# puppy shows me no affection :|



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Do you play with her - down on the floor, tugging toys, giggly play? I found that it was easy to be so focussed on feeding, house training, teaching basic good manners, etc, etc that just having fun could rather get forgotten. You are definitely doing most things right - she is clearly attached to you - perhaps it just needs a little more spontaneous fun on your part to make the difference, especially outside. There are so many distractions for a puppy when out of the house that you have to work really hard to be more exciting than the big wide world. 

Sing her silly songs with her name in them, have fabulous treats for when she comes to you, play tug or hand wrestling or gentle foot and muzzle grabs or tickling games. It is possible that she is a rather reserved character, and prefers not to be overly demonstrative (Sophy is rather like that), but I suspect that you will both loosen up and be happier if you learn to be silly together.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Ok, Paige just somehow erased my entire post. Maybe she was telling me it was too long. 
So, in a nutshell, before she jumps back up here and does it again.

All good things come from you for a while, not your mom. She doesn't get attention and treats just lavished on her, make her work for or ask for them. She gets treats when she does what you want. You are trying to build a relationship and the easiest way is to make her want you and your attention. Build her anticipation by not doling out attention constantly. She needs to sit polietly to be allowed in your lap, she needs to look at you for a treat. If she is to be your dog and not your mom's dog, for the first few weeks, all good things only come from you, but not just constantly. She gets to 'work' for them. NILIF (nothing in life is free). When she starts to really focus on you, then add other people. 

I don't know if it's a personality quirk - some dogs prefer one person to another, maybe she's come to expect that you're going to just lavish love on her so it's not a treat anymore, but just the way it is in her mind. She may have just gotten so comfortable that she doesn't solicit attention from you, becasue she knows she'll get it anyway. 

I'm training a puppy now for competition obedience. I love this puppy, but she is not in my lap, she is in a playpen beside me. If I glance at her, she'll be staring at me. As soon as she sits down, I'll tell her how adorable she is. When I go to the pen, she gets all excited to see me. When she sits down, I'll let her out to play with me. She seldom plays with my daughter, I rarely let her play with the other dogs and then for only a few minutes. I'll call her over, give her a treat or a cuddle and send her off again. After a few minutes, I'll put her back. I'll shape her into a sit then give her a toy or her food. I've had her here a week. She is about 10 weeks old. She is already focusing on me more than the other dogs or my daughter. Today, she is already showing focus and trying to work on a heel position - I haven't taught her that, she just wants to be where the good stuff is - with me. She can't wait to cuddle because it isn't something that happens constantly. She is not a poodle, she's a working bred cow dog (Kelpie). She's bred to be hard working and independant - I'm turning her into a marshmellow. 

With some dogs, you just have to try different things. They are all individuals. I have noticed that most of my dogs prefer me to the rest of the family, but this is basically the way I start all of them. It really works well. I hope you get the cuddly love bug you want, just don't be hurt, not everyone is snuggly with everyone. Paige (toy poodle) isn't cuddley, but I accept her the way she is and over time, she's gotten much more affectionate. Relationships take time. It will be worth it. Don't get discouraged yet.


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## taem (Mar 5, 2011)

I carry treats, a ball, and a small squeaky toy at all times. Whenever she comes to me she gets play with me and/or a toy, treats, I try to be all excited. I am who I am -- I'm not a gushy person. But I try and make it great for her to be with me. I could accept a non-cuddly dog -- but this one just doesn't seem interested in me, other than clinging. And the clinging could come to an end. (Usually does, at least the early puppy clinginess does.)

It's always worked on other pups, the toys I had, my sister's shepherds and labs, neighborhood dogs. Even Raffie down the street who's pretty anti-social wags his tail and crosses the street to say hi. I've always been told I'm great with dogs, I'm the guy friends ask to take care of their dogs when they're out of town.

I'm just at a complete loss, feel like I'm failing and that I screwed up and picked the wrong puppy maybe. The breeder has suggested I might "swap" her with the remaining pup from the litter who's of a friendly disposition, but "dumping" puppy makes me want to vomit.

