[101naturelover]

My 7 month old Shichon, is very attached to me. (Follows me around, cries when I leave the room, etc. His separation anxiety is mostly towards me, but is practically 'cured', lol.)

Whenever I leave, he jumps on my bed, and lies on my PJs, guarding them. Then, jumps off, remembering that I don't allow him on my bed, and still sits ontop of my pjs. He guards my room, too. And when anyone comes in, he growls. He actually bit my mom when she tried to take my Pyjamas away, and then he immediately tucked his ears back and whimpered, knowing he did something bad. :hail:

What does this mean? I don't really mind it, but just curious.

Oh, and he also never pees in my bedroom. EVER. :clap2:

 

[lovejc]

I wouldnt say that is cute at all... sounds like your pup is showing a lot of symptoms of resource guarding. Where did you get this pup? I'm assuming (maybe incorrectly) not a reputable breeder seeing as it is a bichon/shih tzu mix (no such thing as a Schichon)....
If your dog has bit your mom there is nothing remotely cute about that.

 

[odiesmom]

I have a little poochon who guards my stuff too. Maybe its the bichon part coming out ? She also guards my grandkids with her life ( funny because she is so little ) and actually bit my hand when I swatted my granddaughter on the tush one night for kicking her sister . I have learned that bichons ( or mixes with bichons) are rather a different kind of dog. I believe they think they are humans with fur lol

 

[odiesmom]

I just had to tell you lovejc that there is no call to be rude to the op ! I am sure she wasn't talking about her mom being bit when she said it was "cute". Not all dogs especially mixed breeds come from reputable breeders many are "oops" litters as was the one my Poochon is from! If people ONLY got dogs from reputable breeders there would be many more homeless dogs out there. Besides whether or not the op got her pup from a reputable breeder has nothing to do with the subject of the thread !!!

 

[lovejc]

I just had to tell you lovejc that there is no call to be rude to the op ! I am sure she wasn't talking about her mom being bit when she said it was "cute". Not all dogs especially mixed breeds come from reputable breeders many are "oops" litters as was the one my Poochon is from! If people ONLY got dogs from reputable breeders there would be many more homeless dogs out there. Besides whether or not the op got her pup from a reputable breeder has nothing to do with the subject of the thread !!!

There is a difference between being rude and being truthful. It's perfectly valid in asking where she got her dog from. If it was in fact from a byb it would effect the animals behavior as well as its genetics. Bybs aren't exactly known for their health testing. Nor are they known for their general concern for the animal. I thought the question held some validity.
As for advocating buying from puppy mills because "there would be many more homeless dog out there" I don't agree.
You are both suffering from poor breeding practices. Whether it was an oops litter or not.

 

[HollowHeaven]

I have to agree that resource guarding and possible separation anxiety isn't really cute, especially not if the dogs have gone as far as biting someone over something.

 

[LittleFr0g]

I just had to tell you lovejc that there is no call to be rude to the op ! I am sure she wasn't talking about her mom being bit when she said it was "cute". Not all dogs especially mixed breeds come from reputable breeders many are "oops" litters as was the one my Poochon is from! If people ONLY got dogs from reputable breeders there would be many more homeless dogs out there. Besides whether or not the op got her pup from a reputable breeder has nothing to do with the subject of the thread !!!

Dancing very close to the edge of backseat moderating here, which is NOT tolerated on this forum. If you feel a poster is rude, use the report button, that's what it's there for. Deciding what forum members may or may not post is the moderator's job, not yours.

That said, I saw nothing at all rude in lovejc's post.

 

[odiesmom]

There is a difference between being rude and being truthful. It's perfectly valid in asking where she got her dog from. If it was in fact from a byb it would effect the animals behavior as well as its genetics. Bybs aren't exactly known for their health testing. Nor are they known for their general concern for the animal. I thought the question held some validity.
As for advocating buying from puppy mills because "there would be many more homeless dog out there" I don't agree.
You are both suffering from poor breeding practices. Whether it was an oops litter or not.

I am in NO way advocating back yard breeders and have never purchased a dog from one. All 3 of my dogs are rescues. I do NOT suffer from poor breeding practices though my dogs may have before I adopted them. So many homeless dogs out there did originate from a byb but they still deserve a forever home .

 

[Cracker]

No this behaviour is not cute and yes, it is something you should be concerned about. Your dog sounds like it is anxious and resource guarding is a symptom of anxiety. Biting is not acceptable, but is not punishable either. I would definitely work on the resource guarding (I believe there are some threads on it in the "sticky" section). Working on his separation distress and building his confidence in general can go a long way, this involves training (clicker training is great) and working on having a calm "go to mat" behaviour.

