Does anyone's husband or bf ever been jealous of your malts??
and how did you handle the situation?

For me personally....I always found that a man that comes into your life after you already have a maltese may have a tougher time w/jealousy and understanding that profund bound we have with our babies. My past boyfriends always got annoyed w/my first maltese, Bijou. They felt they came 2nd and couldn't stand how Bijou always had to be with me. Even my husband, before he was my husband and we started dating... he couldn't deal with Bijou...but did learn to accept him and "tolerate" him once he moved in with me. He and Bijou never had a "bond" though. It wasnt' until Bijou passed away and my hubby and I got Benny and Emma together that he can understand the love for the dogs and have his own special bond with them. Does he think I'm always putting them ahead of him? Sure at times LOL. But he knows they are "OUR" babies together and he loves that I'm like that with them. So to sum up.....from my experience, and of course it maybe completely different for others, but Erik respected Bijou b/c he was my dog. But he is completely different w/B&E b/c they are our dogs together.

How to handle it when jealousy is present? I think if the guy loves you enough then they will over time learn to accept the dogs and respect them b/c they know they mean so much to you. It's always a struggle when you feel like you have to put the guy before the dogs....for some crazy reason it's always easier for me to hurt a guy's feelings than the dogs LOL! Sad but true. I just think it's something that in time you hope can develop. Maybe making day trips w/your dogs and the boyfriend...all go to the park together or on walks. Try to do things that will help create a bond with your bf and your dogs.

I wish I had better advice....but I do understand your question....I've gone thru it all too many times.

No, but if it was me I'd run the other way...we all know what happens in cases like this when things go south.

I would be concerned about the jealousy also. I could see him just not being a dog person easier than being jealous.
I don't have that problem and it is hard to think of the one you love being so childish about your Malts.
Think hard about this as jealousy can lead to more serious problems.
Good luck.

Oh no. I hope this is just a passing thing.....should I get the spare bedroom ready?

They can complicate things - that don't need complicating, can't they.

my ex was never a dog person til he was around buttercup for long periods of time, then he just kind of adjusted and became, what i thought, a pretty good doggy-daddy. but of course, after we broke up, he threw the "you always put me AFTER that dog, anyway!" card at me and i about slugged him.

we get along great now that he has his own dog that his "current" picked out for them. LOL

Uno was a gift from my fiancé who at times felt left out because of all the time and attention I gave to our pup. It's also why he was named Uno by my fiancé who jokingly refers to himself as numero due ("number two"). He also initially went through a bout of calling Uno "your dog" to which I always replied with the correction of "our dog". Funny thing is when my friends' children always ask about our dog, he braggingly says "oh...that's my dog". He says it so proudly like he won a prize that I have to giggle sometimes. I've made a point to make sure they have their own bonding time together, too. I think he wasn't really jealous of Uno, more so just wanting my time. I just have to make sure not to neglect paying attention to my fiancé as well. It's a balance. He's always made a point to tell me how much he loves the way I take care of Uno and how well I've trained him and that he loves Uno a lot, too. I'm sure we'll still have our days now and then when he'll feel neglected, but he definitely now knows he couldn't imagine our life without Uno and says so all the time.

If he's jealous of your dogs, how would he be if you married him and had a baby who consumed your time 24/7? Tell him to grow up or ship out.

my ex was jealous of the dogs. the new guy knows dogs are my life, which is why i love him

I will never forget this. When I lost my first Malt last year, my beloved Moguls, Right after I put him down, my husband said to me " You know I was always jealous of Moguls." I wasn't surprised. I said at the time that I understood, but I didn't apologize.

The bond, as it's been said, It's something that's very hard to understand. Mo was my dog for 8 years before my DH and I were together. And Mo was always MY dog. ( I also paid for everything until the day he passed.)

My husband loved him and Mo loved my DH very much. But the love between a fluff and a person is unconditional. You never have to "make peace" with a furbaby. they love you no matter what. I said to my husband at a later date "that Mo let me do and say things to him that you would kill me if i did or said to you." I coddled him, I worried like crazy over him, I was over protective of him." My DH understood. And I think even now, even though Moxie is both of ours ( although he'll always be mommie's boy..hehehe) He still gets jealous. I just don't do anything. I think they just get use to it. If they don't, then i think you have bigger problem.

Yep, my hubby is jealous of Soda. He didn't have so much a problem with Mikey whom I had when we met, but Soda is also my service dog and VERY closely bonded to me to the point of not caring about other people. I understand how hubby feels, so we do things to encourage his interactions with Soda (ie feeding the dog, training the dog). They have a much better relationship with this extra work. We got Roo/Peeps and specifically let hubby bond with him. Roo loves both of us equally and is happy to stay home and hang with my hubby if Soda and I go out. Roo, whom we've raised together, is OUR dog for sure. But, again, I have to emphasize that we recognized the jealousy, understand the legitimacy of his feelings, and work to address it in a positive way.

My husband isn't jealous of my love for Dixie or of the time I spend with her etc. He is jealous, however, of the fact that she is Mommy's girl. More so when she was a little puppy than now but I still hear "Oh sure, you love me when Mommy's not around but as soon as she comes home you forget all about me." He always says "She's your dog", which she is (Ha!). I spent more one on one time with her when she was tiny and she wouldn't even go to him for quite a while. Now she loves him to pieces and cries when he leaves. She's still Mommy's girl though. So I guess I would say he is not jealous of my love for Dixie but of Dixie's love for me.