Basically, right now, I'm feeling I will have a dog I feed and walk and bathe and take to the vet, and that's pretty all the interaction I'll have with her.


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## BigRedDog (Mar 2, 2011)

Is there a possibility that your puppy was not properly socialized to humans? Dogs do need good experiences with other people, dogs etc in the early months of their lives in order to form good bonds. 
I have an idea and maybe it will work for you. For the next few weeks, hand feed your dog. Call your dog to you and all her food should come only from your hands along with kind words and affection. This should give her the idea that only good things are to be expected when being with you.
Whatever other things your dog likes to do (walks, dog park, play with toys) should also be with the two of you together. I would also put her crate or bed in your room so she sleeps near you as well.
Come back and let us know if this helps and changes things for you!:angel2:


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

You haven't had her very long. She barely knows you and you barely know her. I would give it some more time and just relax. I am sure she is picking up on your anxiety. She clearly knows you are "mom," just give it some more time. Also, sounds like she might be more of a thinker, more serious. That is not necessarily a bad thing!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I think I would try a bit of a combination of being slightly more hard to get, and slightly more exciting when you do interact with her. I posted on another thread about reserved Brits trying to emulate the all-singing, all-dancing, shrieking with excitement recall method we were being taught - we are British, we don't DO that sort of thing! It sounds as if she is a self contained, self confident pup - perhaps if you chuck all our preconceptions of how pups ought to behave out of the window, and simply work on getting to know her and what makes her tick, she may surprise you. Still waters run deep!


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## Kloliver (Jan 17, 2012)

BorderKelpie said:


> Ok, Paige just somehow erased my entire post. Maybe she was telling me it was too long.
> So, in a nutshell, before she jumps back up here and does it again.
> 
> All good things come from you for a while, not your mom. She doesn't get attention and treats just lavished on her, make her work for or ask for them. She gets treats when she does what you want. You are trying to build a relationship and the easiest way is to make her want you and your attention. Build her anticipation by not doling out attention constantly. She needs to sit polietly to be allowed in your lap, she needs to look at you for a treat. If she is to be your dog and not your mom's dog, for the first few weeks, all good things only come from you, but not just constantly. She gets to 'work' for them. NILIF (nothing in life is free). When she starts to really focus on you, then add other people.
> ...


All REALLY great stuff. Ask everyone else to step back a bit so you can really bond. Another thing to try for the next 10 days is to exclusively hand feed the pup. Measure out the daily ration & carry it around in your pockets/ bait bag to dole out throughout the day. Any really desired behaviour get a 'jackpot'- lots of food bits fed one after the the other with much praise. They know when you're being generous (I know they can count.)


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## taem (Mar 5, 2011)

Thanks guys. I'm just thrown for a complete loop right now at not seeing behavior I expected. I've known so many puppies, and in my experience it doesn't take weeks and weeks or conditioning to get affectionate behavior, usually it happens almost immediately. It happens without gushy rewards, for example I knew a collie when I was a kid, that puppy was beaten for every little transgression, once so badly his front leg got broken. Even that puppy was still wriggly and waggy tailed to the humans in his house. So I'm just baffled is all. I mean for all the talk of "they're all different," out of countless pups I've known this age, I've never seen one that's not wriggly and waggy tailed, not at this age, several months of age, sure, but not at 10-11 weeks.

I'll just have to wait and see, and if I have an independent aloof dog, then that's the dog I have. Right now she's curled between my feet napping.


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## Nova (Mar 11, 2012)

Do you have a lot of experience with small breed puppies? I find that they tend to be a bit different than larger breeds, and it takes some getting used to.


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## Kloliver (Jan 17, 2012)

taem said:


> I'll just have to wait and see, and if I have an independent aloof dog, then that's the dog I have. Right now she's curled between my feet napping.


awwww, see, that's encouraging


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## petitpie (Nov 16, 2011)

Do you and your mom have different personalities and temperaments that your puppy is responding to, and is she with your mom more hours than with you? My mpoo was with my mother when I was at work or out of the house, a good bit of time.


