Puppy attachment issues

[gritsar]

I thought Jax (GSD) would get more independent as he grew older, but he really hasn't.
Where I am is where you'll find Jax, even when DH is home. He may leave the room I'm in to go play with Dad for a few minutes or for Dad to take him out, but the minute he comes back in he's right under me again.
If I go outside and leave him inside (heaven forbid

) he'll sit right by the door till I come back in.
Outside, he'll play and romp all over the yard, but always comes back every few minutes to make sure I'm still where I was before.
He's about a week shy of 5 months old. Should I be discouraging his attachment? Or will he grow out of it on his own?

 

[Cara]

I had a dog with separation anxiety, and the puppy we rescued recently was beginning to show signs of it. I made sure not to make a big deal of greeting her when I came back inside or in the room, and went outside to do chores without her for varying amounts of time. Now she's just fine.

He doesn't sound too bad, I just wouldn't let it progress any further.

 

[wombat]

He probably won't outgrow it. GSD owners refer to their pets as "velcro dogs."

When we had two, it drove my wife crazy because they followed around everywhere, always glued to her knee. It's fairly common to the breed.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Uh yep, I've learned to do dishes with my legs spread far apart to accomodate the puppy at my feet.
We had GSDs growing up. I remember the female being protective of us kids, but not being a constant attendant. Maybe it was because there was six of us kids and she couldn't cover all of us at once.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Actually this is one of the things I LIKE about GSDs! I feel very fortunate to be the object of such devotion. Mine follow me from room to room, move themselves 40 billion times from various places around the kitchen because I need to open this cabinet or that pantry. They never seem to complain or tire of it, instead just good-naturedly find another spot to flop down in--where I invariably have to move next! They all try to sleep beside me or on me all at the same time, unceremoniously shoving one another out of the way.

Right now one is sleeping with her head on my foot, another has his head in my lap, and a third is directly under my chair. The other two are on the bed asleep with my SO. If I should suddenly decide a trip to the bathroom is in order, they will all troop right along and be disappointed that I make them wait outside the door. In fact I will likely see 3 pairs of paws sticking under said door until I open it, be that 5 or 15 minutes later.

When one of my dogs stops trailing me, I immediately check for signs or symptoms of illness.

BTW this is not separation anxiety. It is part of the GSD breeding. They take care of their people. Even when there is only 1 of me and 5 of them, they all still watch over me. I think it fulfills their sense of purpose and inbred need to work.


Rusty

 

[Akane]

So long as he isn't being destructive or starting other bad behaviors when you're gone I wouldn't worry about it. Despite their independent nature my akita had seperation anxiety and still somewhat does. Part of that was my fault since I was doing online college classes and not working for the first 6months I had her. The only time she was without me from a 4month old pup until the start of the next fall semester was maybe an hour a week when I went grocery shopping and then my mom would watch her. When I started going to classes on campus I had to start crate training because if left with my mom for that long she'd find a way out of the house and head down the driveway toward the highway to find me. If left at my house she had to try to open every door to make sure I was not behind it which led to a door frame being taken apart and one of the rather ancient solid oak doors being badly scratched up. She also soon learned how to open all exterior doors including the locks unless I tied them from the other side with rock climbing rope and that led to teeth marks in some cheaper door knobs.

Now she'll at least wait by the door for me to come back inside if I leave her while I go out and she's finally started going into different rooms from me and outside when she needs to without me escorting her. I do still have to crate her if I'm gone for more than an hour though or she starts taking doors apart again to find me.

 

[jjpiper]

We have two dogs. A Labrador Retriever (2yo) and a German Shorthaired Pointer (6yo). The LR follows my wife around and the GSP follows me around. Weird but just the way it is in our house.

 

[Cara]

It's a lot like that in our zoo too! It's understandable that my Labradork and GSP stick with me, and my husband's male Cur sticks with him, because we had them before we met. But we got our current Bloodhound and female Cur after we got married, and the hound knows she's mine and the Cur hangs out with him. When either of us are home alone we have a pile of canines to step over.

 

[Brindlebtch]

Quote:

 

[gritsar]

oh, don't get me wrong. I love his companionship. I was just concerned that I was fostering an unhealthy behavior.
Sorry to ask so many silly questions, but it has been a long time since we (I) have had a puppy. Most of my other dogs (Charlie Girl included) were adults or nearly adult rescues when I got them.
This morning I fed him and took him out to potty. When we came back in I noticed that DH was awake, so I told Jax to "go see Daddy". Jax made one leap and was in DH's lap. To steal from a Folger's commercial....the best part of waking up is 40+ pounds of puppy in your lap.