?