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## PammiPoodle (Jul 16, 2011)

Taem, you've gotten a lot of great advice here! I also want to share that I had a very similar experience with baby Lumi. She was barely (if at all) affectionate. She also was very clingy, and it was frustrating that I couldn't leave the room without her pitching a fit, but when I was in the room, she didn't want me to touch her! It wasn't what I expected either, and I was afraid I got the "wrong" puppy, and actually thought just what you wrote: "I will have a dog I feed and walk and bathe and take to the vet, and that's pretty all the interaction I'll have with her." I didn't feel a connection to her, and thought she felt the same way about me. If I crouched down and called her to me (which I thought would make any happy puppy run over for loves) she would just plop her butt down and stare at me like "..What are you doing?" It really hurt my feelings - I thought she hated me! I guess she just wasn't affectionate as a puppy. As she got older, though, she started standing still longer for pets, or actually crawling on my lap for a nap. Sometimes she comes over to me and leans against my leg just to get pet and scratched, and eventually melts onto her back for a belly rub. As a younger puppy, she would actually bite my hand most times I tried to pet her! She's nine months old now.

Being affectionate is fun, but I think it's pretty low-energy, and puppies have a lot of energy! She may just not be in the mood for those things right now. You say she always wants to be with you, that's your biggest sign of connection right there! She wants to be with you, you're very important to her. Please don't be sad about this "missing" element of the relationship. I got very depressed when Lumi didn't act the way I thought she "should". It was a shame because we could've had a ton more fun than we did, even if she never gave me affection! Puppies are always learning and growing and playing and being cute and you don't want to miss that! : ) She's not yet the dog she's going to be, she won't always be like this. I hope the advice on this thread helps you to see the type of behavior you want, and I hope you have a great time with her along the way!!


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

I find this thread very interesting! I do agree with the energy thing, my highest energy dog is not that cuddly except in the evenings when she's tired. In the mornings she almost runs me over with excitement but then as soon as she's let out, all of the world's amazing sights and sounds preoccupy her. But I expect her to settle down more as she matures. She is very smart also, and excels at obedience lessons etc., so we have bonded through our mutual love of dog games. And we both love to run, so we have that in common too  BUT, your puppy is really young! If you don't feel a connection with her, why don't you just swap for the other one as the breeder offered? I mean, why try to fit a square peg into a round hole; through much work you may be able to shape her behaviour and your expectations, but the outcome may never be what either of you really want--it's not wrong and you're not giving up on her to swap her. It's not like anything bad has come of this experience to you OR the pup--if you swap, she'll be placed in another loving home and you'll have the pup you always wanted. Just a thought! Unless you already feel attached, and feel it's worth the effort to keep working on it, only you can tell.


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## taem (Mar 5, 2011)

You know, I think I'm being totally unfair to puppy. She's changing every day. For example, up until today, she'd only barked twice, at toys when she got worked up, and it was two tiny little barks. Today she barked at guys working with loud tools. That's not behavior I want from puppy lol but it's yet another example of how quickly she's changing.



PammiPoodle said:


> I also want to share that I had a very similar experience with baby Lumi. She was barely (if at all) affectionate. She also was very clingy, and it was frustrating that I couldn't leave the room without her pitching a fit, but when I was in the room, she didn't want me to touch her! It wasn't what I expected either, and I was afraid I got the "wrong" puppy, and actually thought just what you wrote...


Tyvm for that! It's encouraging to hear that someone else went through this thing too.



Indiana said:


> BUT, your puppy is really young! If you don't feel a connection with her, why don't you just swap for the other one as the breeder offered?


When the breeder suggested that, for a second I was like, why not a fresh new start, with a friendlier puppy? But I could never swap her, I do think we have a bond, just not custom-made to my specifications, but then, this isn't a paint job on a car or anything. While I'm venting and expressing disappointment here, I view this as, I have to get to know her and adjust to her, just like she has to with me. She is a ball-retrieving fiend, among other things -- there are things I love about puppy! And we can pretty much take comfortable walks already, she just trots alongside or behind me on a slack leash.

