# He's so clingy!



## partial2poodles (Feb 11, 2010)

Gino goes everywhere with me because he is so clingy too. He is perfect in hotel rooms and loves hopping from bed to bed. He never barks when I have to leave him in the room. Yes, I always have his little sparkly harness on so he doesn't escape. When I take him to work, he is the biggest pain in the butt. He runs up to every dog barking like an idiot---he has to be sure they know they are in HIS grooming shop and HE is the boss and they better not bite HIS MOMMY!~ When I put him back in the office and shut the door, he settles down with no more barking. Atticus just loves you sooooo much. I would never go on vacation without my little cuddle bug.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Before I got a mini, I used to think Goldens were clingy.

Then I got a poodle.

In our house, no one even pees alone. 

He can be sound asleep and comfy, but if I get up, he gets up. It is so constant that on the very few occasions when I don't see him right near me, I get worried and have to go find him.

Maybe experienced poodle people can speak to whether this is usual for the breed, but I was very surprised. One of the breeds we looked at in our thorough examination of all possible allergy-friendly breeds was the Viszla, and the breeders told me THEY were clingy. Yet I didn't get a big sense that poodles needed to be so close to you when I was reading up on them. 

Maybe mine is just odd!


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## passion4poodles (Apr 11, 2009)

It is in a poodles nature to WANT to be around their people, they are very driven to satisfy us as much as they can. Tynkers is like that, she freaks out! It is worse now since the move, but we put her in the ex pen this afternoon and before we even for out the door he was wining and her (and i am not kidding) lower lip was quivering! Like 'please don't leave me" I feel bad, but I can NOT take her everywhere with me. She did not do that before the move though, just since we moved here. There was a 6 week span that she was not with us, I think that made it WAY worse.

P.S. I think toys and mini's are worse at it then standards.

Good luck and keep us updated!


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## bluespoomommy (Feb 25, 2010)

JE-UK said:


> Before I got a mini, I used to think Goldens were clingy.
> 
> Then I got a poodle.
> 
> ...


no way, ur not alone. mochi is exactly the same!!! even if i get up to go to the bathroom, she has to swing open the door and peek in to 'check' on me and then walks away. GEEZ, a little privacy please!


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## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

While part of it is the poodle breed, I also think it is partly due to learned behaviour. If you bring him everywhere with you, what do you expect? 

I do not think it is healthy for a dog to be ALWAYS in search of its owner.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

i have 3-4 dogs helping me pee on a regular basis. 

poof likes to go with me places a lot and we're both slightly co-dependent on each other, but she can stay home when i need her to/it's not appropriate.

she does sleep with me at night, but that's just been a recent thing since my husband and i separated. heck, i have a king size bed ... plenty of room for 2 cairn terriers and a spoo.


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## Feathersprings (Jul 15, 2010)

I was thinking Hoolie was getting a bit too clingy...I was happy to see that when I took him to training class I had to go to my car and he was on a tie down and he had not much reaction to my leaving except to watch... what I find funny is that he would love to be smaller  He wants to be a lap dog and is quickly outgrowing that...he also will sit on the footstool by me while I watch TV an is now getting too big and his legs keep falling off LOL! That is when he creeps up on my lap to sit.... right now he is sitting by me at the computer which is good.. keeps him from tormenting the greyhound... :rolffleyes:


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

my only worries would be that it can lead to seperation anxiety in the dog. So i'd make sure that i practiced leaving him with others- for short periods of times (like you did) so he knows that you always come back. . .


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## wishpoo (Sep 12, 2009)

> While part of it is the poodle breed, I also think it is partly due to learned behaviour. If you bring him everywhere with you, what do you expect?
> 
> I do not think it is healthy for a dog to be ALWAYS in search of its owner.


I agree 100 %. 

