Hi all, I have a long haired chihuahua, I got him as a puppy when I was 18 living in a house off of campus at college. For the first year we were tight as can be, he absolutely idolized me and I adored him and our time together raising him as his momma was so precious to me.
At the end of that year though my living situation changed and I had to move back on campus unexpectedly- I never thought I would have to- and I wasn’t allowed to have him living on campus with me. It broke my heart to pieces but he went to live with my parents, bless them ...2 hours away. I didn’t have a car. That meant unless I took the expensive, nightmarish school shuttle to return home for a weekend or I was on winter/spring/summer break, I didn’t get to see him.
Though I tried, I couldn’t find off-campus housing where I could keep him for the rest of my time in college, and so this continued for the next 2.5ish years until I graduated and returned home for good. In the beginning when I would return home he would cling by me constantly, spending as much time with me while I was home as he could. But as the months and years passed he is still excited to see me, but he has grown accustomed, I think, to viewing my parents as his owners. I don’t blame him, after all they were the ones feeding him and walking him and caring for him while I was away. I sometimes fear he feels I abandoned him.
So now I’m out of college, but I work 10 hours a day 4 days a week, and usually spend 2 days a week driving to see my s/o who i am in a LDR with. Because of this I only get the weekday evenings and one quality day a week to spend time with him. I know he loves me, he’ll sleep on my bed most nights and cuddle me and is excited when I get home, but I really feel bad because I can tell that his bond with my parents has grown stronger than hours. He’ll spend much more time with them, sometimes even when I’m there (though sometimes it is because they’re snacking and he is a class A beggar). I don’t blame this on him at all, I just wish that I could rekindle the bond we once had.
I know this may seem like a silly issue to some but it is very important to me, I love that little guy. Before anyone says anything about this- if I had any idea I would have had to move back into non-pet housing when in college I would not have adopted him, the housing issue was one that surprised us all. I had the money to provide him with food and vet care, and I had every intention of caring for him every day.
So please, if anyone has any serious suggestions I would very much appreciate it, thank you.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/b8x8u2/how_to_get_my_dog_to_bond_with_me_again/
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