I'm going doggone crazy!
February 19, 2010 10:32 PM Subscribe
I'm dogsitting for a friend this weekend and her dog is already driving me crazy. He follows me everywhere all the time. How do I get him to stop?
My friend adopted a chocolate rescue Lab about a year ago. He's got issues, but is a sweet dog. However, even after a few hours hanging out with him (and I've been here multiple times before, i.e., he knows me) he refuses to get more than a foot away from me at all times.
I am already going insane.
I'm a dog person, I've had dogs my whole life until just the past couple of years, and I understand that dogs' previous lives have much to do with how they behave in their current lives. I get that. What I need is a technique/strategy I can use RIGHT NOW to get this dog to do his own thing.
I already gave him a doggy neck and back massage in the hopes of relaxing him enough to go take a nap, but that only worked for about 2 minutes. Also, when I gave him a yummy bone he ran off, dropped it on the carpet in another room and immediately ran back to me. Hasn't budged from my side since, even when I say (excitedly), "Where's your bone???"
Help me -- please and thank you!
My friend adopted a chocolate rescue Lab about a year ago. He's got issues, but is a sweet dog. However, even after a few hours hanging out with him (and I've been here multiple times before, i.e., he knows me) he refuses to get more than a foot away from me at all times.
I am already going insane.
I'm a dog person, I've had dogs my whole life until just the past couple of years, and I understand that dogs' previous lives have much to do with how they behave in their current lives. I get that. What I need is a technique/strategy I can use RIGHT NOW to get this dog to do his own thing.
I already gave him a doggy neck and back massage in the hopes of relaxing him enough to go take a nap, but that only worked for about 2 minutes. Also, when I gave him a yummy bone he ran off, dropped it on the carpet in another room and immediately ran back to me. Hasn't budged from my side since, even when I say (excitedly), "Where's your bone???"
Help me -- please and thank you!
Tire him out? Take him to the park tomorrow morning and play fetch until he's ready to drop. This honestly seems like normal lab behavior. They like to be around people.
posted by lunasol at 10:44 PM on February 19, 2010
posted by lunasol at 10:44 PM on February 19, 2010
Does he have a bed in the room you are in? Try to put him a bed in the room where he can watch you from where he sits.
Taking him out would be a good idea, too.
posted by winna at 10:57 PM on February 19, 2010
Taking him out would be a good idea, too.
posted by winna at 10:57 PM on February 19, 2010
Try to keep in mind that he's a little confused by his master not being around so he's going to stick close to you just in case you try to disappear too.
That said, tire him out tomorrow. Play with him until he won't play anymore, give him a break and then try to play some more.
posted by fenriq at 11:02 PM on February 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
That said, tire him out tomorrow. Play with him until he won't play anymore, give him a break and then try to play some more.
posted by fenriq at 11:02 PM on February 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: You guys are right, he's definitely got a lot of normal Lab behavior going on (my last dog was a black Lab - had him from 8 weeks to 12 y.o., man I loved/miss that dog) -- but... this is beyond that. I'm seriously tripping over him with EVERY step I take. I know Labs love people and are happy/excited the vast majority of the time, but this little guy just doesn't seem to have any sort of relax switch.
I took him for a 30-minute walk when I first got here a few hours ago, and we will definitely be going for a long walk in the morning (I'm a big fan of the "wear them out" strategy).
I dunno. Maybe I just need to suck it up for the next 48 hours. It just seems to me that there should be some way I can help this dog chill the eff out -- as much for his sake as for mine!
posted by hapax_legomenon at 11:03 PM on February 19, 2010
I took him for a 30-minute walk when I first got here a few hours ago, and we will definitely be going for a long walk in the morning (I'm a big fan of the "wear them out" strategy).
I dunno. Maybe I just need to suck it up for the next 48 hours. It just seems to me that there should be some way I can help this dog chill the eff out -- as much for his sake as for mine!
posted by hapax_legomenon at 11:03 PM on February 19, 2010
Put him where he should be at night. There is a place where his owners put him. A bed or crate or rug or whatever. Walk him over there, say STAY. Pet him a bit, make him relaxed, then enforce the STAY command.
