Nakia Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 For those who don't already know, we have an 11 week old puppy, a Yorkshire Terrier, named Diesel. We've had him a few weeks (Christmas present for my kids), and he is so awesome!! He is as sweet as can be, loves everyone, is doing great with house training, and is just puppylicious in every way. :D The issue is that he is already VERY attached to me. I'm the one who does most of his care, of course. The girls do help a lot though. They take him out to potty, give him his baths, help feed him, play with him, etc. But he just thinks I'm his mommy, I guess. He cries for me if I'm not in the room. Tonight Patrick and the girls got home before I did, and apparently Diesel ran around "looking" for me. According to Anna, he kept running around whining. When I came home, he was beside himself with, what I can only describe as, joy. He loves each of us, but he just prefers me. His 2nd choice is a tie between my dh and oldest dd, then my middle dd, and he tolerates the youngest, who is very very intense. I'm pretty sure he thinks she is his litter mate because of the way he interacts with her, and that is something we are working on as well. Other than that, he really is the ideal puppy. I'm so surprised because I expected a yappy, needy, pain in the butt. The only time he barks is if he is on his leash and can't reach one of the cats. And he is so smart! He's already started occasionally going to the door if he needs to go potty. He is a stubborn little dude though. :001_smile: Is this attachment issue okay? A normal Yorkie personality trait? Sometimes I need a puppy break, to be honest. What can I do to make sure he bonds with the kids? Any ideas? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I think that dogs have an innate sense to know the "head of the pack". My Lab prefers me. She loves everyone else, will play with my boys, and even lay with them once in a while...but...she follows me everywhere. If I am cooking, she's laying between me and the stove. If I am sitting on the couch, I am trying to move her out of the way so I can put my feet on the floor. When I " go to work", ie go to the office/classroom, cuz I work from home, she goes to work with me. Even though by that point, all of my boys are in bed, and she loves to lay in bed, she stays at work with me. If I don't shut the bathroom door all of the way, I have to step over her as I get out of the shower. If I do shut the door, I'll hear a thud as I shower, that's her laying against the door waiting for me to come out. She goes to bed when I go to bed. And honestly, I am not that overly nice to her. Frankly, it's gets to be annoying sometimes. So while I do love her and treat her kindly, my boys are much more huggy, snuggly with her. No idea why she picked me, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Some ideas: + When you come home, ignore the puppy for a few minutes. Do NOT respond to his excitement. This is hard, but it is vital. Once he calms down, count to 20 in your head (while he is continuously calm) and THEN give him his loving. You MUST separate your attention (even eye contact, that is VERY rewarding) from his anxiety and excitement. (If you give him any attention or eye contact while he is doing something, you are reinforcing and encouraging it. If you don't want him to demonstrate increasing excitability and anxiety, you must not reinforce it.) + When you leave, sneak out. Do NOT make a fuss. + Assign feeding and treating to other family members. Even if you have to prepare it, leave it on the counter for a few minutes, then ask someone else to put it on the floor. Likewise, whatever his favorite things are (walks, treats, snuggles, etc), try to make sure that he experiences these nice things with other people, too. You can still do it sometimes, just not most/all of the time. (Dogs have very short attention spans, lol. If you can separate the behavior from the reward by 60 seconds or so, that's all you need.) + Enjoy the loving. Yorkies are awesome little dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 (edited) I'm our puppy's favorite person too. Dh comes in a close second, as he's been caring for her a lot lately because I've been sick with one thing and another. She loves to play with the kids, and generally seems to understand that she's the low critter on the totem pole around here, but if I walk in the room she jumps up from whatever she was doing and abandons whoever she was playing with or snuggling on for the apparently grand privilege of following me around. I think it's a dominance/head of the pack thing. The dog that controls the food controls the pack and deserves everyone's undivided adoration. And at my house in her eyes, the fridge belongs to mom, the pantry belongs to mom, the dog food container belongs to mom, the table belongs to mom (but she lets the rest of the people eat there), and even the scraps on the dishes in the open dishwasher are mom's and not to be messed with. I think that makes me Madam Incredible in her little doggie heart. It's kind of funny, but I am glad that she gets on with the rest of the family too. I think you've been given some good suggestions here. Good luck! ETA: Actually, my sister has a funny theory about this, at least as regards me. She's a big fan of the "Dog Whisperer" guy, who evidently talks a lot about calm assertive energy. She has a theory that I have become really good at the calm assertive energy "thing" because when ds was younger and used to have meltdowns and rages all the time being calmly assertive helped bring him out of it, and I've had a lot of practice over the years. She says that dogs and small children are drawn to the calm assertive energy because whoever has it "feels" competent and in control, and like someone who is "the leader". She offers as evidence one Thanksgiving when our family was visiting my parents' home along with some of my siblings and their families. I walked out of the kitchen, through a hallway, down the stairs to the basement, through another hallway and a room to where my son was, delivered a message to him, and went back upstairs to the living room. When I arrived in the living room I had two dogs and three small children trailing dazedly after me in a little line, like I was the pied piper. We all got a good giggle out of it. I don't know how much there is to her theory, but it does make me chuckle sometimes when I find the puppy hot on my heels. Edited January 6, 2012 by MamaSheep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I was our puppy's favorite person too, I think I became her dog-mom. She is 2 years old now, and still follows me around the house, but dh is now her favorite person. I had him or others feed her as well as I, I encouraged others to walk her, and I did not allow her to sleep on our bed. Dh comes home and rough-houses with her, which she loves. So, all that to say that I think it is a puppy/mom thing, but that you can encourage attachment to dh by not hogging her attention and encouraging him to walk, play and maybe let him give her special treats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Some ideas: + When you come home, ignore the puppy for a few minutes. Do NOT respond to his excitement. This is hard, but it is vital. Once he calms down, count to 20 in your head (while he is continuously calm) and THEN give him his loving. You MUST separate your attention (even eye contact, that is VERY rewarding) from his anxiety and excitement. (If you give him any attention or eye contact while he is doing something, you are reinforcing and encouraging it. If you don't want him to demonstrate increasing excitability and anxiety, you must not reinforce it.) + When you leave, sneak out. Do NOT make a fuss. + Assign feeding and treating to other family members. Even if you have to prepare it, leave it on the counter for a few minutes, then ask someone else to put it on the floor. Likewise, whatever his favorite things are (walks, treats, snuggles, etc), try to make sure that he experiences these nice things with other people, too. You can still do it sometimes, just not most/all of the time. (Dogs have very short attention spans, lol. If you can separate the behavior from the reward by 60 seconds or so, that's all you need.) + Enjoy the loving. Yorkies are awesome little dogs. Excellent advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 You are the main care taker and alpha the dog will prefer you. When I pull in the driveway my dogs get very excited, even the cats look for me. I'm a rock star in my own home - well to the animals at least. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaTanya Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 You are the main care taker and alpha the dog will prefer you. When I pull in the driveway my dogs get very excited, even the cats look for me. I'm a rock star in my own home - well to the animals at least. LOL :lol: It's nice to be a rock star to somebody, right?! My dh doesn't like dogs and gets irritated that our male lab follows me everywhere. I, otoh, think it's nice that somebody likes being with me! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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