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I have a 5 month old puppy that we have had since 8 weeks old from a very respectable and contentious breeder. She loves to meet new people and dogs and is generally very friendly but if I take her to the dog park or puppy socialization time at the local positive trainer, she acts like she couldn't care less about us. She sometimes tries to keep as much distance as possible from us in off-leash settings.
At home she is not very affectionate, only licking us every once in a while. She has isolation distress so does stick close when there is no other dogs or people around. She doesn't play by herself very well at all. If someone or some dog is not paying attention to her she tries to get someone's attention or just wonders the house looking for something to do.
When I put on my super happy and excited voice, she does wag her tail and butt while walking towards me. She will look at me but if I don't give her a treat for eye contact she gives up fast and doesn't look again unless I say something or do something unexpected.
I will admit that positive training is new to me, (I had dogs in the 80s and 90s and had never heard of positive training at that time) and have smacked her on the butt or head a few times in panic when she did something that could seriously injure her but then I would try to do some easy positive training right after so she wouldn't think I was abusive or mean. She seems to forgive dogs very quickly for scaring her with their aggressiveness.
How do you tell if your dog likes you if she is not the cuddly sort? And how do you improve the relationship? Is it possible? We already do training and walks daily which she loves. What else can I do? I understand that I need to stop the smacking (but I can count on my fingers how many times it has happened and I am improving in that area).
At home she is not very affectionate, only licking us every once in a while. She has isolation distress so does stick close when there is no other dogs or people around. She doesn't play by herself very well at all. If someone or some dog is not paying attention to her she tries to get someone's attention or just wonders the house looking for something to do.
When I put on my super happy and excited voice, she does wag her tail and butt while walking towards me. She will look at me but if I don't give her a treat for eye contact she gives up fast and doesn't look again unless I say something or do something unexpected.
I will admit that positive training is new to me, (I had dogs in the 80s and 90s and had never heard of positive training at that time) and have smacked her on the butt or head a few times in panic when she did something that could seriously injure her but then I would try to do some easy positive training right after so she wouldn't think I was abusive or mean. She seems to forgive dogs very quickly for scaring her with their aggressiveness.
How do you tell if your dog likes you if she is not the cuddly sort? And how do you improve the relationship? Is it possible? We already do training and walks daily which she loves. What else can I do? I understand that I need to stop the smacking (but I can count on my fingers how many times it has happened and I am improving in that area).