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10-24-2020, 07:43 AM | #1 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: Newark, NJ, USA
Posts: 1
| Question Re: Yorkie Attachment and Anxiety Issues Hello, Four years ago, I adopted my Yorkie. He was 4 years old at the time. A year and a half ago I met my boyfriend. My Yorkie is very familiar with him (we all live together now) and loves him... As long as I am around. My Yorkie loves to play with him and snuggle with him if I am also there. But if I am not, suddenly he's afraid. He tries to hide, sometimes he pees himself, sometimes he shakes it freezes. Sometimes he will still take a treat from him, but mostly he runs away. Because it only happens when I am not there or leave the room, I think it has to do with separation anxiety. I try to make sure that my boyfriend is the one to give him treats or things for positive reinforcement, but my Yorkie still acts anxious. I know that he has a strong bond to me because he has known me longer than my boyfriend and I am his human and all of that. Does anyone have suggestions on how to get him to bond more with my boyfriend so that he doesn't get so crazy when I leave them alone together? Thank you in advance. |
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10-25-2020, 01:19 PM | #2 |
♥ Maximo and Teddy Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 25,041
| Welcome to Yorkie Talk. My boy Teddy took about a year to fully warm up to my boyfriend -- granted, my boyfriend is a cat person and did a lot of things wrong. The trick for us was to have my boyfriend do most of the feeding and walking. I would advise your boyfriend to be patient and laid back--not actively engage-- with your doggy when you are not present. Let the dog come to him on his own terms. In other words, have your boyfriend just go about his business and essentially leave the dog alone. Maybe talk in the same room, but not force the dog to be held, play, or do anything. For instance, your boyfriend should walk through the room and say, "Ricky, beautiful weather. I think I'll make some coffee.," and so on --while leaving the dog alone. My boyfriend's mistake was trying to 'force' interaction on my Teddy and having staring contests, all friendly. I had a tough time convincing him that dogs, especially Yorkies, see that as confrontational and overwhelming.
__________________ Kristin, Max and Teddy |
10-25-2020, 04:00 PM | #3 | |
Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas
Posts: 27,450
| Quote:
Only thing I suggest in addition to the above is for your boyfriend to spend time sitting on the floor. The pups tend to be more comfortable when a person is at their level.
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10-28-2020, 05:27 AM | #4 |
YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Lake Geneva, WI
Posts: 2,776
| Maybe your boyfriend could remain approachable, but aloof...Let your pup make some "moves" on him which could be promptly reward with treats or such. Make sure your boyfriend is very calm and deliberate around your puppy, no roughhousing or the like. Piper doesn't have much of a sense of humor and she takes someone barking back at her or jostling her very personally and it makes her very unhappy. My 6' brother comes in and ignores her and Piper is jumping all over him, begging for attention! Silly little things! |
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advice please, anxiety, attachment, behavior modification, suggestions |
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