STAY
Walk away.
That's it. If he comes back to you, rinse, repeat.
posted by sanka at 11:10 PM on February 19, 2010
STAY
Walk away.
That's it. If he comes back to you, rinse, repeat.
posted by sanka at 11:10 PM on February 19, 2010
The exact same thing happened to me last week when I was dogsitting! I'm sure he's just really curious about who you are and if you're replacing his owner. At first I used a combo of: tire him out; fetch; fetch; give up and throw the tennis ball to a place he had a hard time reaching; play YouTube videos of other dogs barking, then go to another room; belly rub; play with the dog, a lot. He really might just want to play tug. Tire him out and crate him for a nap.
Eventually, I was able to ignore his stares, but then he grew on me. Now I miss Buddy dearly and am still habitually breaking off bits of my food for him.
posted by blazingunicorn at 11:28 PM on February 19, 2010
Eventually, I was able to ignore his stares, but then he grew on me. Now I miss Buddy dearly and am still habitually breaking off bits of my food for him.
posted by blazingunicorn at 11:28 PM on February 19, 2010
Best answer: I'm seriously tripping over him with EVERY step I take.
If you mean literally tripping over him, then you need to reclaim some of your personal space. If you are walking around him and dodging when he gets in the way, then he will continue to encroach upon your space because you have given him permission. If you start walking through him and expecting him to get out of the way, he will start giving you space to walk around without danger.
Keep your feet on the ground and walk forward in the path you want to go. Move with intent. Do not deviate from your path, just keep walking as if he wasn't there. If necessary, slide your feet along the ground instead of walking to avoid kicking him. When you make it clear that you are going through, he will step aside. Practice doing this in a safe area so when you walk, he gives you enough berth to not be a danger to himself or to you. This may translate into increased breathing room for you when not walking as well.
If he's coming up to you when you're sitting down and you want to be left alone, turn your face and torso away from him and ignore him. No talking, no touching. If you turn away and disengage, he will very quickly lose interest and leave you alone. Repeat as necessary. It shouldn't take more than 2-4 times of 3-10 seconds before he gets that you don't want to play right now.
Also if he's well behaved enough to avoid massive destruction, a leash works pretty well indoors too. In addition to table legs, an easy way to tether a dog inside is to put the loop of the leash on a doorknob on the other side of the door. The leash goes out under the closed door, and the dog is restrained and the loop won't slide off. For example, say you want to leash him to the bedroom door so that he's in the bedroom. Loop the leash on the doorknob facing the hallway, then close the door so that the leash fits under the door.
posted by hindmost at 1:47 AM on February 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you mean literally tripping over him, then you need to reclaim some of your personal space. If you are walking around him and dodging when he gets in the way, then he will continue to encroach upon your space because you have given him permission. If you start walking through him and expecting him to get out of the way, he will start giving you space to walk around without danger.
Keep your feet on the ground and walk forward in the path you want to go. Move with intent. Do not deviate from your path, just keep walking as if he wasn't there. If necessary, slide your feet along the ground instead of walking to avoid kicking him. When you make it clear that you are going through, he will step aside. Practice doing this in a safe area so when you walk, he gives you enough berth to not be a danger to himself or to you. This may translate into increased breathing room for you when not walking as well.
If he's coming up to you when you're sitting down and you want to be left alone, turn your face and torso away from him and ignore him. No talking, no touching. If you turn away and disengage, he will very quickly lose interest and leave you alone. Repeat as necessary. It shouldn't take more than 2-4 times of 3-10 seconds before he gets that you don't want to play right now.