This type of behaviour does NOT get better without working on it. It only gets worse. A biting dog is a serious thing.

 

[zhaor]

Small dogs tend to get away with more things because the owners think it's "cute" or not a big deal because they're small. I feel like it's usually more common with younger girls and small dogs but it could just be I don't really know guys with toy dogs.

I would agree with what everyone else has posted. Those are issues that should be address and worked on. Resource guarding and separation anxiety are not what you want in a dog no matter what the size.

 

[101naturelover]

(I don't know if my other post got through. ) Whoa, whoa. Let me get some things cleared up. e_e One, Vuitton no longer does this due to training. He does have separation anxiety when it comes to me, though now I am training him and he is gradually improving. I didn't find it "cute" when he bit my mom, obviously, and I was aware that this behaviour needed improvement-- AND NO.. I do not let him get away with things just because he is cute! I've always been a dog lover, and have always researched on how to train them. Of course, there are some things like separation anxiety that I am still mastering. Perhaps I left some things out on that post of mine. But the only thing I found cute (Only when I heard about it. Vuitton does some really silly things. I was aware that it wasn't a good thing, and needed to be corrected.) was when he jumped on my pyjamas. (And started sniffing it.) And no, he is not protective over his toys, crate, and not usually protective over my pyjamas anymore. (Training him.) He does not bite, EVER, and does not guard his food. (Plus, he actually loves my mom. After me, lol. And I found it weird how he did that all to protect my stuff. Obviously it needed to be worked on. ) Oh, and Lovecj, I got him from a Dog rescue. His owner put the litter there after they were a little too "old, big?" to be in their previous owner's household. I also got a LITTLE information about the parents, and from the looks of it, he and his brother seemed very attached. (Unfortunately, we could only take one. )

 

[aiw]

I think people saw your title and then read the thread and got the impression that you thought him missing you so badly and guarding is cute. I'm glad to hear you don't, I also have a dog with some SA issues (just barking and drooling) and it can be really tough to retrain. Maybe for Vuitton it was triggered by the loss of his brother?

 

[spanielorbust]

My mother in law cannot leave her Bichon (Nicky) at home at all, ever, due to Nicky's separation anxiety. Nicky is incredibly well bred and from a wonderful breeder but the fact is that with companion breeds owners should take steps to teach them how to be comfortable alone from the beginning and my MIL - retired and able to spoil her dog - failed to do that training.

I would imagine what your pup is showing is a tendency that many companion puppies have - and for those of us that appreciate a pup that 'needs' us it seems to be complimentary when it happens, even though it indicates the possibility of a little too much attachment. Every one of mine LOVES curling up on my discarded clothing if I leave it where they can do so. Every one of mine has also had to be trained away from a slight amount of resource guarding of the items they perceive as 'most precious' in their teen months as well.

I'm glad to know you understand these tendencies and while admiring your pups attachment realise the need for further training. Thanks for rescuing.

A good thing to do for dogs that have this kind of attachment is to have a 'leaving routine'. With mine we reserve one special type of cookie which we give only when we are leaving them home. They are so into the routine at this point that they take their cookie and go to their 'spots' happily when we go to leave.

SOB

 

[101naturelover]

Spanielorbust, that was an amazing post. Thank you. And Awl, I think so too. :'( Or maybe they got attached to their previous owner, but yes. I felt so bad for leaving his brother there, and i remember Vuitton looking back. It totally crushed me. x____x'' The thought of me leaving and never returning may be processing in his head, which I find very sad. Though luckily, he is finally realizing that I always return for my little baby. :")

 

[titiaamor]

It sounds like you really adore your dog

I do hope you continue to teach him to be content without you and to not resource guard. We've worked on it with Sacha a lot, and it has gotten better over the last year.

I did notice some dissonance in your reporting of your dog's behavior:

He does not bite, EVER

He actually bit my mom

You might want to reconsider your view of him for everyone's safety- he has bitten. (I think?)

My dogs have never bitten anyone ever for anything, but when people ask me "Do they bite?" I always say "Not yet, but no-one knows what could happen."

 

[zhaor]

AND NO.. I do not let him get away with things just because he is cute!

Really? I do it with my dog.....
<----bad owner

 

[titiaamor]

I'm guilty, too!

Really? I do it with my dog.....
<----bad owner

 

[101naturelover]

Ahh, late. To tell you the truth, Titaamor, about a month after this post, he has not bitten anyone anymore. I keep my room door closed when out of the house from school (and as well as my parents or brother's room. He sleeps there sometimes, so.. just to be safe. c: ) and now, he just doesn't guard my room or stuff. I haven't been on in awhile, and so much has happened! Visit my new thread, guys. c: