Does my dog no longer care about me?

[curedragon]

Okay, this is a somewhat dramatic title. I have a GSD who is my world, he's never going to be the most affectionate dog but he shows his love/expresses our bond in his own special way.

Whenever he used to return from a walk he would always find me in the house wherever I was and just say hello (ie ask for a 0.2-sec head pat). He would do this even if I was upstairs at the back of the house. But he no longer comes and finds me

Why would this be the case?

Hands up I am on the needy side with my dog but do my best to keep it in.

Who walks him and feeds him?

I feed him the majority of his meals and 50% of walks. The only thing I can think of is that my boy knows I'm always home these days due to lockdown

I feed mine and do 80% of walks. I get 95% of the attention as a result

keep cheese in your pocket....bribery!

Maybe you need to be more enthusiastic about his return 😁
Is he down in any way? Maybe he is feeling a little off.
Maybe he’s tired after the walk.
Bribery is a good shout, or just make sure you do 95% of the feeding and maybe slip in some little treats now & again. ( grated cheese or squeeze cheese is a big favourite here).

I'm already told off for giving my boy too many treats (he's picky and only goes for the expensive brand stuff/chicken breasts)

He's very happy in himself so will put it down to no longer having that puppy energy!

I would take that as an enormous plus and a sign that you’d dog is relaxed and happy when you are not there
For a breed known to be very handler centric (and therefore prone to separation issues) that’s a very good place for him to be

He may just be feeling more confident and know that he doesn't have to check because you're there when he needs you.