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serena2005

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Hello all,

havent been on here in a while, but i thought idask for your help and ideas.

My German shep x follows us around the house constantly!
not so much me, but my OH, and hes the type of bloke that likes his own space and dont want to share it 24/7 with the dog!!

when he 1st came we thought it was just something he would stop once he settled, but he hasnt and it gets very frustrating, not living in the biggest house there really is no need for him to be within sniffing distance all of the time!

how can we stop him from doing this? i dont mind if its only every so often he does it.
i had to stop him sleeping in our bedroom, so now he sleeps against the bedroom door! so he falls in the room if u open the door suddenly! lol

allthough i have noticed hes started sleep elsewhere around the house, so there is some improvement.

also when he thinks its walkie time he whines like crazy, drives us mad!

please any helpfull tips would be really great
thanks xx
 
hes quite well trained.
he will lie down and stay, but if u stay out of sight for too long he will get up and find you.

i understand why he does it, he is only 18 months and we are his 4th owner. so its only natural he acts like this, but sometimes it stresses us out when your rushing around or something and u end up falling over him coz hes under your feet the whole time!
 
I still say he's a purebreed! :p
He looks just like my fella, only with more bone, hair and soft ears - but hey, I've been wrong before about that :p

Personally it wouldn't bother me, if the dog came first, stuff the OH!

Could you introduce a crate into his routine, or a 'bed' or special place and make being in it a positive experience, feed him there, make him sit with a kong or a bone in there.

It sounds as if he isn't sure of his role in the house/hate to say it, but 'pack' and needs to follow you around to keep an eye on you to make sure you are OK (or that you're not going to abandon him), please send him the correct signals, IE you are OK, YOU look after him, not the other way around, and be consistent, don't allow things sometimes and disallow other times, he will not understand when is right or wrong.
 
Hmm definitely sounds like a pure Shepherd to me;), you want to try having one with poor eyesight who has to be lying touching you at every opportunity! As for walk time, mine don't whine they scream, I had to explain to neigbours that I wasn't killing them. To be more serious, advice above is all good, as you say he has had quite a disrupting start to life, and he is still only a baby, I am sure with a few more positive ground rules he will give you a bit more space.
 
I just had to write and say I have the same problem with my two dogs, I can't take a p**s without the two of them trying to get on my lap, and one of them is a boxer! The boxer has always been a bit clingy, but the little one, a terrier, has just started it recently. Before she was very independant. We have just moved house so I'm guessing it's that, but we've moved house with them a couple of times and they've never been this bad before.

Anyway, I'm sorry I can't help you, but I do feel your frustration! The only thing that keep me sane is knowing that at least somebody loves me :D
 
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looks nothing like a shep apart from colouring!! lol :)

he has a mat that i have tried to teach "bed" and i just have to point at it and he will go and sit there eg at our dinner time.

i think time will help, and training the OH to be more patient, when everyone is home, he will sit on his bed and chew his bones or what ever we have got for him, it just if u get up to make a cuppa he thinks hes missing out on something and rushes after you!

maybe he just needs more time
thanks x
 
La Fiaba said:
I just had to write and say I have the same problem with my two dogs, I can't take a p**s without the two of them trying to get on my lap, and one of them is a boxer! The boxer has always been a bit clingy, but the little one, a terrier, has just started it recently. Before she was very independant. We have just moved house so I'm guessing it's that, but we've moved house with them a couple of times and they've never been this bad before.

Anyway, I'm sorry I can't help you, but I do feel your frustration! The only thing that keep me sane is knowing that at least somebody loves me :D
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OMG yes going to the toilet! he sits outside and whines! why!? is there any need!? lol
 
What others have said ^^ :)

Mine was just the same for months tbh, though he arrived here at 8 weeks so slightly different situation. If I went to the bathroom, guaranteed I would open the door to find him sat there waiting for me. If I stood up to go to the kitchen, he stood up etc. :rolleyes: I just blanked him (admittedly easier to do with a pup!) and continued what I was doing, alongside teaching all the usual boundaries and rules :) He still does it occasionally now (8 months) but generally he's a lot more chilled out. If I'm busy working (being boring) he'll take himself off one of his snooze spots or chew one of his treats in a different room and that kind of thing if he feels so inclined. And then sometimes he just sits at my feet. Fair do's really!