Also if he's well behaved enough to avoid massive destruction, a leash works pretty well indoors too. In addition to table legs, an easy way to tether a dog inside is to put the loop of the leash on a doorknob on the other side of the door. The leash goes out under the closed door, and the dog is restrained and the loop won't slide off. For example, say you want to leash him to the bedroom door so that he's in the bedroom. Loop the leash on the doorknob facing the hallway, then close the door so that the leash fits under the door.
posted by hindmost at 1:47 AM on February 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
Hard to type this with a seventy pound lab leaning into my shoulder, so I feel your pain. For us, it's swimming that does the trick - even in NE in Feb, if she can find a way to splash around she's blissfully exhausted for hours after!
posted by mozhet at 3:47 AM on February 20, 2010
posted by mozhet at 3:47 AM on February 20, 2010
My old dog would do this when my parents would go out of town and I'd dogsit. She was half Golden Lab, half German Shepherd. Drove me nuts. She even had really bad arthritis in her later years, and definitely some hip dysplasia going on, and she STILL followed me around.
It would last about a day, maybe two, and then she'd get sulky and she'd even be a bit depressed for another couple of days. After about four or five days, total, she'd be back to her normal self until my parents got home, whereupon she would stick to my mother like glue, perhaps for fear that my mother would leave again. I'm not sure how long that lasted, mind you.
What I did was basically ignore her if I was just walking from room to room. She would continue to dutifully stand up and follow me to the next room. Telling her that it was okay and to stay had very little effect on an otherwise fairly well-trained dog. If I was going to sit down for an extended time, I'd get the dog to come sit/lie down near me so I could scratch her or rub her belly or something. I always got the impression she just needed attention, reassurance that I wasn't going anywhere and such, but it was way too much attention for one person to give.
I definitely second the tiring the dog out suggestion, because that worked on my dog when she was younger. It just got harder when she became less active due to her arthritis and hip dysplasia. Good luck!
posted by juliebug at 3:48 AM on February 20, 2010
It would last about a day, maybe two, and then she'd get sulky and she'd even be a bit depressed for another couple of days. After about four or five days, total, she'd be back to her normal self until my parents got home, whereupon she would stick to my mother like glue, perhaps for fear that my mother would leave again. I'm not sure how long that lasted, mind you.
What I did was basically ignore her if I was just walking from room to room. She would continue to dutifully stand up and follow me to the next room. Telling her that it was okay and to stay had very little effect on an otherwise fairly well-trained dog. If I was going to sit down for an extended time, I'd get the dog to come sit/lie down near me so I could scratch her or rub her belly or something. I always got the impression she just needed attention, reassurance that I wasn't going anywhere and such, but it was way too much attention for one person to give.
I definitely second the tiring the dog out suggestion, because that worked on my dog when she was younger. It just got harder when she became less active due to her arthritis and hip dysplasia. Good luck!
posted by juliebug at 3:48 AM on February 20, 2010
Borrow a four year old who adores dogs. Set them on each other. That's what I did while dogsitting a few weeks ago. They chased each other around all day.
posted by jeanmari at 6:01 AM on February 20, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by jeanmari at 6:01 AM on February 20, 2010 [2 favorites]
It sounds like you're reinforcing his clingy behavior. Massages and talking to him in an excited voice are what you do when you *do* want to play/cuddle with him, not when you don't. When you don't want him around, use a stern voice and say "down" or "off" or "go" or whatever, and point to the other room or his crate/his bed/the couch etc. Repeat as necessary. If you're talking to him in the voice he associates with play, he'll think you want to play.
posted by headnsouth at 6:26 AM on February 20, 2010
posted by headnsouth at 6:26 AM on February 20, 2010
A 30 minute walk isn't exercise to most labs. You have to TIRE him out. Throwing a ball for a long time, tug (if he knows that and how to release), other training exercises.
Also, no food from your hand. Get a kong and put his food in there with some peanut butter, fill with broth, freeze. Dog babysitter for a good while - and it's actually quite tiring for them to get all the food out.
Ignore the behavior you do not want to replicate. Don't say "move off, dude, I can't walk, jeez" as you're walking around. That's just reinforcement.
I'm guessing the dog isn't crate trained?