I did mention she is clingy to me, almost cloyingly so. I have to wait there in the kitchen while she eats for example, even with a nice juicy chunk of meat and bone, if I leave she'll drop the meal and come running after me. And it takes a looooong time for her to chew through some of those bones! Little miss doesn't crunch the bone at first, she gnaws and gnaws forever just working at the marrow. She only crunches the bone to get at more marrow. Takes forever!



petitpie said:


> Do you and your mom have different personalities and temperaments that your puppy is responding to, and is she with your mom more hours than with you? My mpoo was with my mother when I was at work or out of the house, a good bit of time.


She's waggy tailed and wriggly to my mom, but she's also low to the ground sort of groveling and her tail is held low. I'm no dog expert but I interpret it as a bit of fear mixed in there. She shows none of that to me -- when she comes to me, she's fully upright, tail curled high on her back. That is one thing I take great comfort in, if my mom comes on her fast from above puppy will bounce backward. If I do that she stands there just looking, like "what are you doing?" So maybe I'm just interepreting her all wrong, maybe she's showing something more important than a waggy tail, and that is complete trust.



Nova said:


> Do you have a lot of experience with small breed puppies? I find that they tend to be a bit different than larger breeds, and it takes some getting used to.


As a kid I had a whole pack of toy poodles. They were all wriggly and cuddly as hell, without exception. Again, every puppy I've ever known is like that. That's why I'm thrown for such a loop.

Wooh sorry that's so long! It's just, this morning I came back from a quick trip and didn't get the waggy tailed exuberant welcome I used to get from my toys and it just hit me so hard.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Hmm..I agree, it may just be a difference in larger dogs vs. smaller dogs. I've lived with 4 standard poodles and I'm not certain that any of them have ever been the "bounding toward me" type. They like to follow me around, and nibble on me. They wag their tails when I come home, stretch big and make humanlike, gutteral noises (lol) and rub against me like a cat. Then they plop their bodies near me, follow me around, or start playing with a toy. Out of 4 poodles, none of my dogs have ever liked to cuddle, but they do enjoy my company.


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## Ryker's_Mom (Mar 21, 2012)

First off, taem, I'm sorry. I imagine it's rough having a brand new puppy who you don't feel bonded to.

Just remember that every dog is different. While that Collie may have rebounded, a small minor incident that may have upset your puppy's outlook could completely change its behavior. 

Maybe this puppy is showing affection in a different way? You said she clings to you - follows wherever you go. Or perhaps she is *too* sensitized - maybe she'd benefit from a little alone time in a crate for a few bits during the day. 

What sealed the bond with me and Ryker is just being around each other. If I ran to the pet store, there he'd be in the car. I was his "rock" in unfamiliar situations. That, and I have a habit of talking to my dogs. All the time. In fact, sometimes I think he looks at me and says: "Mommy, be quiet."

Just remember to have fun, be silly (not to steal fjm's thunder  ) and relax. Dogs can pick up on stress.


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

Try smearing peanut butter all over yourself! J/K!

Seriously, she's still a youngster and puppies are all about chewing, sleeping, and pooping/peeing. They're self-absorbed little wrecking balls.  They go through so many changes as they mature and grow up. The puppy you have now may not be the dog you have 6 months or a year from now. Continue to work with her, groom her, talk to her, play with her, and you'll bond with her. She may turn out to be a velcro snuggle bunny before she reaches her first birthday!

Side note: I've never had a female dog in my adult life. All my MPOOs have been males and they are major snuggle bunny cuddlers. I have three so it's a competition to snuggle! LOL


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## Kloliver (Jan 17, 2012)

He;s still a baby with much room to grow. Think of it this way.... maybe you'll have the best behaved calm teen doggie ever known to humankind (it cld happen!)


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## taem (Mar 5, 2011)

Ryker's_Mom said:


> First off, taem, I'm sorry. I imagine it's rough having a brand new puppy who you don't feel bonded to.


