IS Your Dog Obsessed with Your Partner?
Understanding Pack Dynamics, Leadership and Attachment in Real Life
Is your dog obsessed with your partner? Always trailing one person while ignoring the other?
This 2-minute clip is just a glimpse into a 20-minute one-on-one consultation from inside our private Pack at pack.thesupercanine.com where Olimpia works with one of our Thrive Members to unpack a common but often misunderstood behavior dynamic.
Our Pack Member checks in with Olimpia about Arya's behavior during a stay at a new environment near a lake. The discussion centers on pack dynamics, attachment tendencies, play style, and managing behavioral nuances in unfamiliar settings.
Olimpia emphasizes the importance of understanding dog psychology in social settings, reading canine signals during play, and reinforcing leadership through consistency and boundaries.
The discussion delves into leadership dynamics, play behavior, and training methods that support adaptation in new environments, while underscoring the importance of recognizing each dog’s unique personality and the impact of their human companions.
What the Full Session Covers
This isn't just general advice. It's a real conversation about a real dog.
Why dogs often assign leadership roles to specific people
How energy and body language influence attachment
How play reveals personality and insecurity
When to step in and regulate high-arousal games
How to help your dog feel safer and more connected to you
Takeaways
Pack dynamics have little to do with obedience and everything to do with perceived structure, safety, trust, and emotional gravity. A dog’s bond with their humans follows the same rule: it’s not preference that guides them, but perception. Dogs naturally follow the presence that feels calm, confident, and predictable. When a dog gravitates toward one person, it’s not favoritism, it’s a reflection of where they find emotional steadiness and/or clear guidance. More often than not, it mirrors the dynamic you share with that individual yourself.
Attachment shifts and behavioral changes are common in new environments. Dogs absorb the emotional tone of those around them: confidence builds confidence, while tension breeds insecurity. Maintaining clear rules, intervening before play escalates, and setting consistent social expectations reinforce a sense of leadership and safety. This clarity helps the dog understand boundaries while reducing anxiety about who is “in charge.”
Play and exploration are essential parts of confidence building, but they require thoughtful supervision. Rough play without breaks can quickly escalate into aggression, so recognizing cues like stiff posture, persistent chasing, or one dog looming over another is key. Intervening at the right moment communicates safety and reliability. Over time, as the dog feels secure and supported, their confidence expands naturally, allowing them to engage more evenly with both guardians, explore new settings calmly, and respond more reliably to cues.
Watch the Full Consultation (+ BOOK YOUR OWN!)
This kind of consultation is just one part of what we do inside the Thrive tier of our private community.
Think of it as a space where community meets coaching, where learning is ongoing, and where you're never left to figure it out alone. Members can:
Watch full video consultations like this one
Book their own one-on-one coaching sessions
Join monthly live Q&As with Olimpia
Connect with other dog people who get it
The Pack is science-based, heart-forward, and ad-free. No noise, no algorithms, no misinformation. Just clarity, support and real tools that actually work.
➡️ To view the full video and get access to all Thrive Member benefits, join us at pack.thesupercanine.com.
