Why Does My Dog Bark At Me And Not My Husband?(+Tips)

Dogs are known to bond well with all family members due to their loyal and affectionate nature. But, they sometimes develop unusual behaviors with some members.

Many women also ask, ‘’Why does my dog bark at me and not my husband?’’ Your dog may bark at you and not your husband because it feels you’re a threat to its territory. You may have reacted in a way that scared the dog. Your dog may be more attached to your husband and feels jealous when he ignores it while giving attention to you. However, other reasons can be a lack of trust and exercise.

Let’s get to know more about dogs barking only at one family member and how you can stop it.

Why Does My Dog Bark At Me And Not My Husband?

Here are all the reasons why your dog barks at you and not your husband.

Fear

If you’ve adopted your dog, you don’t know about its past or if it faced any trauma. The chances are that your dog barks at you because it faced mistreatment from a woman before.

If that’s the case, your dog might bark at any woman it sees, and if it stays inside the house most often, you will be its target for barking.

Jealousy

Admit it or not, dogs often bark at others because they don’t like sharing their owners with others. Your husband may share a stronger bond with your dog than you, maybe because he plays with it and takes it for a walk daily.

So, whenever your dog sees you with your husband, it will feel jealous and bark at you. It is only because your dog doesn’t like your husband giving time and attention to you.

Dogs often think of their owners as their mates, and when you come and sit with your husband, it will growl and bark at you.

Territorial behavior

We already know that dogs think of themselves as the leader of their pack. So, they try to show dominance and cannot accept anyone else as the leader. If you have scolded your dog or tried to interfere in its territory, it will think of you as an enemy and will bark on seeing you.

Body language

Your body language may also be a barrier between you and your dog’s friendship. If you have aggressive behavior or have scolded your dog lately, it will develop fear and aggression towards you.

You may also not be greeting your dog the right way. Many new dog owners often rush towards their dog out of excitement, which will definitely make it scared. A bad first impression may ruin the friendly relationship you want to develop with your pet.

Lack of attention

The lack of attention from your side will also make your dog bark at you.

If you share a friendly bond with your dog and suddenly get busy and ignore it, your dog will feel left out. This lack of attention will also make your dog aggressive. If your husband maintains the same attention with your dog and you ignore it, it will bark at you and not your husband.

Lack of trust

It often happens that one person from the husband and wife manages all the tasks of the dog, like taking it for a walk, exercising, bathing, and feeding.

If that’s the case in your house, and your husband manages all the work, your dog will trust your husband and not you. It will only develop a friendly relationship with your husband, and the lack of trust will encourage it to bark at you.

Lack of exercise

Lack of exercise can make any dog lose its mind. If you don’t ensure regular exercise, your dog will become bored and irritated and develop aggressive behavior.

Resource guarding

Dogs usually like to guard their favorite places and toys. The act of kissing and cuddling your husband will feel like a threat to your dog, and it will bark at you to keep you away from him.

Why Does My Dog Bark At Only One Family Member?

All the reasons mentioned above may also account for your dog barking at only one family member. However, here are some additional reasons.

Overstepping boundaries

Our dogs have their personal space, and they don’t like others interfering in them. If any one of the family members crosses these boundaries, your dog will develop hatred and bark at them.

These boundaries can be anything from picking up the dog’s toys to coming into its safe space. They may also jump over your dog out of excitement or touch its ears and feet, but it can provoke aggression in the dog.

Protective behavior

Protective behavior and resource guarding are almost the same things.

If you have a new family member, your dog will think of them as a threat. So, whenever it sees you with them, you’ll notice your dog barking at them. It is only because your dog looks at you as its responsibility and wants to protect you from strangers.

Mistreatment

While many people overstep boundaries unintentionally, some might intentionally mistreat your dog.

If any of your family members repeatedly poke your dog, scold it, or try to scare it, your dog will develop fear and aggression. Your dog will bark at your family member to protect itself.

Excitement

Your dog may also bark at only one family member because it shares a unique bond with them and becomes excited upon seeing them. However, this barking isn’t usually loud or associated with aggression and growling.

Barking due to excitement means that your dog loves that family member and shows love and affection by barking when excited.

Related Post: Why Do Dogs Only Bark At Certain People?(+Tips To Stop It)

How To Stop A Dog From Barking At A Family Member?

Here are all the methods you can follow to stop your dog from barking at a family member.

Positive reinforcement

You need to encourage positive reinforcement to be friends with your dog and make it stop barking.

If you approach the dog suddenly out of excitement, you’ll have to control yourself. Also, never make eye contact with your dog as it will activate its biting and barking instincts.

Another idea is to give treats to your dog and stop scolding it if you do so on small things. Your dog might make mistakes, but you need to calm yourself and train it the right way.

Divide the dog’s tasks

Your dog might bark at you because it isn’t bonded with the other family members and wants to protect you from them. If that’s the case, you must be doing most of the dog’s tasks like exercising, training, walking, bathing, feeding, and grooming.

It’s not the best idea to give all the tasks to another family member immediately. If they suddenly start doing it, the dog might not eat from their hands out of fear.

Also, your dog will become more attached to your family member after some time and won’t like you doing the tasks. You can give them a few tasks like feeding the dog in the beginning, and once your dog starts trusting them, you can divide them.

It will also help build trust, and your dog will get attention from both of you.

Let them play

Dogs love playing around the house. So, the best idea is to let your family member play with your dog more often.

This playtime can include training, exercising, and playing with chew toys around the house. But, make sure that the dog first trusts your family member. Otherwise, it will become aggressive whenever he touches his toys.

Also, it’s a better idea to let the dog win at the end of the play. It will encourage the dog to play more, and winning will make the dog become friends with your family member.

Give attention

Sometimes, the barking behavior of dogs towards one family member only means that it wants attention from them. The dog might have bonded with them before, and when they get busy, it will feel left out and bark at them to get their attention.

However, you may also have an extremely friendly and social dog that plays with all the family members, but one of them doesn’t play with the dog. In this case, the dog will bark at them to get attention and encourage them to play.

Final Words

The barking behavior of your dog towards you or only one family member will definitely make you confused. So, finding out the exact reason and acting accordingly is the best idea.

Our guide contains all the reasons that might encourage your dog to bark at only one family member, along with the solutions, which you can use to stop the dog from barking.

So, make sure you never punish your dogs but stay gentle and reward them with treats, and things will surely turn towards the better side!