How you can help your people-loving dog not have anxious attachment issues

The devoted loyalty and adoration of owning a companion breed is something else. It heals, encourages, uplifts and fills a void in our lives! However, dogs that are more people/companion motivated need habits that keep training their mental muscles surrounding attachment to be bigger and better, for their mental, emotional, and physical health. Who wants a dog that's bonded and fond of them? Everybody! Who wants a dog that's clingy, anxious, and demanding? Nobody. In this post we cover the 5 areas you can make subtle changes to in your daily life with your dog that be believe will drastically make a difference & set you up for success!

1. Alone Together
   

A lot of people forget that there’s incredible value in practicing “alone” time when you’re actually home! Don’t just practice kennel or pen time when you leave the house. Practice these things frequently when you’re home and they can see you coming and going frequently.

This will significantly decrease any possible anxiety about official times you are away from each other.

2. "I demand attention!!"
   

Is quality time not enough for your dog?

Do they protest, beg or demand you keep touching / actively moving your hand around when you’re giving affection or sitting together? If they do, be conscious not to give in to that. 

That’s a restless habit. Still yourself, and it will go towards your dog learning to still themselves. They need to learn to rest with you without having constant stimulation & motion “filling the silence” so-to-speak.

3. Stalking much?

A lot of people allow their dog to become a velcro dog by never limiting the invasion of personal space, or limiting the frequency of following them around.

Don’t get me wrong, your dog is your companion, your partner in crime, and you want to spend time together. However, they don’t need to follow you every time you get up & walk around. As we’ve said before, you know something may be an issue when your dog can’t handle not having it. If your dog can’t listen, obey, be content, etc, if you tell them not to follow you, that’s a sign it’s a weakness / bad habit they need to work on.

4. Hello's & Goodbye's

  Make less of a deal of your comings and goings.

Your dog doesn’t actually need you to explain why you’re leaving them, or have you play up the reunion of you coming back. When you’re more relaxed and easy-going about arriving and departing, they don’t develop such an emotional response to it happening. Though you may feel that such a response shows your dog is bonded to you, it’s really more a reflection that they have felt the intense rush of your emotions, without rationally understanding what it means, and it’s become a habit. See what happens after 1 month of not talking to them for the first several moments on your way in and out of the house on entrances and exits. It'll make a difference!

5. It's not you, it's me
   

This isn’t meant to sound harsh, but--stop escalating your dog emotionally because it makes you feel happy or loved. It’s making your dog twitchy & excitement-dependent. 

Have fun, play, tease, do all the things, but be intentional about the timing of these things, what it encourages, and if you’ve taught your dog how to come down from them. This could be when you come home after work and walk through the front door, it could be when you have visitors over, or when you're about to take them for a walk. Really anytime you amp up a situation to get a "high", just be aware that it can easily wear away their calm reaction to different events.

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We hope this post was helpful to you and would love to hear about any other habits you've implemented with your own dogs that has benefitted you in this area! Till next time...

-The RLD Team