Is she overly attached??

[Suzanne Newman]

Hey Everyone!  It's amazing to think that Whidbey is now 15 weeks old!  Because I work from home, she is with me pretty much 24/7, and I am the one who feeds, walks, and attends to her.  When I leave to go somewhere in the car, she loves to go, and thus, I take her with me all the time. 

Lately however- and compounding with her rapid growth, she is full of anxiety when I get out of the car.  As soon as I am gone however, she settles down on the back seat and rests, but as the car is slowing down, she will literally jump on my lap between me and the steering wheel- and as soon as the car is parked, she knows what is coming!  She has almost a literal meltdown!

Also- when I take her places, and leave a room where she cannot see me, such as the groomer, or other types of unfamiliar places- she cannot handle it!  

She also HAS to sit with me and be in the same room with me all the time.  Maybe I have been overly affectionate with her?  

I obviously need to work on the car thing.  We have ordered a sling and car harness to keep her in the back seat, and also, I will work with her on rewarding her as I get out of the car- but overall- it's clear that she has become VERY attached to me.  So much so that maybe it's unhealthy?  How can I keep reassuring her that I am not going to abandon her, but at the same time give her some confidence to feel it's cool when "mom" isn't around that she is OK?   Have any of you experienced this with your doodle puppies?

[Judith and Griffin]

Is she crate trained at all for nights etc?  Some very slow and gentle crate training may give her confidence that all will be well if she's on her own a bit.  You can have her fav toys in the crate and let her play in there while you are in the room at first. Even leaving the door open at first.  Then graduate to walking out of the room for a few seconds and back in.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I agree with Judith's advice. It would help a lot if Whidbey learned that being alone is okay and safe, and the crate is the best way to teach that. It's best to teach crate training early, and maybe you've already started. I wouldn't keep the crate near where you work at home, however. The idea is to teach Whidbey how to be alone.

[Traz, Karen & Dale]

Traz is 11 months old and still doesn't like to be away from us.  He positions himself in the same room or nearby area where he can see one of us.  He was crate trained when we received him at 4 months and we have continued to crate him.  It definitely helps.  He sleeps in his crate at night and feels comfortable and secure when he is in it.  Our trainer suggested that we crate him a little bit each day and leave the house, even if it meant going outside to the backyard.  In the beginning, it was hard because he would whine and bark.  After a while, that stopped.  We moved him out of our bedroom, into another bedroom, about a month ago with his crate.  He's been great being away from us.  We have also started taking him to a doggie daycare once a week so he gets used to being away from us.  This way is also knows that we will come back for him.

On the car situation, we use a car harness for Traz.  It's not his most favorite place to be, but it does keep him in the back seat so he doesn't climb in the front with us.  He likes to rest his head between the front bucket seats so he can see us and we can rub his head.  Sometimes we will give him a milk bone if he gets too restless.

The true test for Traz will be when we take a week vacation later this year, without him.  A lady at his doggie day care will be house/pet sitting for us.  She will take Traz to the doggie daycare when she is working and stay at our house at night with Traz.  This way he will have the best of both worlds; playing with his doggie friends and sleeping in his own house at night.  We tried to do an overnight stay at the daycare, but Traz did not do well.  He got "homesick" and we had to go pick him up.  I think, with time and age, it will get better.  In the meantime, we will work with our precious boy to reassure him that we will be back to get him.

Good luck with your precious, Whidbey.  It will get better :-)

[BettyAnn, Holmes & Lucy]

Love your pet sitter set-up!!! That sounds perfect! I hope it works out and Traz has fun too while you all have fun on vacation.

[Suzanne Newman]

Thanks so much for your comments everyone!  

I don't think it's about being alone.  Whidbey is totally fine sitting in the car by herself, and she has plenty of toys to play with.  She also goes off and sleeps alone in the bathroom AND her crate, and when she is tired at night she puts herself to bed- alone.  It's just the initial separation process...