“My dog is too needy – he constantly demands attention!”

Needy dogs exist for several reasons:

• Dogs are social creatures and enjoy our attention, affection and play.
• Most dog owners do not understand how and when to deliver the goods listed above so they constantly reinforce the wrong behaviours in their dogs.

Needy dogs almost always have something in common:

An owner who gives constant attention – wether willingly or as a result of being frustrated with the dog and thinking that they will get the dog to stop what they are doing or change their behaviour through attention, reward or correction.   

Once the dog learns that the owner is like a broken slot machine – the dog will keep pulling on th eleven and hitting paydirt time and again.

In order for things to change – the dog needs to be trained and the owner needs to better understand their role as well as their dog’s mind and reset how they are living with the dog.

 

Dogs who counter surf – thievery at it’s finest

Dogs are opportunists.  Leave something out – leave an untrained dog unattended et voila!   It starts young – not wanting to use a crate, or maybe taking a chance leaving the dog alone in a room for a minute while you go to another part of the house.  Or maybe you are adopting an older dog who has already learned this.

Once a dog learns that they can shop @ home – well this meats Amazon Prime.  it isn’t next day delivery – it is same day delivery- same minute.

a combination of crate training, boundary training, leave it, and keeping things away so the behaviour does not get further reinforced helps  Depending o the dog, the dog’s level of drive, it’s history – varying degrees of all of the above are needed.

How to give your dog affection and attention the right way

Attention given at the wrong time equals broken telephone.  It sends a faulty message to your dog.  In terms of neediness – the dog who is being looked at, shushed or touched while whining or pushing for attention is being paid for the behaviour.

What do you think happens to a dog when it finds a reward tied to a behaviour?

In order to help a dog not become pushy and demanding – or help one who already is – you need to audit your actions to make sure there is minimal to no incorrect reinforcement going on.

 

Using your attention, energy and affection to motive your dog to cooperate and work with you in training

That same attention affection and energy we just talked about can be used here to great success.  Show your dog how much you enjoy what they are doing when they work for you. Motive your dog like I do with Blue in the video to change your dog’s attitude towards working with you from the equivalent of a dog  who hates their job to a dog who is a full partner.