# puppy sticks to me like glue but doesnt listen



## im_nice1 (Mar 12, 2009)

My hubby and I are parents of a 10 month old female lab mix pup. I am stay at home right now, while hubby works from 8-6 pm...no other kids. I feed our puppy, play with her, train her for commands and take her out for walks.

my problem is that she follows me around EVERYWHERE. if she is sleeping peacefully, the moment i walk into the room she wakes up and wants to play with me, or walk into the kitchen when im cooking, or wants me to take her out to pee, or jump on my bed if i go to the bedroom. all of which is made worse by the fact that she only selectively listens to my commands of no. (100% listening happens only when i'm training her worth treats) i love her to bits but its getting tiresome..specially when i have to spend 24 hrs with her.

In contrast to this, she listens to my hubby's commands, doesnt jump on bed when he is around and sleeps peacefully when only hubby is in the room. i think its coz she loves me but doesnt see me as a pack leader. I tied NILIF in the past to make her stop biting me mercilessly and that worked. but now it doesnt seem to make any difference to her.

what should i do to:

1-make her behave calmly in my presence or not follow me everywhere

2-listen to my commands without treats.


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## apoirier594 (Aug 30, 2009)

*Re: my puppy sticks to me like glue but doesnt listen*

I have never had a problem like that before, but I would try to..like you said get her to listen w/out treats. Start out by telling her to sit(if she already knows, and is solid at it w/treats) without using them, if she sits praise, and soon you should not have to praise her(but I always re-enforce good behavior). You may be to easy going you, don't have to be the pack leader like your husband, just show the dog, he/she isn't in control of you. You want he/she to be afraid but respect you if you know what I mean.


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## im_nice1 (Mar 12, 2009)

_ show the dog, he/she isn't in control of you. You dont want he/she to be afraid but respect you if you know what I mean._ 

I know exactly what you mean..but i just dont know how to make the point to her. like if i go upstairs she immediately jumps up and accompanies me; if i stop midstairs she will too and when i go down tag down with me again. (u get the pic)..which is all ok...but if i stop her from coming with me she doesnt listen.

-also she was taught in her first level puppy obedience class using treats, telling us to later wean out the treats by verbal reward. but she responds only to the treat reward..(does all her commands instantly) but when i try to replace it with commending her she generally stops doing them.


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## meghf (Jul 12, 2009)

Our dog is the same way. He's an 8 year old standard poodle and he just wants to be wherever we are. If my Mom's home with him and she just runs into another room to grab something she'll say to him "Buddy I'll be right, you don't have to come." He follows anyway (I don't really think he understands what we're saying when we talk to him like that but we all talk to him anyway). 

However, if we truly told him to "stay" he would stay. None of us really mind him being our shadow though. It's more inconvenient for him than for us (unless he noses his way into the bathroom). 

I'm sorry I don't have anything more helpful to say other than maybe she just doesn't feel safe without you there. Or she likes following you around. Maybe she thinks you're going to do something exciting.

As for the training, we were very lucky, we didn't have to work much with Buddy, he just got everything very quickly. Hopefully someone else has something helpful to say about the training.

Good luck!


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

I'm not the training expert around here. But I have had good success with something we learned at an agility class, which requires a lot of obedience...don't tell your dog "no", instead give your dog a command of what you want...eliminate "no" from your vocabulary.

So if the dog is charging you going up the stairs, teach the dog to "wait" at the bottom of the stairs until you get to the top and then call her to come and reward. If the dog is following you around too much, teach her to sit-stay or down-stay with rewards. Be reasonable about the time that you expect from a young dog.

Also remember that a young lab needs LOTS of exercise. They are a working breed. I would start the day with a 30-60 minute hike/walk/jog/... so that she gets a chance to work out her energy and can better listen to your instruction with a clear head. She will need another good walk later in the day / evening and plenty of "throw the ball for fetch until your arm hurts" throughout the day. A tired dog is a good dog.

Lastly, labs can be a bit thick-headed for the first 2-3 years, until those teenage hormones settle down. So think long term...LOTS of patience.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

im_nice1 said:


> what should i do to:
> 
> 1-make her behave calmly in my presence or not follow me everywhere
> 
> 2-listen to my commands without treats.



1. Teach her what that means. She might know what it means when your husband tells her, but you're not him, so she has to learn what YOU expect as well. Different person, different rules. You have to show her that your rules are just the same as his. 

2. Get her to listen to them with treats (but don't "tempt" her with the treat unless you're luring the behavior, and even then, try to stop it ASAP. What might happen is the treat becomes part of the "command"). Keep doing NILIF type training with her and tie it to everything good she wants to do. Once the behavior is "re-learned" with you giving the directions (she still knows how to do the behaviors, but she needs to learn what your cues and signals are and how you connect them to what she needs to do, and good things come from following your instructions), then you'll probably be able to get away from treats every time, just every once in a while.

Hope it helps some.


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

I get the sense that something else is bugging you. I'm not sure why you resent her wanting to be with you...wanting companionship and reassurance by being close to you....it's what puppies need and do.

Calmness comes with exercise and mental stimulation. Labs are high energy breeds and need the equivalent of a 15 mile daily walk/run or 1 hour of basic obedience work. 
When my dogs want my attention, they have to earn it. I use that desire and work them on basic obedience....they're not quite so eager to get in my face every minute. 

