7 Signs Your Dog Has Imprinted on You

Wondering how to tell if your dog imprinted on you? Certified Dog Trainer Hannah Richter breaks down what imprinting is, how it works in dogs, and the heartwarming signs your pup may have imprinted on you.

TRANSCRIPT

Ever heard of imprinting? It's not just a term from Twilight. Today we're talking about what imprinting is and how you can tell if your dog has done it to you. I'm Hannah and this is Rupert and Bean. Imprinting is when an animal chooses someone in their life to model their behavior after. This will often be one of their parents whom they will choose to model their behavior after because they need someone to look up to to understand how to move about and engage with their environment. Take a baby chick for example. They enter the world immediately able to move around their environment, which means they need to figure out who to model their behavior after quickly so they know how to engage in the environment. As a result, a chick will imprint on the first moving thing it sees and will follow them around exclusively. Given the magnitude of this first attachment, appropriate imprinting is critical for these species. Dogs don't imprint in the same way that other animals do. However, they do have sensitive periods where they're more receptive to learning about the things in their environment and they're more likely to start to try to follow another dog or person in the environment so that they understand how to behave. So, during the first seven weeks of life, your puppy is like a little sponge where they're really just starting to absorb information and they're starting to experience stimuli in the environment for the first time. They're also starting to have some social interaction, but at that age, it's really limited to their litter and their mothers. From about 7 to 12 weeks is when your puppy's world really starts to expand. They'll start to then interact with other species, which includes humans. During this sensitive period of 7 to 12 weeks is when you're most likely to leave a really strong impression on your puppy, and that's when they'll start to imprint on you. You'll likely start to notice that your dog views one person as their main caretaker, kind of their person and all-around BFF. If you're adopting an adult dog, your dog can absolutely still imprint on you. It will just take a little bit more time given that they're a little bit older and they're not still in this sensitive period. Now that we've discussed what imprinting is, let's talk about how you can tell if your dog has done it to you. They follow you around. They mirror your behaviors. They follow your cues more than others. They seek out your companionship and affection. They give you a lot of eye contact. They hang around or snuggle with your belongings. And lastly, they take care of you. The time that it will take for your dog to imprint on you will vary depending on how old they are. A young puppy is likely to imprint pretty quickly. With an adult dog, it will still happen. It'll just take a little bit more time. Remember, patience is key. Thanks so much for watching. See you next time.