Tips For A Dog That Is Too Attached To Owner

[Lady Flying Furball]

Hi,

Has anyone had experience with training work for a dog that is too attached to it's owner's presence. I suspect that this is why my dog is again starting to bark when I'm out. It got better and now seems a bit worse again as I just got a letter from my strata. I suspect that it isn't excessive. He never barks when I'm here or at any noises from outside or from neighbours so I suspect it is trying to call me home.

Many thanks.

PS. I have a behaviouralist session booked for July, but hoped to get a bit of advice/ideas from here to try

[Zug Zug]

Not an easy issue to deal with - particularly given the problem behaviour happens when you are out of the house and therefore not available to respond.

One of mine has bad separation anxiety - she's utterly inconsolable when left alone (fine when my other dog is with her).

Not a problem I've been able to eradicate except for the lucky fact that she is bonded both to us and the other dog - so her panic attacks occur only rarely.

But I did have a situation early last year where my other dog was away overnight (in the pound - don't ask) and she slept in our bedroom overnight but had to go outside for the following morning. I'd left notes for all the neighbours warning them that she'd be making some noise, no we were not torturing her and would have the problem under control by lunchtime.

Nonetheless when i returned home before lunch with my other dog (thank goodness!) my lovely next door neighbour was standing at my gate talking to my crying lonely dog trying to console her and stop the crying. Nothing worked - until she saw her little buddy again.

Can get to be a bigger problem as they get older in my experience. Good idea to have a professional trainer to give you some advice. I think there is a professional trainer on this site called 'K-9' something - worth sending them a message to ask for suggestions to tide you over?

[Erny]

How attached are you to your dog, and in what ways do you show that attachment?

[Lady Flying Furball]

Thanks Zug Zug. I am actually booked into see K9 force so REALLY look forward to that, and have decided now to write for some advice and/or an early appointment, as I don't want bad neighbour relations.

Erny, what can I say. You really asked a "straight to the bull's eye" question there! It has been dawning on me how anxious I am to leaving him, my own attachment to him, and worry that he won't cope. I think I may need the behavioural assessment.

I will call for an earlier appointment... Thanks guys.

[Erny]

Thanks Zug Zug. I am actually booked into see K9 force so REALLY look forward to that, and have decided now to write for some advice and/or an early appointment, as I don't want bad neighbour relations.

Erny, what can I say. You really asked a "straight to the bull's eye" question there! It has been dawning on me how anxious I am to leaving him, my own attachment to him, and worry that he won't cope. I think I may need the behavioural assessment.

I will call for an earlier appointment... Thanks guys.

Sorry - it was blunt, but trust it wasn't offensive to you. It was an eye opening question meant to help you answer your own question to your problem and to look at the things you do in your every day interactions with your dog. I think we often know our own answers to our problems but sub-consciously (or sometimes not) don't want to address them for our own emotional 'needs' reasons. (Although different, a bit like why the Nicobate is still sitting unopened on my kitchen bench, waiting for me to address an issue of smoking that I'd rather forget about and not move out of my comfort zone.) I do think many of us could do with a dose of CM's philosophy (which really isn't just his own philosophy, but he does write/explain it the most succinctly that I've seen). IE : Exercise, Discipline, Affection ..... in that order. And more of the Exercise and Discipline IMO. The affection part a dog does need, but we humans seem to need it most and therefore ply our dogs thickly with it. I'm not saying change how you feel about your dog (ie of course, still love him), but change how you show how you feel by reducing the amount of affection display and filling it with more of the exercise and discipline. Sometimes it is a matter of taking a step back a little and let your dogs breath. Give your dog jobs to do. Allow your dog to feel the structure of his position by knowing that he has to do something (that you want) to get something he wants. It will help form the platform of the 'balance' that you are now seeking. There is likely some work needed on the barking issue as there would now be some learnt behaviour there (and K9 Force will be able to help you with that), but being your dog's 'leader' will make it easier to turn that around.

Follow the NILIF program - religiously.

And make it so that you instigate all interactions (rather than your dog instigating them).

Put these things into practice before you see K9 Force will help much. Also, use the TOT program that he wrote and is now a 'sticky' at the top of this forum.

Glad you have the appointment with K9 Force. He will help you a lot.

As for the barking complaint/s - let the strata folk know that you are taking steps to address the issue, ask for their patience and let them know you understand and respect their concerns and are working on the matter to improve and resolve it, but that it just doesn't happen over-night.

Edited May 31, 2009 by Erny

[Zug Zug]

Yes! Agree with all that - and in particular the bit at the end about staying on the front foot with your neighbours.

Tell them everything you're doing to make the situation better. Tell them how concerned you are and how you respect their need for peace and quiet. Write to them or visit them in person if need be - it reminds them that you are a human being and that will help remind them to treat you with respect in return.

I had a similar problem once. I wrote to all my near neighbours apologising profusely for the noise my young dog had been making (now the silent one, ironically - he was easily fixed). I told them everything I was doing to address the problem, gave them all my home number to contact me if they needed to, and encouraged them to make contact with me if they had specific needs or concerns. (They were basically safe people - home number thing obviously a judgement call.)

Some of them did contact me - mostly to say 'that's great' and to let me know how supportive they were and to thank me for the letter and the efforts I was making.

Which was such a relief - I'd been starting to feel like a woman in a bunker with 2 kids and a dog. When in fact it was quite a friendly neighbourhood and all worked out really well.

Hang in there - and I agree with the comments about Cesar Milan's work too. Exercise and discipline are so important! And so many small dogs are really smart so their brains needs to be made busy and their bodies tired to help them relax.