Oh I do feel bonded with her, that's why it hurts me so much she's not all wriggly and tail waggy. Like if I am at my desk, this is where you will find puppy without fail:








The black and white things are my legs and feet. Stresses me out because I absolutely cannot move my chair anymore, I might hurt her.



CharismaticMillie said:


> I've lived with 4 standard poodles and I'm not certain that any of them have ever been the "bounding toward me" type. They like to follow me around, and nibble on me. They wag their tails when I come home, stretch big and make humanlike, gutteral noises (lol) and rub against me like a cat. Then they plop their bodies near me, follow me around, or start playing with a toy. Out of 4 poodles, none of my dogs have ever liked to cuddle, but they do enjoy my company.


Ok that's a lot like what puppy is like, except she doesn't wag her tail but I cannot sit on the floor without her crawling into my lap. Thanks for sharing that. Maybe I'm just judging way too much by my toys of childhood and misreading her. I still would like a tail wag tho. :|

She does lick my face like crazy whenever she can get in reach. But sooner or later she's going to bite lol and it can hurt like hell. (Teaching bite inhibition not going so well :| ) Not to share too much lol but this morning I came out of the shower and she bit my nipple, omg the pain. I can't even describe it. I couldn't believe I wasn't bleeding.


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## PammiPoodle (Jul 16, 2011)

Well, there's your love right there - she's trying to nurse!! Hahaha I think Rowan really said it, puppies are not always the dog they grow to be. I once thought that puppies were just super high energy and untrained little dogs. Meaning, just give them an outlet and teach them commands, and voila! In three weeks you have your high energy little model citizen. WRONG!! Puppies are as different from dogs as kids are from adults. It's not just a matter of teaching them things and tiring them out. Their brains work differently, they're immature, they're kinda stupid. : P You probably know this, having raised so many puppies, but Lumi was my first! This is news to me! Haha After three days with Lumi I had the whole next 15 years mapped out (grimly), of life with my non-affectionate, disobedient, wild banshee/Poodle. Hahaha, my Bansheedoodle! Now she's such a different dog. Btw, the shift in her allowing and even begging me for affection and cuddling didn't really start until she was about 6 months old. Don't despair, she's got a lot of growing to do! : )


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## Kloliver (Jan 17, 2012)

taem said:


> Not to share too much lol but this morning I came out of the shower and she bit my nipple, omg the pain. I can't even describe it. I couldn't believe I wasn't bleeding.


First: *THANKS* for sharing that; it made my day.

Second: how in the H - E - double hockey sticks was she able to nipple nibble? We thought we had it bad- our animals LOVE our natural body lotion & its a fight to see who can lick our legs first & longest after drying them off. Rango is uncomfortably tall at moments & the cats tongues just plain hurt after a few swipes.


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

Unlike some other breeds, not all poodles are big tail waggers, no matter their age or how happy they might be be. Beau only wags in greeting for a few minutes after one of his people walks in the door or when he's waiting for me to throw a ball during a game of fetch. Other than that, no wags at all. This might throw you if you're used to dogs that wag constantly. There was a thread about this recently. Maybe you just don't have a waggy tailed pup!


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## dcyk (Nov 30, 2011)

My Mack, is a smug one, stingy with his wags for me and my wife, but for my brother in law, or the fellow we bought him from, he will be bouncy and playful too. 

When i get low to play with him, he won't act the same way. But he has changed mightly from 2 months to the 6 months he is now. It's just patience and training. Keep the puppy mind tired.

NILIF is a great way to get them to obey and trust you, hand feed them a few kibbles at a time always making the dog do tricks like sit/down/hand etc to get the few kibbles in your hand.

Takes longer but they tend to know that they have to do something before you reward them.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

I had much the same concerns when mine was a puppy ... he was a whirling dervish of energy, totally velcro-ed to me, but not at ALL cuddly. Like you, I just decided to accept the dog I had. As he matured, though, he got more cuddly, and he's a total cuddle monster now. 

