Maggie needs to be near Mom
|
|
| Cooper is the same way with me. Except he only goes out with me because he can jump our fence. He even cries when I take Lizzie for a walk without him. Cooper has been attached at the hip to me since I brought him home.
Maybe your Maggie is this way because YOU rescued her, you are her security, her one constant. Do you know why she was placed in rescue? She must sense that you love her very much and may be afraid of being abandoned again. |
By the way- Cooper was NOT a rescue. He came from a great family who loved him very much. Bill had to give him up because of allergies, and I know it was very difficult for him. But, Cooper has adjusted very well and latched on to me right from the start.  |
| Sheepdogs are way more needy than the average dog. They exist to have their owner in sight at all possible times. I really don't think you will have much luck breaking him of this. |
| Learning how to behave around people is part of the training experience. Start with small groups, bring the pup inside-on leash- and set her down. After awhile she can greet those who want to greet her and then set her down again. Sheepies want to be the center of attention.
My guys are the same way, wanting to greet everyone and then either curl up at their feet or go off and snooze. Dinner time someone will have to keep their foot on the leash to keep the dog in a down position, LOL. |
| I agree with Sheepieboss - teach her how to behave in the house under all circumstances. OES want to be with the pack - especially the leader.
I don't think you'll be able to change this behavior either. My girls are always beside me or in eye shot! Brittney - who can no longer get upstairs - will lie at the bottom of the stairs each morning - waiting for me to come down. Sydney is worse - she will frantically search for me if she didn't notice when I left a room (she's deaf so she can't hear me - she has to see me). I like it that way! I want them to be with me as much as they want to be with me. Kristen |
| Lennon and Sofi are the same, the NEED to be with us or they'll start to get annoying. If we take them out because we have visitors, they'll start barking and pouncing on the door. Like Kristen said, they need to be in the pack and close to the leader, or at least know where they are.
This is a very difficult behaviour to remove, but we kinda found a way to improve it. I take them out on weekend mornings so they can see that being in the yard is not that bad. They star barking and pouncing but you must ignore them (I know, it's hard!) and they can come in or get a treat until they are quiet. That way they start associating being qiuet with rewards. I won't say that it removed the behabiour completely, but it has improved a lot, now when we have visitors they bark for 2 or 3 minutes and then they realize they are not coming in and find a better thing to do, like stand at the door with puppy eyes until you let them in. Don't forget that sheepies are some of the most manipulative creatures in this planet, so you must not give in or they will control you. Hope this advise helps some... I know you feel bad for taking them out when all they want is to be with you! |
| We don't know why she was given up. This is my 3rd sheepdog and none of them liked being outside when we were in, but this is just with me. She's fine if my husband or son are home. When we got her she was a little aggressive, that stopped the moment she found she could trust us. She is fine with guests, it's just sometimes she needs to be outside because she scares my elderly dad who is blind. He's afraid she'll knock him over because of her size. I could never let my son cry in his bed either I would always go and pick him up. He's 23 now and is a great kid. I will try keeping Maggie outside for timed periods and see how it goes. My husband and son call her velcro. I hope to figure out how to make my digital camera work to post her picture on this web site. She is wonderful and I love her so. Thanks for all your help. Sheepies are great. Sorry for the rambling.
MM |
| Alot of sheepies are "velcro dogs" - but I find that this is even more so when they've been abandoned or given up by their previous owners. She's probably still adjusting and wants to make sure you (she must view you as the Alpha! ) aren't going to leave her as well.
She'll probably get a little better - but will probably always be a velcro dog. My Brittney is the same way - she was given up by her family when she was 2 years old. Reassure her when she's outside that everything is okay - stay out there with her for a little while and reward her for good behaviors. You can take it in baby steps - leave her out for shorter periods of time and get her used to it. You can also teach her the "Quiet" command and when you leave her outside - tell her Quiet and reward her for responding. I also teach the dogs "Go Lie Down" - so when they are being pests - I tell them "Enough" - "Go Lie Down" and sometimes they actually listen! 
I would suggest also to work on some obedience with her - even attend an obedience class - so she can build her confidence. This will help alot too! Good Luck! Kristen |
| Wow... A sheepie that actually obeys the "Quiet" command. Sofi is also a rescue dog. When she got with us she was very insecure and did not obey any commands or calls. It's been 5 months and now she's much more secure and reassured around us and she still does not obey commands... LOL
She was very insecure about us leaving the house, she got all anxious and barked, ran and urinated out of anxiety when we left ot arrived, but with the exercises I explained below she got more confident about us not leaving her. She's also a velcro dog, loves being around any of us all day and see what we are doing. Keep on building confidence with the basic commands and then extra things, that will make her more secure and manageable for you, that way she'll feel she has an important place in the pack and you will teach her to be more self sufficient. Now that sofi sits, lays down, comes and kinda stays quiet, she increased her confidence with us and her place was more defined. Obeying commands makes them more secure about who is the leader and who to thrust. |
Did she do the "submissive urination"? We are working through this bit of rescue baggage slowly...any suggestions? I've been researching BIG TIME & am educating the fellas in the household...it seems to happen only with the men...what does that tell ya? 