EXERCISE.
posted by barnone at 6:36 AM on February 20, 2010
Also, no food from your hand. Get a kong and put his food in there with some peanut butter, fill with broth, freeze. Dog babysitter for a good while - and it's actually quite tiring for them to get all the food out.
Ignore the behavior you do not want to replicate. Don't say "move off, dude, I can't walk, jeez" as you're walking around. That's just reinforcement.
I'm guessing the dog isn't crate trained?
EXERCISE.
posted by barnone at 6:36 AM on February 20, 2010
I'm dogsitting right now for my parents' dog, an Australian Shepard, and he's doing the same thing. We're going for a looong walk late on, and hopefully he will tire himself out.
However, I think that this is pretty normal dog behavior. His owner is gone, and he wants to make sure you don't leave him as well. Try not to get annoyed by it.
posted by pintapicasso at 6:51 AM on February 20, 2010
However, I think that this is pretty normal dog behavior. His owner is gone, and he wants to make sure you don't leave him as well. Try not to get annoyed by it.
posted by pintapicasso at 6:51 AM on February 20, 2010
Look, his owner is gone, he's feeling insecure, and you are His New Person. Think of him as a short-term orphan and suck it up.
To exert a little more control and quell the separation paranoia, however, you can leash him so that when you walk from room to room, he is at least at heel instead of trying to anticipate where you're going, standing in front of you, and being a tripping hazard.
You know his master will come back; he does not. He's anxious. It's 48 hours. Be compassionate.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:12 AM on February 20, 2010
To exert a little more control and quell the separation paranoia, however, you can leash him so that when you walk from room to room, he is at least at heel instead of trying to anticipate where you're going, standing in front of you, and being a tripping hazard.
You know his master will come back; he does not. He's anxious. It's 48 hours. Be compassionate.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:12 AM on February 20, 2010
This dog is a really needy dog.
I agree that visibly disengaging your attention from him, especially with a trigger word like "No more," is what should work. This is how I dealt with neverending demand for pets from our terrier mix -- pet pet pet, "No more, Scout!" then turn away and disengage. But then, if it has only been a few hours since his person left, this behavior may wear off in a day.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:17 AM on February 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
I agree that visibly disengaging your attention from him, especially with a trigger word like "No more," is what should work. This is how I dealt with neverending demand for pets from our terrier mix -- pet pet pet, "No more, Scout!" then turn away and disengage. But then, if it has only been a few hours since his person left, this behavior may wear off in a day.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:17 AM on February 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
He's behaving exactly the way you would if you were a dog and your person inexplicably disappeared and you were scared and confused. Do your best to stick to his normal routine, get him tired out, give him a normal amount of attention, and try to put yourself in his place. It's only 48 hours.
Also, if his following you around is annoying you, maybe this weekend would be a good opportunity to settle in and do some serious net surfing or reading or TV watching. I'm sure he'd love to just settle in beside you.
posted by HotToddy at 8:35 AM on February 20, 2010
Also, if his following you around is annoying you, maybe this weekend would be a good opportunity to settle in and do some serious net surfing or reading or TV watching. I'm sure he'd love to just settle in beside you.
posted by HotToddy at 8:35 AM on February 20, 2010
My lab does the same thing. Between my lab, and my kids, I have accepted the fact that I am never going to be able to use the bathroom alone again.
Exercise helps. Take him outside with a ball and make him fetch. Or take him on a long walk, at least an hour. Then he'll probably just come home, flop on his side, and sleep for a while.
Labs are very loving, loyal dogs. He is probably just worried about his person.
posted by Ostara at 9:15 AM on February 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
Exercise helps. Take him outside with a ball and make him fetch. Or take him on a long walk, at least an hour. Then he'll probably just come home, flop on his side, and sleep for a while.
Labs are very loving, loyal dogs. He is probably just worried about his person.
posted by Ostara at 9:15 AM on February 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
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posted by howrobotsaremade at 10:43 PM on February 19, 2010