[jcosta7990]

Hi everyone!
Just a few days ago I rescued a dog for the first time ever. He is a very sweet, very gentle hyper 2.5 year old toy poodle. As I expected the first two days he was with me he was very reluctant to go anywhere. He would sniff around and just kind of lay there if he felt it was ok. Now it has been just about a week and he has become so overprotective of me.

When ever I am in the house with him, he follows me around with this look in his eyes like "let me sit on you, i need to protect you now!" And if I am sitting down, he always has to sit on my lap and guard me. He has severe separation anxiety. Just the other day, I went to my local strip mall and met up with a friend, he was obviously not socialized at all, going crazy when someone would walk by (not barking or growling, but more of a I need to meet you and make sure you're ok to be around her, jumping and trying to sniff people out). My friend and I went to a coffee shop where we sat out side. I went to go order my drink and once I left he was barking and whining and crying until I came back.

Now my question is, is this normal for a rescue so young, or just in general?

Thanks to anyone who can help.
Jordan.


He was so matted over they shaved him like a sheep, I am just happy that no sores were found and now his coat will grow back nice and healthy.

[Taming Rover]

I just posted in another thread about Separation Anxiety and basically a lot of people mislabel it. It is normal for a dog to want to be around their "pack" and to feel a bit out of place when they are separated from you. So it's up to us to get them used to being lone. This is something that in the animal world they would not have to do, but since they live with humans and it's impossible that we can take them absolutely everywhere with us, it's our responsibility to make sure they are comfortable with being alone. Obviously this is much easier to do with a puppy as they haven't had a chance to develop any negative associations yet. But I also think that since it's so soon after you rescued this guy you have a good chance to do the same process because for him, new house, new owner new rules. You basically have the chance to show him a new way of being, and even if by chance he had developed separation anxiety with his previous owners, you have a better chance now of nipping that in the bud.

That being said, it might not be separation anxiety at all. It's hard to say without having seen him and his behavior, but it sounds to me like he is becoming dominant over you. If he always climbs up onto your lap to "protect" you, that is a very dominant stance to take and it takes your "power" as a leader away from you. Not that he shouldn't be up on your lap, but there is a very big difference between him climbing up there whenever he wants to, and if he only comes up when you ask him to, and if you don't ask him too then you don't allow it. This put you in a leadership role and forces him to respect your space as your own, not that he owns you. Make sense?

If he feel that he owns you and can just climb on you whenever he wants, it may seem to you like he is protecting you from strangers and we might be tempted to think of it as endearing, but in actuality it can become a serious problem if the dog thinks that he is in fact patrolling "His Property". If this is the case, it would also make sense that he would bark and whine when you went away because if he sees himself as the leader, then in his eyes, you should not be walking away and leaving him behind without his permission...

I would suggest doing a few things to assert yourself as a leader and see if this makes a difference. This doesn't mean to be mean to him, just to set your own boundaries, make sure you walk through doorways first and he follows, this puts you as the leader, make sure you eat your meals first and he eats second, or at least you eat at the same time, and don't let him just walk up into your lap on onto the furniture unless you first say it's ok.

Another thing that is really important is not to feel bad or coddle him when he does get into that protective state. In whatever way you feel is right, you should tell him somehow that you don't agree with the behavior because you don't want it to get out of hand. I have seen it happen too much that people think they are soothing their dog but really they are making matters worse and their little lap dog wont let anyone get near them to give them a hug or anything. So to avoid that situation, make sure he knows that if he ever growls or barks at someone that is trying to get close to you that you immediately address it and let him know it's not ok to do that.

This is what I would do, but good luck with him, he's a cute little thing! ;o)