YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post

SnowWa · 09-22-2006, 02:36 PM

Shoot me -- but I think it is a real mistake to encourage any dog to be dependent and clingy. (This is really done to meet the owner's needs more than the dog's). A well adjusted dog should be both affectionate and independent. It shouldn't suffer separation anxiety and it shouldn't be afraid to be without it's owner whenever this is necessary.

I have always encouraged my loveable, friendly, little puppies to learn to play by themselves and not want to be with me every minute. I have given them opportunites to visit other people. My little Yorkie occasionally even has a sleep over with my grown daughter. She loves having him once in a while and her dog and mine have so much fun whenever they get together. Her dog occasionally stays overnight at my house too.

The first month or so that I had my little pup - I had two neighbors who would come over and ask if he could come out and play. These are single women - and many times they took him to thier house just to enjoy him for a few hours. He'd sleep and eat and play and have a great time. He still loves these women and wants to visit them all the time.

The end result is that he's happy wherever he goes....and certainly doesn't need to be around me every minute of every day. I work - and have to leave him home alone four days a week for 6 hours - and he has never cried when I leave. I know that he plays and eats and sleeps when I gone -- and there is no doubt that he is totally excited and happy when I (or any other person) come back into the house.

One thing that is so nice - is that if I should need to be gone or have to be in the hospital or something for a few days - I know, he'd be having a ball someplace. He is just happy anywhere.

When he was a little pup - a couple times I let him go and stay all night with my sister (whose grandchildren were there) --- and don't think they didn't have fun. We certainly didn't have to worry about them hurting him. He was so playful and go go go - that she had to protect them from him. (This was when he was two or three months old.)

**** I really do deliberately give my puppies opportunities to be without me occasionally and encourage them to be independent. Don't think for a minute this lessens any love my pups feel for me. Instead - it has widened their world and has given them the opportunity to love and enjoy more people and other animals as well.

*** And I think a real bonus is that other people enjoy my dog as much as I do. He's loveable, affectionate, and happy with everyone ---not just me. You can't imagine how many compliments I get about his loveable, happy, friendly nature.
---------------------------------------

I think a well adjusted dog leads a much happier and healthier life and can't imagine why anyone would want anything different for their little pet. But, again -- I think this "clingy thing" is the owner's need -- not the dog's. And, I will go a little bit further - even at the risk of upsetting a few people - to add that I think this is a selfish thing to do - this dependence isn't good for your little dogs - and it really makes the world they live in "very small."

****** I have read many times here on Yorkie talk about people wanting their dogs to be "clingy" and "dependent" --- and have read often that many people feel jealous and want their dogs to love only them....and no one else --not even their husbands, children, or boyfriends. I can't understand this at all. It is the very opposite of my own philosophy.

I have been in my office for several hours working - right now my little Yorkie is in the front room by himself - lying on the back of a chair snoozing and watching the world go by. Before long he'll be in here wanting to be held and wanting to play for a while and then he'll sleep at my feet for a while. He comes and goes like this all day. And - if anyone should come by and want him to "come out and play," I know he'd be totally excited to do just that!

Carol Jean

09-22-2006, 02:36 PM	#1
SnowWa YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,992	Clingy dependent little dogs....... Shoot me -- but I think it is a real mistake to encourage any dog to be dependent and clingy. (This is really done to meet the owner's needs more than the dog's). A well adjusted dog should be both affectionate and independent. It shouldn't suffer separation anxiety and it shouldn't be afraid to be without it's owner whenever this is necessary. I have always encouraged my loveable, friendly, little puppies to learn to play by themselves and not want to be with me every minute. I have given them opportunites to visit other people. My little Yorkie occasionally even has a sleep over with my grown daughter. She loves having him once in a while and her dog and mine have so much fun whenever they get together. Her dog occasionally stays overnight at my house too. The first month or so that I had my little pup - I had two neighbors who would come over and ask if he could come out and play. These are single women - and many times they took him to thier house just to enjoy him for a few hours. He'd sleep and eat and play and have a great time. He still loves these women and wants to visit them all the time. The end result is that he's happy wherever he goes....and certainly doesn't need to be around me every minute of every day. I work - and have to leave him home alone four days a week for 6 hours - and he has never cried when I leave. I know that he plays and eats and sleeps when I gone -- and there is no doubt that he is totally excited and happy when I (or any other person) come back into the house. One thing that is so nice - is that if I should need to be gone or have to be in the hospital or something for a few days - I know, he'd be having a ball someplace. He is just happy anywhere. When he was a little pup - a couple times I let him go and stay all night with my sister (whose grandchildren were there) --- and don't think they didn't have fun. We certainly didn't have to worry about them hurting him. He was so playful and go go go - that she had to protect them from him. (This was when he was two or three months old.) ** I really do deliberately give my puppies opportunities to be without me occasionally and encourage them to be independent. Don't think for a minute this lessens any love my pups feel for me. Instead - it has widened their world and has given them the opportunity to love and enjoy more people and other animals as well. * And I think a real bonus is that other people enjoy my dog as much as I do. He's loveable, affectionate, and happy with everyone ---not just me. You can't imagine how many compliments I get about his loveable, happy, friendly nature. --------------------------------------- I think a well adjusted dog leads a much happier and healthier life and can't imagine why anyone would want anything different for their little pet. But, again -- I think this "clingy thing" is the owner's need -- not the dog's. And, I will go a little bit further - even at the risk of upsetting a few people - to add that I think this is a selfish thing to do - this dependence isn't good for your little dogs - and it really makes the world they live in "very small." ****** I have read many times here on Yorkie talk about people wanting their dogs to be "clingy" and "dependent" --- and have read often that many people feel jealous and want their dogs to love only them....and no one else --not even their husbands, children, or boyfriends. I can't understand this at all. It is the very opposite of my own philosophy. I have been in my office for several hours working - right now my little Yorkie is in the front room by himself - lying on the back of a chair snoozing and watching the world go by. Before long he'll be in here wanting to be held and wanting to play for a while and then he'll sleep at my feet for a while. He comes and goes like this all day. And - if anyone should come by and want him to "come out and play," I know he'd be totally excited to do just that! Carol Jean __________________ http://tinypic.com/ipxhmb.jpg A Yorkie is worth a thousand words.