Thanks! |
Maggie has never had an accident in the house. While we are at work she in fine outside, she has a covered patio with her home made bed, large grassy area, a gardener to bark at once a week, no problem. It's just when I am home and I'm in the house she needs to be in the house. Yes, I am an Alpha Come to think of it my husband and my son treat me the same way Maggie does....hummm.  |
| She did this a few times, Lennon started to do it as a puppy. All we did was ignore the behaviour COMPLETELY, no petting, no fuzz, not even talking to them until you clean up and they calm now. As soon as they calm down, super praise them and play with them. The trick is not to get upset to them because they stained the floor or carpet (After all, it's not their fault, that's a way to express anxiety and emotion.. I know it's hard), because if you get upset, they will get even more anxious and increase the emotional response (aka MORE peeing!!), since they link being anxious with being scolded or yelled at, and that creates more stress because they don't want to get anxions so you won't be upset.
If it happens because of you leaving, then leave your dog for 5 minutes in their create, get out of the house, come back and let out when doggie calms down. Do that several times during the day so they see that if you leave you will return and everything is OK. It takes some time and a lot of patience, but once they feel secure about your position and everyday living, the peeing will go away. We haven't had any accidents of the kind for a long time, maybe some ocassional drops when we are away for too long or one of us leaves for vacations or work, but that's it. |
| cassie'smomma, My wife just made a comment worth of consideration. Does your doggie do any submissive behabiour around men? Maybe you need to look for traces of abuse under a very specific situation.
We realized Sofi had been abused one day way wife was getting ready to cook some burgers. Se got the patties from the freezer and started to pound the bag against the floor to make them loose. As soon as my wife lifted her arm to pounce the bag, Sofi curled and tried to avoid being hit, even if my wife was on the other side of the kitchen. She was terribly scared and it took us some time to calm her down, we hugged her and talked to her to let her know everything was fine and we were not going to hit her. We decided to increase her confidence, so over the next days we repeated the scene, one of us slammed the patties bag against the floor while the other hugged her and softly talked to her. Gradually she started gaining confidence and realized we were safe to be around with. Now we can pounce and drop things around her and she is not scared any more. Maybe the same situation applies to your dog. Try to find the specific situation that is causing that submisive behaviour and gradually reproduce it while reassuring everything is okay and that she is safe with you. Hopefully after a few days, your dog will gain more confidence in you and your household. Emotional scars a a great deal, specially on dogs, because they have a difficult time expressing their fears, concerns and weaknesses to other members of the pack. |
| Maggie's Mom-
Lola does this a little with me too...not too bad. But especially with me (not my husband) cause I'm home with her. If I walk to the front yard or the car and she sees me, she barks. I too have to sneak in the other door sometimes. But ignoring usually works. Also I play with her for a few minutes but then go in. Once I go in, I don't say anything or look at her. I think she knows that I'm going in and playtime is over. I also use a penny can if she starts barking. If the windows are open, I just shake it, and she knows to keep quiet. It's helping...she is only 6mos so it's not an abandoning thing, just a stubborn girl  Good luck with her!
Sue |
| My "velcro" dog is also always by my side, even tries to open the door to the bathroom. If I go downstairs she is right by my side. If I go back upstairs...again right by my side. Jules even will wake up from her nap if she hears me leave the room and follow me. After our horrible incident of losing her for 24 hours I will never let this bother me because I was so sad when she was gone. I felt like I was missing an arm. Now sometimes we have to shove her out of the way or push her body away from in front of a door, but she is just so happy being with our family that I cant imagine anyone keepint their sheepie away from the family. |
| I would hate to lose Maggie for one minute. I can't imagine it. Glad Jules is safe with you. Please don't misunderstand, I want Maggie to be with me most of the time, if I didn't I wouldn't have gotten her, I just wanted to know what to do to make her okay with being outside on the rare occasion she needs to be in the backyard while we are in. I appreciate everyone's input. As I said this is my 3rd Sheepie and they are the most loving and loyal dogs one could have. We don't know why she was given up but we are glad we got her. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|