over attached Yorkie
 

Hello, this is my first time posting...I have a huge problem with my 2 yr old yorkie Coby. He is very attached to me and whenever I leave home, my other family members say he paces back and forth by the door, cries and looks out the window and won't eat or drink water until I get back home. I can tell he gets anxious when he sees me getting dressed to leave and as soon as I grab my keys he runs to the door and sits like he wants to go with me. I am very concerned about this and wonder if anyone else has experienced this with their Yorkie and if so is there anything I can do ?? Thanks in advance for your help.:aimeeyork

Aww, poor little guy misses him mommy.:( Why not get him a friend? But, I must warn you, that's how I ended up with 6 yorkies! :eek: It is sad when they miss us so much.

This is one of the reasons we adopted Tia; to keep Ally company. Ally is so attached to me that she needed a buddy, plus my older pek is close to the end and I thought that would make Ally worse. I've just started my potato chips! lol (Can't just have one!)

what you are seeing as a "problem" is what most people LOVE about yorkies. They LOVE being with us.. they want to go everywhere with us. It can help your situation if you have the cooperation of your family. They can help by providing a treat or playtime with your baby as you are leaving. He needs to know that while you are gone there is someone else who can keep him entertained.

Sounds like separation anxiety to me and it will be horrible to live with if you don't nip it in the butt now.

Yes, Yorkies thrive to be with their humans and companionship, but they also need to know how to be alone, too. Jackson, for example, loves to be be with me wherever I am, he doesn't like to be separated by a fence, or a gate, etc. But when I leave, he just usually goes to bed. My other fam members at home say he typically just goes and sleeps, or will come out occasionally to see what's going on. But he's not stressed, or pacing, etc. He's just calm and waiting for my return.

A good way to start is associate things such as keys, purse, etc, as a good thing. Currently, keys for example, mean you leave! So make your keys a positive thing. Randomly, just pick up your keys during the day, and give him a few treats, but don't leave. Just walk around with the keys jingling. So he becomes used to hearing the sound and it doesn't automatically mean you're leaving. Pick up your purse, walk around with it, and then don't leave. Then gradually increase the time you're gone. Leave the house for 5 minutes, and stand outside or something, then come back in. Etc. Teach him you're going to come back for him! Also, I always give Jackson a good treat when I walk out the door, such as his chicken jerky.

Good luck!