Takes a lot of patience but one of the first things that I noticed when he started improving was that he would sleep in a different room for a while, of his own accord. Since your lad seems to be doing that, even if he does come to find you when he wakes up, he's getting there! :)
 
I bred a dog that was a dead ringer for your lad, but a gold sable. Top winning sire, and the dam was litter sister to a breed champion, but this particularly pup had soft ears. His owners loved him to bits but I did refund nearly all their purchase price as he shouldn't have turned out like that.:o
 
Pix said:
What others have said ^^ :)
Takes a lot of patience but one of the first things that I noticed when he started improving was that he would sleep in a different room for a while, of his own accord. Since your lad seems to be doing that, even if he does come to find you when he wakes up, he's getting there! :)
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thats a relief! thanks :) hes good in the mornings, pays no attention to me he lays outside bedroom door dosent even move when 5 year daughter old steps over him again and again!

i think he just gets worse when he thinks its time to go for a walk!
 
You need to encourage and reward him for spending time out from you, i.e (place him in kitchen (with a lovely bone/kong filled with tuna)
place a baby gate on the stairs and move the sleep area to down and don't encourage him up the stairs anymore, its not so bad of an issue sunless seperation anxiety creeps in but teaching him to atleast stay down stairs would be a good start and in another room whislt u ar ein the house instead of in the same room as u all the time.
 
CaveCanem said:
Isn't he! (Careful Selena or I'll buy you a DNA kit for Christmas and he will end up on Jeremy Kyle :p) he is looking super, well done :)
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LOL, he's filling out!
and not looking so super at the mo! he rather likes muddy puddles! very dissapointed snow has gone, poor pooch!

Foxyfilly, i think he is cross leonberger! so does every other dog person that meets him in pet shops!
 
CAYLA said:
You need to encourage and reward him for spending time out from you, i.e (place him in kitchen (with a lovely bone/kong filled with tuna)
place a baby gate on the stairs and move the sleep area to down and don't encourage him up the stairs anymore, its not so bad of an issue sunless seperation anxiety creeps in but teaching him to atleast stay down stairs would be a good start and in another room whislt u ar ein the house instead of in the same room as u all the time.
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thanks for replying, we dont have stairs we like above a pub!

how long would u keep him out of a room you are in? i feel bad we are out at work (although OH works at home does spend some time with dog) and then come home and shut him out :(

he wont eat his bone unless everyone is home and all together watching telly or something. if someone isnt home, he will sit in the hall, waiting for them.
what about greeting when we do come home? i always thought u should not make a big deal out of it, but OH reckons hes rewarding him for being on him own...?
 
serena2005 said:
what about greeting when we do come home? i always thought u should not make a big deal out of it, but OH reckons hes rewarding him for being on him own...?
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Dog doesn't see it like that, dog sees it as reinforcement that he was right to be worried where you were all that time. He makes a fuss when you come home because he was worried where you were and is saying 'Oh my God! It's OK! You're safe!' In my opinion....
I do greet my dogs when I come home, but in my own time. So they know, I'm back, but I am just going to pootle around for a while, do stuff, ah, there you guys are, hello!
 
Would agree with CC re: greeting the dog. If you look at it closely, what frame of mind is the dog in when you come back? Likely a little stressed and massively enthusiastic about your safe return. Any fuss would only reinforce that you too, are massively happy about your return, beyond your normal comings and goings. I'd be completely blanking him until he was settled down and over the initial excitement. Though other opinions may differ. :)
 
Pix said:
Would agree with CC re: greeting the dog. If you look at it closely, what frame of mind is the dog in when you come back? Likely a little stressed and massively enthusiastic about your safe return. Any fuss would only reinforce that you too, are massively happy about your return, beyond your normal comings and goings. I'd be completely blanking him until he was settled down and over the initial excitement. Though other opinions may differ. :)
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yes he is very happy and excited to have us home, and does take some time to settle, and other times will not settle untill he has been for a walk.
 
serena2005 said:
yes he is very happy and excited to have us home, and does take some time to settle, and other times will not settle untill he has been for a walk.
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I would grit my teeth for a week or so, and have a 'no attention, and no walk until you are quiet' rule. First couple of days might be time consuming, especially if he has sometimes been rewarded with going for his walk with you whilst still a little hyper.