The velcro thing never changes though ... get used to that! I have never had a dog (and I've had some very attached dogs) that MUST be with me ALWAYS in the way this one has to. It makes for easy training and great recalls, but it also means I trip over him at least once a week. I wouldn't change it for anything, but it WAS an adjustment. Poodles just seem to need their people more than many other breeds.


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

All three of my poodles are all three major tail waggers! As in total tushie shaking tail waggers. Well, Merlin moves his entire body, as does Pippin, but Alex manages a more sophisticated tail wag. 



> Posted by *LEUllman*:
> Unlike some other breeds, not all poodles are big tail waggers, no matter their age or how happy they might be be. *Beau only wags in greeting for a few minutes after one of his people walks in the door or when he's waiting for me to throw a ball during a game of fetch. Other than that, no wags at all.* This might throw you if you're used to dogs that wag constantly. There was a thread about this recently. Maybe you just don't have a waggy tailed pup!


That's so Beau! LOL Tail wagging is beneath a gentleman of his stature and standing.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

taem said:


> I'll just have to wait and see, and if I have an independent aloof dog, then that's the dog I have. Right now she's curled between my feet napping.


When the breeder first took Tonka out of his run to meet me he paid nooooo attention to Peter and I at all . . . just sniffed actively around the enclosure we were sitting in. I knew immediately that he was the dog I wanted . . . aloof and independent.

I dislike 'clingy'. *Spud was clingy . . . he's gone.*

But Tonka still prefers my company to that of anyone else. He's my Buddy!


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Oh I love the clingy ones, ha ha!


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## Huxtable (Feb 19, 2012)

*Change your interactions*

My poodle is 5 months now and was similar when I first got him. 

I think she knows your mom. You discipline her, say yay and nay, and do alot of unexciting interactions, oppose to probably your mom who just cuddles and loves on her.

My dog looks at my sisters and friends as play things, since all they do is play with him when they come over. And he knows he can get away with just about anything with my mom... they know this, hence the tail wagging.

So basically you just have to continue to switch up your interactions. Try to be calm, fun, loving, sweet-- you know all those cliche adjectives, lol. I do think dogs, especially poodles pick up on your energy. *I personally found that letting my poodle sleep with me made us closer.* He was always, and still is, so much more sweeter to me after waking up from sleeping next to me or on my stomach the night before (he is a big time cuddler though). I was once told that they connect to you and your breathing pattern or something like that. Sleeping together then waking up to fun playing did wonders for our relationship.

I also agree that poodles aren't the biggest tail waggers, they do wag them of course but maybe not as much as other breeds. So I wouldn't sweat that too much.

Good Luck


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

Aww don't feel bad about your pup. She's still young. I have a standard, but when I got Leroy as a puppy (12 wks), he seemed so lazy and unmotivated with certain toys. He also didn't make eye contact. But did follow me everywhere. I didn't stress too much about cuddliness cause he wasn't allowed on furniture or the bed, but it turned our he does like to cuddle, but typically I prefer a dog to just be near me. My Havanese (who is 2 and I've only had for a few weeks), jumps off my lap to lay on the floor. I'm not offended by this, glad he's getting more comfortable. Hang in there with your pup. My husband said "I feel like we're just watching Leroy, like we're his butlers; he doesn't feel like a family member yet" when we first got him. We were so busy with housebreaking that it wasn't that "fun." As they get older, the puppy's perspective will change. Right now they are still very instinctual and their schedule revolves around eating and elimination. Don't feel bad about having a more "independent" puppy either - Leroy is over a year old and he got so worked up when I left for 10 minutes he threw up. His separation anxiety is bad in public. He also greets other people exuberantly, jumping, nipping, going in betwen their, tail wagging like crazy. He greets me calmly, with body rubs, sits down and makes eye contact - cause he knows this is how I want to be greeted. My Havanese cowers when others try to pet him, he does not do this with me cause he trusts me, sounds like your pup trusts you more than your mom. It's good when a dog is confident in your presence. Puppies change so rapidly that'd I'm sure you will see personality changes.


