I have a 17- month old male GSD. We’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old. He is attached to me but is OK when I go out. He watches me from a window and then lays down and waits or goes to my father and sits by him. He goes into his crate with no problem when we go out and he may bark for a few seconds but that is it. I work from home and felt daycare would be good for him to combat boredom, socialize him and allow me to work with focus. My vet recommended the daycare. My dog freaked out when I left him and just paced and panted. He then boarded at the daycare for 14 days to overcome the anxiety. He came home happy and calm and obedient. I took him back to daycare after one day at home, he ran right to his favourite staff person for a greeting and then he freaked when I left. I called to check on him and the owner said he is anxious again and that we need to address this now and we have scheduled a home visit. Before the boarding, my father had a habit of yelling and didn’t see anything wrong with a snout slap and I was overly affectionate and babying. The daycare owner feels this is the problem and that my dad abuses and I coddle. However, we were models of calm and patience and positive reinforcement when our boy came home. We really want to create and enjoy a fabulous dog so we agreed to police each other and give our dog what he needs and deserves. After the drop off this morning and the call with the daycare owner I am feeling dejected and I really don’t know what to think. Is my dog too attached to me? Does anyone have any advice or suggestions?
I have a 17- month old male GSD. We’ve had him since he was 8…
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Just as a follow up, I do not agree with any form of hitting, or threatening with anyone’s pets. The reason he was boarded was to combat the separation anxiety. And as I said, even though my dad is 89 and “old school” he has agreed to never raise a hand or yell and we are now watching out for each other to curb any bad behaviour on our part. My worry is that after two weeks of boarding/training to curb the separation anxiety my boy was anxious again and not happy about me leaving him.
I say skip the daycare. Your dog is happier being at home waiting for you and spending time with your dad. I really don’t trust vets to give advice on behavior – most of them have not been trained in this! I would spend the time, energy, effort and money on training your dog to entertain himself at home so you can focus. I worked out of my home for years with 2 to 7 dogs in my house. I fenced in 4 acres of land (I know most people can’t provide that much land for their dogs) and my… Read more »
Sounds like separation anxiety, which a trainer could give you advice on. Also, a “snout slap”..that is a form of abuse, please, don’t let anyone hit your beloved puppy!!
Not saying that you abuse your dog at all, but hitting is hitting, and some might think nothing of it but my dogs are “family”, and I’d never raise a hand to them.