When Loki first arrived I had arranged 6 weeks off to see him through the house training stage. I then went back to full time work (though I'm living with parents again atm, one of whom works from home so always somebody about to spend time/pop in and see him/do wee breaks). It was only for a short while until my circumstances changed again, but when I came home he would squirm at my feet and make the most awful crying and whining noises :o Even though I knew I shouldn't I usually gave in and gave him a pat before he was fully calm, simply because he was a) so happy to see me and b) seemed so stressed c) I wanted him to calm down and fussing him did the job! :o

Eventually I had to implement the rule for myself and everyone else that he was to be completely ignored until he was calm, no matter how long it took or how annoyed we all were with him throwing himself at us (and it is so annoying when they reach a certain weight!). For the first week he was generally ignored completely until we'd ALL forgotten why he was wound up lol! It took so long! But the improvement he's shown since is great. A few over excited bounds around and he's back to chilled again.
 
serena2005 said:
what about greeting when we do come home?

i always thought u should not make a big deal out of it, but OH reckons hes rewarding him for being on him own...?
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We taught ours to be calm when we come in by walking through them, ignoring them totally. Now with the puppies, we're doing the same as they are always thrilled to see us! Mad with three of them.

The big dog would be on my lap 24/7, as would Bear, but they're not lap dogs (spangles). Big dog also follows me constantly: I'll be in the bath and he sneaks up and I can't remember the last time I went to the loo on my own downstairs!

I recommend reinforcing the bed command and stay command, with rewards. It is annoying and dangerous to have a dog underfoot if you're not expecting it!

Regardless of what people think of Cesar Milan, I really took his 'No touch, no talk, no eye contact' rule to heart: it has worked brilliantly for me. I don't fee l guilty cos they get tonnes of attention, but only when it's appropriate.
 
This is the primary reason Prince the pug found himself re-homed :(

He is my constant shadow. He isn't wiggly and giddy about it, but is a silent and mellow apparition that accompanies you to the bathroom, to the kitchen, and likes to stand like a statue within inches of your feet. Oddly enough, he has no separation anxiety when we're out of the home and doesn't create a fuss about sleeping alone in the lounge at night. Pugs are, after all, companion dogs so I see it as him fulfilling his role :D and it doesn't bother me.

Stella, on the other hand, could go days without breaking her Greta Garbo routine.
 
JDChaser said:
I always thought it was normal for your dogs to follow you everywhere :o :o
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yeh but where u can see practically everywhere in the house from one point is there any need to be attatched at the hip!?

althought i must mention, he is sleeping in the hall at present, but then again OH isnt home so hes probably waiting for him!
 
serena2005 said:
thanks for replying, we dont have stairs we like above a pub!

how long would u keep him out of a room you are in? i feel bad we are out at work (although OH works at home does spend some time with dog) and then come home and shut him out :(

he wont eat his bone unless everyone is home and all together watching telly or something. if someone isnt home, he will sit in the hall, waiting for them.
what about greeting when we do come home? i always thought u should not make a big deal out of it, but OH reckons hes rewarding him for being on him own...?
Click to expand...

Then maybe a baby gate at the end of landing/corridor for him to sleep behind it and away from the bedroom door, let him have quiet time out for example when you have returned and taken him for a long walk (this is better quality time spent with him, than him lying at your feet) then come home and try the treat as a posititve reward, allow him to eat the contents of a kong in front of you a few times then start to place it behind the baby gated area with him, all u are doing is teaching him its ok to lie in your own space, we are still around and you also get a positive treat for doing so.
I dont mean come home then put him on his own within 10 mins:D do it when u are otherwise occupied, busy doing something or house work, or pref like I mention after exercise.
As suggested, a low key entrance is always good when returning, a huge commotion will see the dog getting rather aprehensive for your return for the reward of a HUGE amount of attention, far better to allow him to calm down and then give a quick stroke on the head, this way there is less associaiton with your return and attention given.
 
My little westie follows me everywhere.Sleeps at the bottom of my bed.Can sometimes be a nuisance,bless her,as she gets right behind me and trips me over on a regular basis.
It is something i have had to accept,its her.....much rather that,than the other way.
She has been like it since i was given her.She was an ex breeding bitch,and from the first time i saw her,it was like she choose me.
 
Mine are both always close to me and will follow me from room to room but they don't get in my way. If they whinge its because they need to go out for a wee etc or I am late feeding. If I have had my head down too long then younger staffie will come and disturb me but its normally when I need a break!

They both go ballastic when I get home too, so I say hello and let them out straight away into the garden and then peace is restored!
 
Shades has started to follow me around the house since the Girls went. The only room in the flat he is not allowed in and that includes the rest of the pack is the kitchen. The Girls know this and sit outside the door at dinner time till their food is ready. Shades had started to do the same but now tries to follow me in to the kitchen. Each time he does it I tell him in a firm voice NO and he stops.
It doesn't bother me having him at my heels as he seems to move with me so isn't under my feet.

I have also been letting him sleep on my bed since the Girls went which is normally a big no no in my home but with the Girls gone it seems so empty and I think I let him for comfort for me.
 
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