I have had very little to do with this breed of dog in all my years of experience, so when I got a call from a retiree whose dog was very stressed when she was out of the house and was making so much noise, the neighbors started complaining and talking. with my client because the dog was very disturbing.
The breed is usually a very balanced breed and this male was no exception. In the house, it has learned to behave as it has done thanks to the interaction of its owner. You may have read this before on my blogs and this is not about the dog, it is about the owner because while it is important to talk about the dog, the characteristics of the dog and how it behaves so that you can recognize any similarities. In your own dogs, it is equally important to recognize the behavioral traits in yourself so that you can truly understand how you have shaped the behavior of your own dogs as well.
I have also discussed in other blog posts how we as humans are hardwired to be reactive and how we easily focus on correcting our dog’s behavior and how our dogs interpret it.
What I want to detail on this blog is how corrective we can be as homeowners and how cool and laid-back is so easily ignored and when you have read this, you will have a better understanding of how separation anxiety occurs.
When I arrived the dog was in the kitchen and barked when I walked into the hallway and was told to be quiet. She let him into the hallway and he jumped on me and she told him to get off, which he did. Then he jumped up again and she told him to get off. As we entered the room, he was facing me and jumping and she was telling him to get off.
When I sat on the chair he jumped on top of me and again the owner told him to get down and get off. He sat on his couch and the dog jumped up next to him and sat down and relaxed. She do not do nothing. Absolutely nothing. She asked me if I wanted a cup of tea, I’ve never been seen to refuse, so she got up and went to the kitchen. Immediately the dog got up and went with her, then she asked him why he was following her. He made the tea, went back inside, sat on his couch and the dog jumped up next to him and sat down, relaxed and got nothing. When he wanted attention, he would approach her and she would tease him. This would cause him to get off the couch and come to me so she would scold him and make him go back to the couch, where he would just sit back, relax and get nothing.
I hope that by now you can see the emerging behavior pattern and how the dog has been taught that he must be doing something to get the attention of his owners and he must not only be active, but also feel stressed and confused because it looks Forced to be constantly active and stressed is not a natural behavior for dogs, they do not appreciate it because they prefer to be relaxed and enjoy our company while they relax.
When our dog associates being with us with being stressed and feels that he has to be stressed to get the attention of his owners, his owner has to be close to them to give them the constant attention to which the dog has become accustomed. So when you leave the house, you are not close enough to the dog to give them the reward for being stressed, so they get more stressed when you are away.
This is further reinforced when I return. When you return, the dog runs up to you and annoys you because you are glad to be home and happy to see your dog, but in reality you are just rewarding the stress and telling your dog that it is worth being stressed while you are away. because you give a great reward when you come home.
Wait until your dog has calmed down before talking to him, and be sure to only interact with him when he is calm and this behavior can easily be reversed.