Too attached
That's tough, but also common, especially with bully breeds and close-to-man types. The only cure is structure. And I'm seriously saying "only" and opening myself up for criticism, btw. Contrast training is something I can offer you help with. PM me. I don't want to be helpful while the site is under occupation.
Replies (17)
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I have a question and it differs from the threads that have been going on lately. I'm still a newbie so I HOPE that some of my posts won't be too obvious. Can a dog be TOO attached and will it become a problem? Example, my boy follows me EVERWHERE I go in the house and MOST times during the day he'll try to force me to pet him and when I tell him no or MOST times ignore him he'll start to bark little yip barks that I have concluded are COME do what I want. Is this accurate? I also ignore him when I leave but he'll STILL bark when I walk out of the door. I also ignore when I come home but he's shaking so much it's like he's going into convulsions before he attempts to jump, ( I'm REALLY working on THAT one). The constant need for attention is starting to get on my nerve. I have toys laying all around for him but it's just MY attention. I've also gotten to where I pick up toys and give different ones as necessary to NO avail. I canNOT begin to tell you how much I've also spent on toys in the year since he's been here, a new one almost everytime I go into a store that has dog toys. HELP, I need I need my space, LOL. Sorry for LONG post but, HELP!
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That's tough, but also common, especially with bully breeds and close-to-man types. The only cure is structure. And I'm seriously saying "only" and opening myself up for criticism, btw. Contrast training is something I can offer you help with. PM me. I don't want to be helpful while the site is under occupation. -
How much off the property exercise are you giving? Please tell us more about the dog, like breed, age and sex? Has the dog had any type of formal training?
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Male American Bulldog, 16 months old. He gets plenty of walks 4-6 days a week and he's been through 2 OB classes at Petsmart, (I KNOW). He's also been going through OB all summer along with personal protection training and MOST days when I get off work we go into the backyard and go over OB and play and tug work. Example, we JUST came back into the house from about a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes of play, chasing, jumping to grab rope, tugging and ending with OB. Since we've been in the house Butch has not sat down he's come and laid his head on my lap and began barking for attention. I put up another thread showing him in PP training and asking for opinions on his potential. Thanks babigirl I HAVE done and continue to do quite a bit with him that's why it's confusing. Thanks Wolf, LMAO, I will PM you. Love the Peter Griffin icon, (my favorite show). Under occupation, LMAO.
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I have a dog like that but not to such extremes. What I do is completely ignore the dog, if he gets too pushy I correct him with a noise. Put a paw or push on me, I stand up and not look at the animal what so ever. If the dog is still forcing to be #1, I remove it from the area I'm in for a "Time Out". It also helps if you can set him up with a "Helper" around. Have a choke collar (on him) hooked to a leash with the helper holding it. When the dog barks at you, helper pops the collar and gives a noise correction. Do this multiple times and make it count. The above technique had to be used with Eragon. Because for a long time if I sat down, he would try to climb into my lap. Igmuska was very helpful with helping me correct above. Being that he almost weighs two of me, this was not comfortable.
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Thank you AGAIN babigirl, I do try the ignoring AND I also use the timeout, I guess he loves me too much but it CAN become irritating.
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I had this EXACT same problem with my last boy (who was half bulldog). If he was in the back of my ute, I couldn't even pay for fuel without him getting upset at how long I was away from him. If left at home alone, he would pine noisily all day. I ended up getting a professional trainer friend of mine to help. We did seperation exercises for weeks, where we would slowly increase the time apart and reward him like a bit*h! I also increased his exercise rate by double and eventually it worked. To this day I have never seen a dog who needed to be so close to someone! Good luck with your boy. You will solve this problem, but it might be done in small steps. But it will be worth the effort! [br][img:width=320&height=240]{e_FILE}public/1316827046_6309_FT82063_soldiermonkey_23393188.jpg">
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I think this is an indication that the dogs (as Pups) trained you very well to give them what they want. It starts young and grows from there. Will be difficult to untrain but is doable if you first realize that the problem is not in the dog but is in you. -
Actually Gary, while that makes sense in general, the type of dog would play a bigger role in this scenario than simple spoiled dog shenanigans. Oops, never mind me. Not helping.
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Thanks Gary but I wish you would elaborate on that a bit. From the time I first got the pup I was kinda hard, ACTUALLY so hard that my friends said I was too hard, MALE friends mind you, LOL. Wolf, LOL I welcome/NEED help.
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My Tosas are all velcro dogs too. Having more than one dog does help as they interact and can play with each other. I allow mine to play indoors. Most days I'm out with them 4x for walks. Each outing is minimum 30min. I often bike with them too, keeping them at a trot for the half hour. I try to give them an hour of outdoor time each day, i have to be with them because there are no fences in my area. I'm usually doing some yard work, and they can play or just poke around in the bushes. Since I'm out in a rural area, I've got many acres of bush, they run off leash while I walk. And they do like to run, especially when they're younger. When I go out, I don't think they move LOL All this exercise helps keep them settled, and they don't tend to be in my armpits unless they're really bored. My conclusion is, your boy needs WAY more exercise than you're providing. He should be able to take at least the amount of exercise my Tosas get.
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I also thought a second dog might help and I'm considering it but not until next and I also have to see if I'm going to quit teaching and do something I like. With that being said finances will dictate my decision and I may TRY to give more exercise but I also teach karate 3 days a week so I'm PRETTY busy.
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There's dogwalkers that could take him out for an hour at lunchtime. Running around with dogs can take care of pretty well all your exercise needs. Could even do upper body exercise during tug of war. I haven't gone to a gym in 5 years LOL
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I agree with gary.. find a way to communicate to it that its constant plea for attention WILL NOT be heeded to.. my dobermann had a similar trait (he would sneak under my hand and have my palm placed on his head).. but I didn't mind keeping my left hand on his head for a while I worked by my right, and after a while he used to doze off.. but I used to discourage him if he demanded too much attention, and he used to accept it. it should always be you who should decide whether you are attending to the dog or not.. never entertain a dog dictating what you must do, howsoever sweet its persuasion may be.
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Tosamama I'm PRETTY there's no such thing as dogwalkers where I live I do have another option though, LOL. Bright, thanks I try the ignore but he's a bulldog, PERSISTENT and it becomes irritating as hell. I dictate most/ALL of the things he does, did ALL the reading and research before purchasing so I was hoping I had it all covered. The puppy eyes never even get me, it gets SO bad that I'll put him up for a while. I appreciate ALL the assistance/advice offered AND support because, WOW do I NEED it at times, LOL.
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Dog Walking .... A useful tool to get the children out of the house and it doesnt cost a dime
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LOL, agreed
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