Hi everyone,
I'm looking for advice on working with a low-confidence puppy, a new experience for me. He’s 18 weeks old, from good lines, generally calm and very gentle and respectful, but clingy, often neurotic, lacking independence and unlike all our other dogs and my experience with this breed and LGDs in general.
Specific Questions: Squeezing In: When I cuddle/praise our other dogs, he pushes in to squeeze them out. He drives them away by intense 'jealous licks' to their faces. What's the best approach: divert to him (rewarding), cuddle both, ignore, or gently reject/redirect him?
The "Crutch" Older Dog: with her around, he tackles all life's obstacles (physical/social) just by following her, kind of clumsily. Without her, he's cautious and shy. Are we creating a 'crutch' and should we take him out alone more? I feel like he hugely benefits and learns from her example, but wondering if more experiences where he is challenged alone would be better for his self confidence?
Correcting Without Stress: How do I ignore, correct, or treat behaviours such as begging, blocking a hallway, wanting a lap sit, interrupting, when ignoring causes him stress e.g. a string of 'nervous yawns' and walking around neurotically on eggshells until comforted?
He’s a big cuddle bug love bear, but even after 1.5 months still "on eggshells" in the house with our dogs and cats, he clearly yearns for interaction and play with them but too scared to initiate and I suspect they shun him for his lack of confidence.
We've had him a month. We are using basic agility and play, and seeing slow progress, but I suspect we can do better with home dynamics. Any help or shared experience is appreciated! Cheers!
submitted by /u/Ill_Car1343
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