It is same as with kids - to be well adjusted they have to learn how to function in different environments and with different people :rolffleyes:

I would not like to have a clingy dog :rolffleyes: My first spoo was not at all... He missed us being gone but would adjust fast to a loving neighbor who would take him in when we went on a vacation. At home he was always laying in the proximity but never "into our face" or followed us around non-stop :rolffleyes:. Dogs have fantastic hearing and smell and know darn well where their humans are at any point on the property : ))) - no need for "visual" observation LOL

Some people might like that and that is OK, but for those who do not - there are different training methods that can modify it : )))


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## *tina* (Jan 3, 2010)

Captain is our shadow, but he doesn't HAVE to be with us constantly. After having one dog with separation anxiety, I learned my lesson. My husband got me our first dog three days after we moved to Hawaii and into our new house. We went down to the Humane Society and picked a puppy and brought her home. He left out to sea for a month basically the next day. So, Midge went with me EVERYWHERE I could take her. Husband came home and I had to divide my attention and we went out, etc leaving her alone. We had to crate train her for her own good. She would go CRAZY without us. My neighbor one time knocked on the door and asked why the dog howled through the night when we weren't there. She was a product of my own making. I think you might want to start leaving Atticus behind sometimes, because you'll be starting school again soon, I'd hate for him to escape looking for you.


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

My mini is clingy, especially with me, but with my husband too. He wants to be right there with us all the time. I have made it point to leave him alone, leave him in his pen while we are home, etc. He cries if we are there and he's penned, but it's getting better. He doesn't seem to cry when we actually leave the house and he's in his garage/dog run. I guess he gets that we are not there. I have left him overnight with my father in law and their spoo and he did great, which made me feel good.


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

I wouldnt call Riley "clingy", but he enjoys being with me. If i am in the house, 95% of the time he is with me. If im on the computer for a long time then he might go to his bed in another room to lay down. He is very comfortable when i leave him anywhere. When he was younger i would keep him in the bathroom with me while i took a shower or whatnot. He wanted to lay on the rug in there and wait for me, and since he was a puppy i knew where he was and not getting into trouble. Now he doesnt feel the need to be in there with me. He has gotten better about some things as he gets older. 

I want a dog that wants to be with me, and follows me. I dont want a dog that leaps up at my every movement. Riley can see me go into a different room. Like our family room and kitchen are open. He wont get up and follow me unless i go into a different part of the house. I want a well adjusted dog. Riley can happily be in the car for hours at a tracking event without making a fuss.


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

That's not curly white fur on my sweet Beau - it's industrial strength Velcro!


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## Birdie (Jun 28, 2009)

LEUllman said:


> That's not curly white fur on my sweet Beau - it's industrial strength Velcro!


:lol: 
That's hilarious!! 

I agree 100% with Locket. Poodles are by nature attentive and close with their owners; as everyone mentioned, poodles like to "check up" on their owners. Desmond does it, and I love it.  

But, if you take your dog with you everywhere and enforce his need to be with you 24/7, he's going to end up upset if you leave- it's absolutely classic separation anxiety. I mean, you should probably work with him so he can be more calm while you're gone. SA can get bad fast, might as well nip it in the bud before it's an issue. 

Desmond sleeps comfortably whenever I leave, or hangs out with whoever is home. He is happy when I get home and obviously loves to see me, but he can control himself when I'm out. A dog really shouldn't be anxiously searching for its owner the entire time they are gone.


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## FozziesMom (Jun 23, 2010)

Fozzie is indeed quite attentive (that velcro comment was hilarious!) and while he was a pup I encouraged it because it helps, I think, with recall. 

This is where good crate training makes a difference. When Fozzie is in his crate with a blanket over it, he's in la la land sleeping away. Doesn't matter if I'm in the house (as i am right now, since he hasn't woken up yet the the lazy bum!  ) or if I'm out.

When FozziesDad is watching him and I'm out, he reports that he just sleeps, it is as if he saves all his playing and energy for me, yikes. HE says he doesn't search for me or seem anxious. I hope that will translate when I have to board him, and hope I can find a place that is a home rather than a dog run. 

But all in all, yes, poodles are an attentive breed, and it happens to be one of the things i love about them. It was an adjustment after all these years of independence, a bit like "oh god, what did I sign up for" but now I feel lonely when that ball of black velcro isn't underfoot. They sure win you over fast.

speaking of which, time to go walk my sweet pup, I was out at a concert last night and he was in bed when I got home!


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## Trillium (Sep 1, 2009)

All of the spoos I've had certainly have been attentive and yes going to the bathroom is a group sport. Betty Jo is my shadow and follows me pretty much everywhere. But on the other hand if I'm away she is perfectly fine with the rest of the family or left in the bathroom if we're all gone. Jenny is more independant and checks up on me from time to time but actually will let me go to the bathroom alone. Sport was also my shadow but was happy with my family and ok if we left him at my parents for a few days. Rusty was in love with all kids and assumed he was on earth to take care of them. But he was fine when he was left for a while too.


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