Bonding

[j_linnstaedter]

A juvenile Great Pyranees claimed us. He is food focused. Down cause him to turn upside down for the treat. I have known “the choosing.” I have worked with puppies and dogs. But this baby doesn’t really trust. He isn’t aggressive. He just seems cautious but not fearful. We have been using praise, capture, and running between two people to get treats and love. He loves “ find.” I know training and love are part of building the trust and connection, but something is missing. Any ideas?

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello, and welcome to the forums,

Great Pyrenees are great dogs and very intelligent, but they can sometimes seem a bit aloof due to their tendency to want to check things out and pace around the yard to verify scents and sounds. I wonder if this is what you are seeing? Is this your first Pyr? How old is he? He might be in the adolescent stage when they can act a bit odd. Bonding can take time to build in some dogs like the Pyr due to their independent nature (they were selectively bred to be livestock guardians) so this can make them somewhat different compared to certain dogs breed that were selectively bred to be more like loyal companions.

[j_linnstaedter]

I am more familiar with Shar Pei, Labs, Rotts, Danes; this is my first Pyr. He is always so busy! It takes a great deal of time to tire him out. He will only rest on the floor with one of us with him. I still use the crate for sleeping. Since he is a foundling, age is somewhat of a mystery. I would say he got to be too big to be the cute puppy for wherever he was before us and is in the juvenile stage. He is beautiful, sweet tempered, huge, busy, and in need of calm. The vet said he wasn't aloof with us. He is still waiting for something. That is what I feel. I am accostomed to my dogs being with me in each room, but he is underfoot. He almost panics when I leave the room.

 

Honestly, I thought he was waiting for somebody and continue to search to see if he had a person. I now feel several from his litter were dumped when they got too big for the food budget.

 

Shar Pei claim a person differently. He never feels calm enough to "be" with us.

 

We will figure it out! I just want to be certain he has what he needs to have the best possible life. For us, training is comunication and relationship. He is missing something, but I don't yet know what. Maybe he is afraid of being dumped again. His life has been short and that experience might make him worried. We are focusing on seeing him as a whole, healthy, stable, calm, communicative member of the family. Right now he acts hyper, nervous, stressed, and breathy/whiny to be with us or to get a treat. He groans. Maybe he is just a puppy teen.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

With rescued dogs and not knowing their history, it's often a gamble finding out what may be truly going in their mind. Only time will tell. In general, being surrendered to a shelter (if this is where you got him from) can be a very traumatic experience for dogs. Their daily routines are gone, they no longer have a person they can depend on and this makes them feel very anxious and insecure.

 

After being shifted around from place to place, surrendered dogs therefore often feel quite confused and frustrated. Once placed in a new home setting, they may therefore become clingy and excessively attached. This can sometimes trigger the onset of separation anxiety in predisposed dogs. On the other hand, sometimes dogs coming from shelters had separation anxiety in the first place and were surrendered for that reason.

 

Have you ever left him home alone? If so, how does he behave? Recording his behavior when left home alone can be insightful to see whether there may be signs of separation anxiety.

 

He is lucky to have found you! Brain games, training, having a predictable routine and teaching independence a little bit at time (watch his threshold levels!) may help him become more confident. You can find some tips here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/following-owners-around-house/

[JMFS]

Adrienne gave me some great anti-cling tips for Gertie, who also follows me from room to room. Some days it can get to be too much and I throw treats on her bed so she'll stay and give me a minute to breathe! Here's that post: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?130-Thundershirt&p=572&viewfull=1#post572

 

It took her about 2 months to get to the point of being Right by my side 24-7. I just turned around and she's staring at me because I'm standing at my desk instead of sitting so she's ready to follow. :rolleyes: I work from the house so I haven't put full effort into breaking her habit, but the training I have done has helped quite a bit. I can be gone from a room for about 10-15 minutes before she comes looking for me, and we can leave the house without her having a panic attack. Getting a larger area for her than a crate helped with that - we rigged an exercise pen to divide the office in half so she can move around but can't get into things she ought not to get into. She no longer barks her head off when we enter the house so the tips have helped.