Dutch Shepherd Forum

So lately (past couple weeks maybe) we have noticed that Tyson our 8 month old DS has been acting weird sometimes. In a cute way though..but first a little info so everyone is not lost.

I do 90% of the training. My wife does some while at training class but normally through the week and at home I do the training, playing, feeding etc. She does some but not much. She likes to cuddle with tyson lol.

He is a smart dog, surprisingly so far he does not act like most DS i have heard about. He is far from crazy in energy though does have his moments and days where he can go go go but when its time to lay down and chew a bone he does. After a long walk in the trail for an hour, we come home and he sleeps the afternoon. He likes to sun bathe by the back door!

Anyways lately we have noticed that when we are doing something (dinner, cleaning, fixing something etc) he is attached to my wife's hip, literally every time she takes a step he goes with her, lays between her legs or right beside her.

for example, when we are cooking dinner we have a mat by the sink, he will lay there with her, she turns around takes a step over to the stove, he will get up move towards her and lay down again.

or

We are in the process of finishing our basement and have been working on the bathroom. While I was working on the shower, my wife was priming the walls. Tyson would come down with us but literally follow my wife every step she takes. she turns to get more paint he moves with her, lays between her feet.

He almost seems sad or lonely. But the second I get up and am willing to play or run around with him he is perfectly fine and more then willing to..He will come wanna lay by me to but seems like more with my wife.

it mainly seems he is like this when we are doing something. when we watch tv or relaxing with him he is fine and acts "normal"

Im not sure why he would be acting like this.. does anyone have any ideas?

I would guess he's made her his person. Mobil is my husband's dog, but I'm his person. If I go to the bathroom, he goes. Cooking, he's right there. Any time I go anywhere, he's right there. I trip over him constantly.

I have no idea why but it sounds familiar to me. Xander follows me and my mom every step we take. If one of us is washing dishes he is right there. If we go pee he is sitting there staring at us. But he does it with both of us. If mom goes one way and I go another way he follows one but will go "check" on the other. Back and forth "checking".

My dad's ds, Mia, has to sleep in a specific spot at night so she can see all rooms and watch everyone. Since mom has been sleeping in a third room because of her back surgery Mia has changed spots to see all three rooms.

I actually was jealous of my mom for the first 6 or 8 months of Xander's life because he did the same thing your describing with my mom. I did all the training but he seemed more attached to mom. Follow her everywhere. I was worried that he didn't like me because I made him listen and behave and trained trained trained. My was his playmate and snuggle buddy. But somewhere along the way he started acting the same with both of us.

I have no idea why this happened. But I think when he got his basic training down good and I started spending as much time playing and not teaching all the time he opened up more to me. But I don't regret all the training because he is very well behaved now and listens very well, especially with me.

Honestly sounds like she's his person, which if you're doing the training I would start to analyze your bond a bit more. If she starts reinforcing rules/more training and he changes, then you know he's escaping, which again would beg the question of why. If not then you know she's now got a dog! Either way I'd start observing more and try not to attribute human emotions to him - it can cloud the analytical view.

I ditto everything that Kira said.... Observe and analyze.

Thanks for the input.

Now I dont know if I am understanding fully - What exactly does "his person" mean?

Is it shes more of a friend/litermate then a "pack leader"?
Does he see me as a leader and shes more "fun" because i do more of the training?

I try and make training fun and what not.

Is this a "issue" to worry about or should we not worry and continue.

Should she start doing more training and I try more cuddling lol ? to see how he acts..if he changes what does that tell me? if he doesnt then what?

i am wrong in thinking there may be an alternative explanation for what is going on in his mind? --- that she is his duty to look after, to protect and make sure she is ok.

could be either, i think. but if he has made her ''his'' person'', it is probably because of communication - that there is better, deeper, more successful 2-way communication between them. one gravitates to the person who listens to you, understands you, and talks to you in ways that you can relate to.

nvd wrote:Is it shes more of a friend/litermate then a "pack leader"?

No. And honestly, I'm not a fan of terms like "pack leader" because they get all misconstrued and misused because of certain celebrity trainers. Integrating a dog into a household is about respect and communication.

nvd wrote:Does he see me as a leader and shes more "fun" because i do more of the training?

No. See above. Training is about mutual respect and clear communication. I do ALL of the training and my husband does just play....I'm still Tyson's person.

nvd wrote:I try and make training fun and what not.

That's great. And quite frankly, to these dogs training (work) IS fun without much "fun" added to it.

nvd wrote:Is this a "issue" to worry about or should we not worry and continue.

Why would it be an issue? Most dogs will bond with one person over another. That's just life. My Schnauzer is my husband's dog. She loves me...I feed her, I work with her, I walk her, but next to him...I'm chopped liver. It just is.

nvd wrote:Should she start doing more training and I try more cuddling lol ? to see how he acts..if he changes what does that tell me? if he doesnt then what?

It certainly won't hurt for her to be more involved in the training just so the 2 of you are on the same page, using the same cues, etc. I'm constantly having to correct my husband for using wrong cues...it's a pain. Truly. And Tyson looks at me like: "Seriously, mom? Why haven't you trained HIM better?"

And if cuddling is your thing then go for it. I wouldn't be overly concerned about this. As long as he respects you both and acts accordingly, then you are good to go. The goal is to have a happy, healthy, balanced dog.

Okay perfect, thanks everyone for the information! Yesterday was different, we where painting and tyson swiped his head on the wall so i had to scrub the paint off lol. but other then that he didnt follow my wife yesterday.. I guess its nothing to worry about so long as he is happy!

Thanks again!

These dogs usually just pick someone to be their person. That's one of my biggest issues with someone getting a DS for their kids because the dog will often pick the adult to bond with and the kids lose interest and the adult didn't really want a dog let alone one that follows them everywhere.

Elli picked my husband as her person. He's not much of a dog person. Odin was his first dog ever. She met him on the day I picked her up and then saw him only every 2 weeks for the first 3 months, so it wasn't like they bonded at first either. I had her with me because we were in the middle of moving out of state and Odin and I moved in with my parents while my husband stayed behind until he found a job. Every time he came to visit, she was fascinated by him. I feed the dogs, let them out, train them, and compete with them and Elli will still follow my husband around everywhere and give him hugs in the morning and she's on top of his every emotion if he's having a bad day or feeling sick. If we're all relaxing in a room and she hear's Mike in the other room get up to go to the bathroom, she's already at the bathroom door waiting.

As long as your wife is ok with never peeing alone again, there's not really a problem with it. I compete with Elli and she will gladly work for me all day long.

I feed, train and play with my pup constantly and he is always with me. When my girlfriends around he is all over her and hard to get his attention. I think its because hes with me so much and sees her so little that he just wants some attention from another source. Just my opinion. Definitely not an expert.

BryanKSchraven wrote:sees her so little

You're lucky he's so in love with her if he doesn't see her that often. That's a good thing. You don't hear that very often.

Yeah he loves her to death and does really well with her, he sees her alot more now and I made sure to involve her in his training once I laid the groundwork. It makes my life alot easier thats for sure. Ive had dogs that just wouldnt take to anyone but me. I have never come across a smarter more intuitive dog. Hes my first Dutch and I can see they are definitely a very special breed.