Sometimes we ask ourselves if our dogs love us as much as we love them. And when it comes to Dobermans, they can be difficult to read at the best of times.
This article highlights 10 real signs that Dobermans exhibit when they genuinely love their owner. See if your Dobie does any of the following!
10 Ways Dobermans Show Love & Affection
If you’re wondering whether your Dobie loves you, then watch out for the signs and behaviors listed below.
If your Doberman shows you these signs on a daily basis, rest assured, they are happy, content, and love their owner!
1. Making good eye contact
Dobermans that love and respect their owner will usually look at them directly most of the time.
This highlights a good relationship between you and your Dobie. Looking at you means they are waiting for a command or your attention in general.
Additionally, if your Dobie can maintain eye contact when you look at them, it shows confidence and trust.
A Dobie that can’t look their owner in the eye signifies an issue.
2. Making plenty of physical contact
One of the most reliable universal signs of affection is physical contact. In all shapes and forms.
If your Doberman often puts a paw on you, rests their head on you, pushes up against you, or makes physical contact in any way, it’s a strong sign of love and affection.
3. Excited to see you
If your Doberman exhibits playful, happy, and bouncy behavior whenever they see you, it’s a sign you have a great bond.
This signifies that you are your Dobie’s favorite person and it’s likely they see you as their main leader.
Conversely, a Dobie that disregards your presence or doesn’t react to you arrival, means they likely don’t feel that connected to you.
4. Relaxed body language around you
Dobermans are very sensitive to their environment and whos around, which makes it easy to spot when they are relaxed or on edge.
If your Dobermans assume positions like laying on their back it shows that they feel very safe and confident when you are there.
While this might not seem like a big deal to us, this is huge for dogs! Feeling comfortable and safe around you is a sign of an excellent bond.
5. Always listening to you
When a Dobie sees you as their leader, it’s the highest form of flattery they can offer. And when this happens, they’ll be completely attentive to you at all times.
A behavior that Dobermans often engage in is continual listening. The sound of your voice becomes very important to your Dobie. Even when they’re resting, their ears will still twitch every time you speak.
This is more of an indirect sign of showing you love and affection, but what it signifies the most is a very strong bond between the both of you.
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6. Checking up on you
If your Dobie loves you, then they’ll always be ready to protect and appease you, which means being by your side.
You might witness your Doberman comes to “check in” on you. This is their way of seeing if you’re okay.
This can be done inside the home and even when out during daily walks.
7. Licking you!
Although experts have not yet confirmed if a dog lick is their equivalent of a “kiss” it still signifies affection.
If your Dobie often comes to lick you (especially in the face). It’s their way of saying they love you.
Of course, this behavior isn’t something many owners like and often correct when it happens. But just know, for a Dobie to do this, they must really like the person they put their slobber on!
8. Wanting to play with you
If you notice your Dobie randomly coming to you with their toy and initiating play time, it means you’re their favorite person.
Dobies love to play, and if it’s you they choose to play with, that’s a great sign!
Your Dobie might also bring you other random objects, as if to say, “hey, look what I brought you”. Again, the fact they want to engage with you, means your bond is strong.
9. Eyebrow and ear movements
A little-known fact about Dobermans (and dogs in general) is that they move their eyebrows and ears when they look at someone they trust and care about.
Japanese researchers noticed a particular body language pattern whereby dogs raised their left eyebrow and moved their ears back when looking at their owner.
Those dogs that often disobeyed or disregarded their owner, did not exhibit the same sign.
While it’s very subtle and hard to see, the next time your Dobie suddenly looks at you, check out their eyebrows and ears!
10. Always obeying you
While this is a sign of good training, it also suggests a strong bond.
A Doberman that obeys its owner to a fault signifies a good and trusting bond, which means they most certainly love you.
If your Dobie doesn’t have a good connection with you, they’ll have less regard for your commands.
This is particularly true when it comes to calling their name (recall). If you only need to say your Dobie’s name once for them to come running back to you, rest assured your Dobie sees you as their leader and the most important person in their life.
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Doberman Affection Explained
When it comes to Dobermans, perhaps the most important thing for them is to feel safe and secure around their owner… If you can make them feel this way, then your Dobie will love you.
Fortunately, the dogs in our lives are way less complicated than humans…
So as long as you meet the basic needs of your Dobie, and give them plenty of your attention and focus, you will have a great relationship effortlessly.
Dobermans are a fairly affectionate breed compared to many others. They often like to make physical contact and enjoy evening cuddles… So this makes it fairly easy to sense how they really feel about us.
Think your Dobie doesn’t love you?
If your Dobie seems distant with you, disengaged, can’t look you in the eye, or avoids you in general, then this would signify a problem.
They may not feel comfortable around you or you may not be spending enough time with them in general.
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Improving The Bond Between You & Your Doberman
Want to improve the bond you have with your Doberman?
Ways to improve your bond:
- Prioritize their exercise in the morning
- Be the one to feed them
- Be the one to train them (daily)
- Be sure to praise them regularly after good behavior
- Be the one to introduce new treats
- Talk, play, and focus on your Doberman throughout the day
- Give more belly rubs!
- Spend more time around your Doberman (don’t leave them alone)
- Be calm around your Doberman (extremely important)
- Be consistent with providing your attention and care
While it looks like a big list, most of this will come naturally, providing you are meeting the basic needs of your Dobie!
Your bond will no doubt improve once following the tips above.
Thanks for reading!
Extra Info: Insider: Signs Your Dog Likes You