No problems with jealousy. Hubby tolerated my little boy who was a rescue. My little guy always growled at hubby as if to say, I'm the man here now lol. He never tried to bite him or anything like that...just sort of a thing between them. He was always good with the first two girls, but we could tell it wasn't a bond even though we have had all the dogs together.ssi

Our 21 yr old was home from school early summer, and was upset with us for whatever we did to indicate we were bossing her around...lol. She took it out on Zippy by fussing at her harshly. Hubby told her to go to her room and shut the door lol. Nobody messes with Zippy when Daddy is around!

I think what some mates don't understand is that the furbabies rely on us for everything. That is the same with children. Those of us who have had children understand what that phase is like, and how meaningful it is. Men who have had children are more understanding and tolerant if they were involved with the care. Also, older men tend to be more patient and understanding as well.

I do hope that this is something that can be worked out without having to make a choice between them.

Charlie totally got jealous of the babies!!! He still says that he prefers our life before them, but he knows how happy they make me. That being said, Shiva adored him and he sure liked that, even gloated at times. And he loves getting closer to Stuart now - I always catch him giving Stuart yummy bites from his food (think bacon), kisses when he puts him on or off the bed, taking a break from work to lay on the floor and play with him and yes, putting his own dirty sock in his mouth and playing tug of war with him!!! And after we lost Shiva, he was the first one to bring up getting another puppy. When I said I knew of a male, he said "Oh no, we definitely need a girl. I don't want all of the fluffs following you around."

I think he's over his jealousy......

My fiance purchased both of my Maltese for me. He gets a lil bit jealous, but not really. He loves them and realizes how much they have enriched our lives. He loves how much happiness Maggie and Abbie give me. Maggie and Abbie are "our" dogs but they really are my dogs. He really adores our girls. It is so sweet to see him this gentle giant (6'5") with these itty bitty Maltese. He honestly has no shame in walking them in their pink harnesses and taking them out in cute outfits.

Personally, I would be concerned if my significant other was seriously jealous of dogs. I think he needs to get over it and grow up a little bit.

i dont think DH is jealous of Mia..he absolutely loves her! he calls her his "daughter"..haha..We spoil Mia like crazy and he is just right up there w/ me. Money of of no object to him when it comes to Mia. But, I do sense that at times, he wants alone time w/ me and since there is only so many hrs in a day, you have to balance work, time w/ fluffs and time w/ hubby. Its just about balance I think. As long as you dont neglect your DH, I dont think they will mind.

That is a precious story!

I felt my husband was a bit jealous, about Mr Wookie, since when I get home Mr Wookie does the "happy dance" but when my husband comes home, nothing.

UNTIL my husband was out with me and we had Mr Wookie with us... HE happily and proudly held Mr Wookie while people gushed over him. Now the first thing my husband does in the morning is play with Mr Wookie and tell him what a GREAT doggie he is.

Glory Girl, well she knows the "evil lurking in men's hearts" she is just not a fan of men at all. She barks so much at both my husband and my son, but as soon as they pick her up, she licks and licks them and will just lay in their arms like a baby.

OH what fun our doggies are for us... any man that can't find that love welcoming, boo on them.

Melanie

Thanks for everyone's input... I just wanted to add that my bf has a child from a previous marriage... which i think is something i always have to deal with... and always be second to his son... so i dont understand how he can say hes jealous of the dogs?! I'm confused about the whole thing.

I moved in with this guy right before Halloween. He knew how i was with my dogs... heck everyone i know, knows how i am with my dogs! lol. I guess i will try to see if i'm not balancing time with the bf and with the dogs... maybe i'm ignoring him completely?

Have you guys been together for a long time? I just worry.....

If my husband's jealous, he's never said anything. Mine is so good when it comes to animals and I guess I need to let him know how much I appreciate that. He bought Karli for me and he's great about buying dog supplies like dryers, combs, and brushes when I need/want them. One time he was out of town and stopped in a dog boutique and called me from the boutique to tell me about some of the items they had. How sweet was that!

We live on a farm and have horses and cows besides the dogs, cat, and fish. My husband especially enjoys the large animals so he's generally the one who cares for the large ones and I take care of the dogs, cat, and fish. If needed, we both pitch in and help out with the other's responsibilities. (I'll be honest and say I have been known to grumble when I have to muck out the horse stalls too often though. )

My husband really loves his horses and enjoys training them, grooming them, and trail riding so he spends a lot of time on them. I've never even considered being jealous of the horses, so I really don't understand being jealous of an animal.

If I were single, I think a guy who was jealous of my pets or didn't like animals would no longer considered a love interest.

We have been together for 1yr 7 months.

robby at first threatened to take cupcake back to her breeder. so i said, ok fine... take her, but dont come back.

it worked! now he loves CupCake... He will call and say, let me talk to cupcake.. she still hates him, but he loves her. he calls her his baby!

Muffin, we got her when he was about to move, so he hasnt really warmed up to her yet.. shes soooo adorable

my girls are a part of me, as are any dogs to their owner... and if significant others cant accept that, then i think, they can really accept you...