[nagdu] Unsettled dog with my friends

[Shannon Dyer]

I don't think this is uncommon at all. My Caroline dog is jealous of my current partner, and my first dog definitely had some issues with my ex. In a lot of ways, I think it's difficult for some dogs to get used to their "pack" expanding. Dogs that come into an already-established relationship don't seem to have as much difficulty, but, if the relationship comes after the dog, this can sometimes be problematic.

Caroline is very clingy in general. I don't reward this behavior, but neither do I punish her for it, as it's just a part of her personality. However, if she does something abnormal for her such as barking, whining, trying to physically come between myself and my partner etc., I will reprimand her. I also make sure that she and I still have a lot of bonding time. I may spend extra time grooming her, or take her for a longer walk. Just something to let her know that things are still consistent, even though there's a new human in the picture.

Shannon and Caroline

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On Dec 4, 2011, at 3:17 PM, Wayne Merritt wrote:

> Greetings all. For those that don't know me and who may be new to the
> list, I am in Austin, Texas, with my second Seeing Eye dog, a German
> Shepherd named Gucci. She is 6 and I've had her for 3 years. Anyway,
> my question is regarding how Gucci behaves when my girlfriend is with
> us. Gucci can't fit into the foot space in the front seat of my
> girlfriend's car, so I put her in the back seat. Whenever we are in
> the car and Gucci is in the back, she really whimpers and whines when
> I am holding hands or snuggling with my girlfriend. She usually
> whimpers quietly wen I am in a car that slows down, but it seems like
> the whimpering and whining picks up a few knotches in my girlfriend's
> car. Gucci also jumps around quite a bit at times in the car. She is
> equally whiny and whimpery when I am sitting with my girlfriend on the
> couch and we are doing more snuggling or holding hands. This has never
> happened before, at least not to this degree, and I am not sure what
> to do about it. I get the feeling that gucci is not used to my
> girlfriend yet and there may be some anxiety on Gucci's part that I'm
> not paying as much attention to her. Has anyone experienced this
> before and if so how did you fix the problem? Now that I am writing
> this, I am wondering if I should call the school and see what they
> recommend. I haven't had to call the school that much in the last 3
> years or so, but this might qualify.
> 
> Thanks bunch in advance,
> Wayne Merritt
> 
> -- 
> Follow me on Twitter at:
> www.twitter.com/wcmerritt
> My websites:
> www.wayneism.com
> www.whitecaneday.org
> 
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