Is My aussiedoodle is too attached to me?

[Rebecca bratter]

My loving aussiedoodle madiba follows me everywhere in the house and sleeps at my feet when I'm in the bathroom. I don't mind but I don't think it's good for,her because she won't relax or go to sleep unless she can see me or knows where I am, even though my husband is sitting with her, she always wants to be by my side. If she is asleep and I get up and walk to the bedroom, she silently sneaks in and when I turn around she is sitting there waiting for me. It's so endearing but is it normal? She's only 4 months, will she outgrow this? She also has separation anxiety if i try to leave her at home even for a minute, she freaks. She's extremely social with people and dogs but in our apartment she must be by my side. Any advice?

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Quincy gets up and follows me from room to room, even now at 13 months.  Yet, he goes to his crate willingly when he knows I am leaving for work and is always sleeping when we get home.  He follows me into the BR to change clothes when I get home, into the bathroom, waits by the shower and sits at my feet when I am on the computer.  All will be well, enjoy the company!

[Rebecca bratter]

This is exactly what Madiba does, she blocks the door whenI try to leave, if I'm in the bathrooms so is she, when I'm on the toilet, she's sleeping at my feet, when I'm in the shower she's waiting for me to get out, when I'm watching TV, her head is sleeping on my feet, when I'm cooking in the kitchen she is at my feet, I also have to be careful not to step on her.  She is now going to her crate willingly for bedtime because my husband has been great insisting she go in there every night, but that is the only time she will go in her crate and it's because she can see us sleeping right next to her.  I am waiting for the day that Madiba is like quincy and lets me leave without so much drama and without making me feel so guilty for leaving her. 

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Bexter is like this too!  He follows me everywhere, no matter who is home.  I am his mommy.  He is sleeping next to me right now by my feet in fact.  I LOVE it.  I wanted a Velcro dog, and certainly got what I wanted.  My second doodle, Maggie, wants to always be by somebody too, but it doesn't necessarily have to be me.  She can hang with my hubby or my kids.  Bexter is always by ME.  However, when it is time for me to leave, he goes happily into his crate and doesn't have a problem.  I think that is where separation anxiety would show up is when you HAVE to leave.  How does she handle that?  By the way, she is adorable!

[Rebecca bratter]

Well Madiba is my baby, my velcro dog, I just love her but yes the separation anxiety is when I leave and she is all alone in the house. I can leave if my husband is here but she doesn't like it. If we are eating out and she's with us when I walk away she barks, it's her special high pitched, don;t leave bark.

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

Rebecca, Madiba's bark when you leave is more likely saying, " If I bark like this long enough and loud enough mom will come back to me!". Return to her only when she's not barking. Have you tried a treat toy in her crate when you leave to keep her busy?

[Rebecca bratter]

Yes exactly, I don't respond to her barks ever, unless I feel they are extremely distressful. I know this sounds silly but hopefully not to other doodle owners, she has a whole series of different barks. If I crate her and try to leave its really bad, much worse than when I leave her out for an hour or so and leave. When I come back she's always quiet. Today I tried to tether her for a minute while I went to get a coffee. It was not a pretty situation and it attracted the whole neighborhood. She does well at doggie day care and as long as someone is with her, we can leave, but leaving her alone is almost impossible.

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

Rebecca, I completely understand about the different barks our dogs have. I know when there's a squirrel outside the patio doors or when someone is here, just by the sounds my boys make:-).
Do you work with a trainer? I don't know if this may help but...can Madiba do a sit or down stay? If so, put her in the stay and try taking a step away then step back, if she stays then mark it with a "yes" and a treat, keep doing this, slowly taking more steps away as she becomes more confident that you will come back. How far you can go will depend on her. If she breaks that stay try again at a shorter distance. Again, I'm not sure if this will work and a trainer is likely to be the best help for you and your doodle girl. I wish you the best, anxiety in people is bad but we can seek help, unfortunately for our dogs, it is often much more complicated to help them overcome their anxieties.

[Rebecca bratter]

Yes she goes to puppy school two times a week and we just did a two day agility workshop. She's very well behaved. She does sits, downs, restraints. She just can't be alone in the house, it's her only flaw. At 4 months she almost completely house trained, we have worked really hard on it. I work on the stay at a short distance every day but the minute I'm out of her sight or I go towards the door, she goes nuts. As soon as she sees me pick up my bag she goes to,the door and sleeps in front of it to stop me from going out. She's too darn smart. I'm really just hoping that with time and as she gets older she will become more independent. It stresses me out to know that she might be in distress.

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

She really does sound like a smarty-doodle as well as a super cute doodle :)). And it sounds like you are doing an awesome job with her training!!

[Rebecca bratter]

She is amazing, we spend hours training her and running with her and giving her love. The only thing we can't get her to do is be alone. I'm also part of the problem she knows I spoil her and that I cant resist her adorableness. I will just keep working on it with her. I've considered getting a private trainer to help.

[Jen and Annie]

I have always said about Annie that if she were a person, I might have to put out a restraining order on her for being a creepy stalker.  If she's awake she is staring at me, or sitting right next to me.  If she is asleep, she is touching me in some way, laying on my feet or against my leg if we're on the couch.  I don't mind it, because I have always wanted a dog so loyal.  I've had great dogs but never one that is so enamored of me :)  I have to watch very carefully where I walk or I will step on her.  I think loyalty is a trait of poodles, if i'm not mistaken.

She isn't so bad about separation anxiety, because we make sure that she is VERY tired before she goes into her crate. That might be something that you can do - play a heavy round of fetch for about 15 minutes before you leave.  

At 13 months old, when we leave Annie (she still goes in her crate) she will give a little whimper and then lay down to sleep.  We have 'facetimed' the dogs so that we can see what they do after we leave - it was very funny to spy on them with the ipad set up in the room, while we are on our iphone outside - we have to be careful to remember to mute our side, or they would hear us laughing at them.  Modern day real-time nanny cam. LOL.

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

LOL, I love the idea of "facetiming" with my doodles!! I'll have to remember that when I upgrade my technology.