Do you feel that your puppy is excessively attached to you?
Don’t panic, as there are several reasons why your puppy may be attached to you.
Besides, this behavior can be reduced to a certain extent and make the puppy more independent.
There are several reasons why your puppy may be attached to you.
It may be due to separation anxiety, lack of love and affection, boredom, mistreatment, health, or nature, or you may have encouraged the behavior without knowing.
Continue reading if you want to discover why your puppy is clinging to you and what you can do to stop or lessen this kind of behavior.
Separation Anxiety
One of the biggest reasons dogs become attached to their owners or family members is separation anxiety.
When you wish to leave or go out of sight, the puppy feels anxious.
Fortunately, this is simple to recognize because a puppy can display a variety of separation anxiety symptoms.
If your puppy exhibits any of these behaviors, it is dealing with separation anxiety.
It is also important to differentiate between separation anxiety and Velcro dog syndrome.
This is because they both have one trait: they do not want to be separated from their owner.
Regardless, a puppy with Velcro syndrome wants to remain close to its owner.
Dogs suffering from separation anxiety, on the other hand, feel concerned when their owner leaves.
What You Need To Do
You may train your puppy not to get anxious when you leave if you suspect it may have separation anxiety.
Test your dog by pretending to leave, then rewarding it with a treat.
Repeat this numerous times by leaving and returning for a few minutes, each time giving it a treat.
Furthermore, you can desensitize your puppy’s movements.
We all have rituals we perform before leaving the house.
Dogs are intelligent animals that will recognize when it is time for you to leave.
That is why you must change your routine so that the dog does not suspect you’re leaving.
Finally, before you leave, you can give your puppy some treats.
Get a Kong for her before you go so she may be distracted and not think about you leaving.
The Puppy Needs A Parent
Parental love is essential for all children, whether they are humans or animals.
As a result, if a puppy is given that at a young age, it will likely consider the owner as its parent.
Most physicians and breeders agree that the optimal period for a puppy to meet its new owner is between 7 and 8 weeks.
However, in some cases, the puppy may meet its owner sooner.
Regardless, if you treat your puppy like a child rather than a dog, it will become attached to you.
As a result, you must use caution in how you handle it.
Some dog owners may even sleep in the same bed as their pets.
Others will take it with them wherever they go, making the puppy dependent on the owner.
What You Need To Do
To avoid making the puppy attached because of excess attention, introduce it to a puppy routine.
The routine should be normal, like for other dogs, and not overly comfortable.
Come up with a routine that involves everything a puppy needs to develop and grow.
Take your puppy out regularly to urinate at a particular spot, establish a regular feeding schedule, and remove the puppy’s water dish a few hours before bedtime.
Instead of clinging to you all the time, the puppy will become adjusted to its routine over time.
Reinforcing Behavior
“We are what we repeatedly do“, as the saying goes, and this is especially true for a puppy.
If you train a puppy to be constantly attached to you, it will cling to you.
Also, if you usually give it toys and treats when it is attached to you, don’t complain.
The puppy will continue to be attached so that it can get the treats, toys, and attention that you give it.
What You Need To Do
If you feel that you are the source of the puppy’s attachment, you may quickly address the situation.
Get your puppy back on track with positive reinforcement training.
Train your puppy in a certain technique and reward it if it responds positively.
Boredom
Boredom is another factor that might cause your dog to become attached to you.
A puppy needs at least 30 minutes of playtime every day.
As a result, if it doesn’t have enough playing, it will feel attached to you.
This is due to a lack of mental stimulation.
The problem is even more significant with working dogs such as Dutch shepherds, German shepherds, and Belgian Malinois.
These dogs need to exercise a lot and are very active.
What You Need To Do
When you leave, a bored dog will be destructive and destroy stuff around the house.
You can, however, prevent the dog from becoming attached to you due to boredom by playing with it.
Make time for 20 to 30 minutes of play.
Give it toys and treats before you leave for work to keep it busy and engaged.
Health
One of the reasons your dog is too attached to you might be health.
If your dog suddenly begins to follow you, it is likely that it is sick.
It is normal for dogs to cling to you when they are sick or stressed.
So, don’t push them away until you find out what’s wrong, especially if it’s a new behavior.
What You Need To Do
Dogs have a tendency to cling to one another, especially if they are in danger.
They use this tactic to protect themselves.
Contact a veterinarian to determine whether or not your dog is sick.
When the puppy heals, it will return to its old behavior, so keep it company until it is fine.
Nature
In some cases, the dog breed that you may be having might have an attachment trait.
Such dog breeds are overly affectionate, such as Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Chihuahua, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Pit Bull, and Brussels Griffon.
If you happen to have one of these dog breeds, expect it to attach to you more closely than other dog breeds.
What You Need To Do
Unlike other dog breeds that will start to detach from you as they become adults, the dog breeds described above will not.
They will cling to you as much as they can.
The best thing to do is to train them to be detached from you.
Give them treats and teach them to be somehow independent.
Mistreatment At An Earlier Stage
Many dogs at dog shelters experience this.
If you receive a puppy from a shelter and it grows attached to you, you should ask yourself many questions.
Wasn’t it being fed?
Did it receive any mistreatment?
And a lot more.
A puppy that has been mistreated in any way is more likely to become attached to you.
Because it considers you as a savior, the puppy may not want to leave your side.
Furthermore, it may follow you wherever you go since it is afraid of being abandoned and mistreated again.
What You Need To Do
If you find yourself in this situation, take it slowly.
Purrfect n’ Pawesome is the brainchild of Amanda, who has been into researching and writing about pets to help other pet parents in nurturing their adorable pets. Currently, she runs Purrfect n’ Pawesome along with her team of experienced and dedicated pet experts. Along with being an awesome writer and entrepreneur, Amanda is a cat mom to two innocently spoiled cats, Balanca and Scruffy. She has been writing about pet care and nurturing and wants to share her readers’ experiences, learnings, and knowledge. Over the years, she had the opportunity to work with various pet owners having multiple breeds, and that exposure gave her experience and the lessons of a lifetime. Her family, her entire universe revolves around her two cats, who give her endless support and inspiration to move ahead with her objectives in life. Amanda is a live example of a balanced approach to all parenthood questions we all face in life.