Treats need to be randomized and out of sight. One mistake that occurs fairly often is using treats as a bribe instead of a reward ie; showing the dog the treat and then asking for a sit or a down....that's bribing. The dog has been inadvertantly taught to wait for the appearance of a treat before doing anything.


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## KMM (Sep 7, 2009)

Hello, I am not expert, but I just got a 10 month rottie, she is the same way. During the day after play time pay your dog no attetion. Let her walk around the house but keep an eye on her from time to time. Remember she is still a puppy and shes going to pee/poop/chew. When the dog follows you don't make eye contact act like she isn't there. When you show attetion she thinks it's play time. When I ignore my dog I still call her from time to time probably every 10-15 minutes and play with her for 5 minutes or so and reward her with treats for giving me alone time. Also anoher tactic I have heard of is when your dog is laying down and giving you no attetion reward her with treats. Everytime you see her laying down reward her. I don't know if any of theese offcial work but you might as well try them they won't bring no harm and seem to work a bit for me.


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## im_nice1 (Mar 12, 2009)

Thanks all for your replies..i will try to follow as many suggestions as I can.

as for exercise levels: i do understand that big puppies need lots n lots of exercise so we play ball with a chucker and 2 balls simultaneously (that speeds it up and makes for longer runs)...3-4 times a day for at least 15 minutes or till she flops down tired. I take her for a short walk in the morning and a hour long walk, (part of which is a run...coz i run regularly) in the evening. she goes to 2 days/week of puppy play daycare from which she returns tired. in the weekends we go to the doggie park and i do her training exercises at least twice or more everyday (w treats) everyday to mentally tire her. but yeah..im still worried that she may not be getting enough exercise...

and i probably wouldnt be stressed by my puppy 'calmly' following me everywhere...except that my entrance into the room seems to have become a signal for her to do some frenzied activity..like picking a toy n continuously pushing it at me, or jumping on sofa frenziedly or scratching the door every 15 min wanting to go out and play or pee. maybe all normal puppy behaviour...and i do try to keep correcting her at all times...but 24 hrs of this behavior n correction sometimes tires me out. (i guess its like the SAHMs with toddlers who dont get any respite... letting her play for a few hours in a fenced backyard wld probably be better...but we live in a townhome and have a mutual backyard with other townhomes..which is grassy and large but unfenced...meaning that i have to keep constant watch on her when i take her out to play and leash her when she wants to pee.

yesterday night, i was alone and she jumped up and sprawled in the middle of my bed and refuse to budge (gen hubby's commands make her leave the bed immediately but he was not there)..till i gave up ..she was sweet and kept snuggling up but she's 65 lbs of muscle and i didnt get any sleep. sigh..just venting i guess. my hubby says that she behaves this way when im around coz i give her too much attention..and perhaps true.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

> and i probably wouldnt be stressed by my puppy 'calmly' following me everywhere...except that my entrance into the room seems to have become a signal for her to do some frenzied activity..like picking a toy n continuously pushing it at me, or jumping on sofa frenziedly or scratching the door every 15 min wanting to go out and play or pee. maybe all normal puppy behaviour...and i do try to keep correcting her at all times...but 24 hrs of this behavior n correction sometimes tires me out. (i guess its like the SAHMs with toddlers who dont get any respite...


Use baby gates to contain her to one room/area. Or, crate her and give her a stuffed Kong or a raw bone to keep her busy. I've got 4 dogs, and there's only me - as a homeowner, there's always upkeep and maintenance inside and out, plus I work full time. All of my dogs follow me from room to room, because they want to be with me, however, they all know what OFF means, or OUT, and they comply, so they're not pests. Dogs, like children, thrive on structure and routine. Establish a daily routine, and provide structured play time, quiet time (in and out of crate), walks, naps, meals, etc. I've got a 12 mo. old puppy with LOTS of energy and puppy playfulness, but, when I tell her to go to her mat, she goes to her mat and stays there until released. I had to train this by doing daily 30-min. down/stays consistently each and every day. It pays off. 



> letting her play for a few hours in a fenced backyard wld probably be better...but we live in a townhome and have a mutual backyard with other townhomes..which is grassy and large but unfenced...meaning that i have to keep constant watch on her when i take her out to play and leash her when she wants to pee.


Ok. I've got 4 dogs who have to pee, my back yard IS fenced, but I still go out with them, because I don't leave them outside unsupervised. I trained them to pee/poop when I tell them to, so they just do it. When I go back inside, they follow. 



> yesterday night, i was alone and she jumped up and sprawled in the middle of my bed and refuse to budge (gen hubby's commands make her leave the bed immediately but he was not there)..till i gave up ..she was sweet and kept snuggling up but she's 65 lbs of muscle and i didnt get any sleep. sigh..just venting i guess. my hubby says that she behaves this way when im around coz i give her too much attention..and perhaps true.


Teach her what OFF means. When I'm training, I don't do much talking at all. I keep it simple, and make sure the dog knows what OFF means. I don't raise my voice, but if the dog didn't get off, I would follow through with physically getting the dog off the bed, sofa, or whatever, and make sure s/he stayed off. If you give up/give in, all you're doing is teaching your dog to keep up the unwanted behavior until you cave. And she knows you will, eventually, because that's what's happening. 

Your dog is demanding your attention, so go back to implementing NILIF into daily life immediately, and be consistent, persistent, and patient. If your dog interferes with your sleep, then put her in her crate.


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