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## taem (Mar 5, 2011)

I really want to thank everyone for the advice and encouragement. I had sort of a moment there and this thread really helped. I really am being so unfair to puppy, I think I totally misrepresented her. It's just the wriggly body waggy tail, that's really the only issue that bugs me, everything else is just, you know how when you get worked up you totally exaggerate? Yeah.



Rowan said:


> All three of my poodles are all three major tail waggers!


ALL my toys were that way, that's why this is striking me as so weird. My mom's take is I'm just experiencing an intense emotional recollection of Puff, my first girl, whose passing I'm still not completely at peace with. This Puppy is an apricot girl just like Puff was.



tokipoke said:


> He also didn't make eye contact.


You know what's funny, yesterday as I was experiencing my emotional hyperventilation, I resolved to just be better about training. So I went through all her treats doing a taste test until I zeroed in on what she loves most (freeze dried lamb lung puffs) and worked on eye contact. She's cracking me up, she doesn't just make eye contact, she sits and throws her whole face at me. I think that it's not puppy, it's me, I'm treating her like my toys were as adults. At home she's looking my way a lot, and if she doesn't when we go out, everything is so new to her. She also seems to be in a fear stage right now.



Countryboy said:


> When the breeder first took Tonka out of his run to meet me he paid nooooo attention to Peter and I at all


It was the opposite for me, I went in wanting to bring home a black boy, but this girl from the moment I got there was staring at me, following me around, climbing in my lap. It was a 6 hour drive home and I drove the whole way, someone else held her the whole time. But when we got to my house she immediately started following me around and clinging to me, ignoring the person who held her for 6 hours. I don't know what it is, maybe my sweat pH hits a sweet spot for her or something.



Kloliver said:


> Second: how in the H - E - double hockey sticks was she able to nipple nibble?


I was getting dressed and sat on my bed to put socks on, didn't have a shirt on yet, and I have a low bed with a wooden frame all around it she can climb on to, she climbed up, started sniffing, and then took a bite.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

It sounds as if she is YOUR dog, and knew it from the first! I think your mother may be right (mothers are ALWAYS right!), and your emotions are making you try to find the behaviour of a dog you knew and loved for years in a puppy who is still getting to know you. She sounds such a character! I predict that in a year - no, in a few months - she will your heart's delight, and soon after that you will not be able to imagine life without her. 

Meanwhile, can I suggest keeping her off the bed till you have your bra on (and, if she is anything like Poppy, knickers too - Poppy invented a wonderful game called Bite Mum's Bum. I know it was a large and irresistible target, but I did NOT approve!).


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

You've already gotten good comfort and advice, I just had to jump in with my story. You see, you're actually quite lucky. *My* little beast came to me with a far worse habit than being standoffish: the puppy..._loved..._to hump. Look at the cute puppy, getting underfoot! Oh, wait, what's he---??? My leg! My defiled leg! No, Sugarfoot, no!

That's right, for a while there no calf could go unhumped. No other dog or even a tantalizingly dangled arm was safe from his ravages. Imagine trying to feel affection for that manner of monster, trying to keep those tender puppy feelings going while scraping him off yet another violated limb!

Luckily (for Sugarfoot and all involved), the humping did fade away. I won't even say it was "easy" to eradicate, as it took a lot of patience and persistence, especially as I have been dedicated to training without punishers for this dog. Yes, I finally had to resort to firm verbal corrections for the humping habit, once I was sure I had established to him that the behavior was undesirable and attempted to substitute more socially acceptable activities in its place. But, eventually, we reached a Hump-free Day (ironically, a Wednesday), and, then, Hump-free Week. 

Now, I don't mind if the dogs hump amongst themselves, preferring to let them work out things amongst themselves within reason, but one of the corgis has made it clear that she doesn't like Sugarfoot "that way," while the other one will tolerate a little friendly humping. Pixie is also a humper, and yes, you should've seen the affronted look on Sugar's face when she assertively leaped upon him and gave him a taste of his own medicine. :aetsch:

--Q


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