Sooky Puppy

[Genabee]

i laugh at Charlie all the time

then he gives me a sadder look, that I have to sit down so he can come over for a cuddle...

haha. But does he

like Elbie does? It's so hard NOT to laugh ;)

I'm sorry.... but I laughed!! :D

He is just so cute. I love his little face....

[koalathebear]

I'm now curious about the difference between knowing when a dog is being a sook and a dog having separation anxiety - which I thought was a far more 'serious' condition. The reason I'm not sure is that in another thread, I have been reading about how it's not normal for a puppy to go from room to room and then get upset if he can't get to you.

Elbie whinges and complains for a bit but usually settles down after a few minutes. When we put him outside, depending on his mood he might complain for a bit (a bit of whimpering, sometimes a bit of barking) but then will go and do his own thing. He only gets let back inside when he's quiet. When we get home, we ignore him and usually don't let him inside until after we've put everything away and settled in.

When inside, he doesn't necessarily have to be in the same room as us but he does like the door open so that he can inspect. He's quite nosy so will follow us around to see what we're doing. If he's interested, he'll stick around, if not he'll go back to his dog bed or go back to playing with his toys. He will whimper and fuss a bit if the door is closed and someone is on the other side - but even then he'll usually settle after less than a minute. I don't see any barking/clawing at doors ... he also doesn't seem to be unsettled for more than a minute or so.

ETA: To clarify, I guess what I'm saying is that at present, we just take a kind of: "too bad, deal with it" attitude to any whinging that comes from Elbie. We were warned that kelpies (including kelpie crosses) can be manipulative little so and sos that push situations to see what they can get away with. So as we see it, he just has to deal with the separation and we don't see anything that concerns us - but I was a bit puzzled that following from room to room and bleating might be considered something to worry about?

Edited September 6, 2010 by koalathebear

[W Sibs]

I think it's natural that dogs will always wants to be with their pack and when they can't, they will protest or whinge about it, but get over it. Some dogs like following their leader around the house... my 2 follow me around the house or often checks up on me. Neither one care if I leave the house either... i left to work this morning, Charlie was snoozing in his day bed and Emmy was finishing up eating her breakfast.. neither one even looked up when I said my usual 'later dogs. be good'.

SA is a dog that can't handle it being apart from their "pack" they will do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to get to them or not be alone. They can seriously harm themselves trying to get to their "pack". They are very unstable and it's really heart breaking to watch. We had a dog that had SA.. he will drool badly, he ate through metal doors, jump through a window...

[aussielover]

He seems to want us together at all times and he'll bark and yelp quite loudly if one of us walks away. The one staying with him of course doesn't comfort him or pander to his behaviour but we aren't sure what to do to get him to stop freaking out. If he's offlead then he's fine and just runs back and forth between us very happily.

Both the monkey whimpering and the 'separation yelping' only lasts for a short while and then he settles but I am a little surprised that he's still such a sook as I assumed he'd grow out of it by now. Does this still happen to anyone else's 'older' pup?

Must be the kelpie/BC in him!!!

My aussie got very upset if the group got split up, if off lead, she would try and herd us all back together!

Apparently Mindy sulks when I am not there, she will sit by the garage door, or by the front door, whichever I was last seen

[iheartmorrison]

Yep another sook here.

Morrison will tap on the window when he's outside and whinges, he'll settle down in quickly. I've noticed that he's taken to licking the window too. He's doing a lot better with his crate, Morrison hated being in it and would whinge, bark and make pathetic grumbling/whinging noises (it's pretty funny) and try and bend the wire. I stopped crate training him because the two of us were getting frustrated. Reintroduced him to it last week and now he will go in it when I say "inside".

He still whinges in there but at least he's not trying to break free.

Actually he likes doing his own thing most of the time, and will check up on us from time to time.

[dancinbcs]

He sounds like every male Border I have ever owned except he is content to be in a different room to you. My boys always want to be as close to me as possible. The boys like to be with their people and are not as independant as the girls.

Also remember he is a working dog, bred to work closely with his handler as opposed to something like a hound that is bred to live and work with a pack of hounds. As a herding breed he also needs to keep his human "herd" together when you are out, so going in different directions is bound to worry him a bit.

[Genabee]

KTB - Does Elbie know the 'wait' command? Genevieve used to squeak and transfer weight from paw to paw when she was separated by a closed door. But whenever I am going somewhere I don't want her to follow (like into our room or the toilet), I always say 'wait'. Now she just sits there and literally, waits for me. She makes no noise at all. I always give her a pat or a cuddle on the way back out. She seems to understand that 'wait' means 'hang on, Mummy will be back in a second'.

I also use 'wait' when I am trying to brush her... she knows that if she lets me do it, it will be short lived!

[koalathebear]

KTB - Does Elbie know the 'wait' command? Genevieve used to squeak and transfer weight from paw to paw when she was separated by a closed door. But whenever I am going somewhere I don't want her to follow (like into our room or the toilet), I always say 'wait'. Now she just sits there and literally, waits for me. She makes no noise at all. I always give her a pat or a cuddle on the way back out. She seems to understand that 'wait' means 'hang on, Mummy will be back in a second'.

Funnily enough he does know the wait command and I used it for the first time in relation to loo time yesterday I wanted him to wait while I ducked into the bathroom and a few minutes later he was still sitting there waiting patiently. It made me laugh at the time.

[Genabee]

KTB - Does Elbie know the 'wait' command? Genevieve used to squeak and transfer weight from paw to paw when she was separated by a closed door. But whenever I am going somewhere I don't want her to follow (like into our room or the toilet), I always say 'wait'. Now she just sits there and literally, waits for me. She makes no noise at all. I always give her a pat or a cuddle on the way back out. She seems to understand that 'wait' means 'hang on, Mummy will be back in a second'.

Funnily enough he does know the wait command and I used it for the first time in relation to loo time yesterday I wanted him to wait while I ducked into the bathroom and a few minutes later he was still sitting there waiting patiently. It made me laugh at the time.

It's nice to know you have your own entourage when going to the loo, isn't it! G always stands slightly to the side of the door too, so she doesn't get stood on when I come out (and not always expecting her to be there). I think she has learnt this from past experience! :p