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My Puppy is 5 months old and VERY clingy.
I have had my puppy since he was 9 weeks and he is just now hitting 5 months and has become VERY clingy in the past few weeks. He hates it if I leave the room. He will cry and stress out. If I am sitting in the living room he HAS to be sitting right next to me. If i scoot over, he will do the same until he is touching me (which is cute but I'm not sure if it is healthy). And when my husband tries to occupy the pup with games while I try to do house work the pup wont have it. It has to be me playing with him...I have obviously somehow spoiled him, but entertaining a puppy all day long is getting exhausting! haha. Any suggestions on how I can get him to be a little more independent or is this completely normal for his age?
Asked by
GUS
on Aug 17th 2009
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in Behavior & Training
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I suspect pups do go these annoying stages much like human children.
How about obedience training? Training a long down stay is one of the best control exercises your dog can learn. Start by simply insisting he lay down next to you for a period of time. 5 minutes maybe? Then he needs to stay there when you stand and sit down. Practice until he will stay even if you move out of the room. Reward can be a tiny not very delicious cookie or bit of kibble or praise if that makes him happy. Once he can stay at that spot for 5 minutes no matter what screwy things are going on all around take it on the road and have him down stay in different places. Each new place start from the very beginning [you stay with him, move a bit, move out of sight in stages as he can handle it]. Sounds hard but he will get better with each new place. ALWAYS remember to go back and release him or he will learn to do it himself.
Sassy
answered on 8/17/09.
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That is pretty normal.
I would say he is hooked on you:) He is adorable by the way.
I spoil all puppies so don't feel bad about it.
Dieta
answered on 8/17/09.
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A clingy dog is actually great to work with when training b/c they like you SO MUCH they just want to please you.
Independence training starts with the basics. Sit, down, stay, come & no. This instills confidence.
Work slow & work in one area. If crate trained, start there with the door open. If not, use his favorite spot. Starting with sit, & reward when he does it, Next down, and so on. When you get to stay, go VERY slow.
I always start this one while watching TV. I move 6" to 1 foot and as I do, I say stay. Wait about 15 secs. If he stays reward him. Move to 30 sec, 45, 1:15 and so on.
When you get up to aprox 10 mins increase the distance to 2-3 feet. Start at about 1 min. Increase the time a bit as you increase the distance. If he gets up, revert the training.
DONT TRY TO HURRY THIS. It may take 2 hrs or 7 days to get results. Keep the sessions short. Set a goal for each session, when you get there reward with lots of play! Keep it fun, the dog will learn faster
Patchs
answered on 8/17/09.
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I have a pomeranian who still has some separation anxiety. You may be spoiling him a bit, l know I spoil my puppies with love, but some breeds are just more faithful and loyal to one person than others. His behavior may cause a problem though, because if you ever need to go somewhere for a long period of time, your pup may be so depressed he may not eat or act normal at all.
Try taking him to dog parks, and bringing him around more people to socialize him. Sometimes you just have to ignore the fact that he's whining, and reward his silence with treats. That's how I trained my pup and she's now one and really only freaks out when she's in new uncomfortable situations.
You can still love your dog, but at a reasonable level. I know that it is probably frustrating to your husband also when he can't even play with him without him wanting to go to you. Just have some patience, and try implementing more play time for him, specifically with your husband. Good luck!
**Mika**
answered on 8/18/09.
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