This may sound a bit silly, but I think that my 12 week old pup is jealous of my having a cuddle with my husband!  If we are watching TV and he goes to give me a peck (no snogs) :-)
Sam jumps right in the middle of us and goes bonkers - at the moment we see it as cute and funny and hes only a baby, but could this turn into something more?  I always try to show Sam affection after i`ve had my cuddle with my hubby 
He loves to follow me around and is always at my feet - We have a baby gate and we try to get Sam to sit in the living room with my hubby but he cries and barks!!!

I just dont want him be too dependent on me always being around him - and he needs to be his own dog!

Jenny

its not silly it is jelousy, you do need to sort this out now, because when he gets older the jelousy towards your husband touching you could be severe he may attack. Do persevere with him on the other side of the gate, to let him know that you and your hubby will cuddle, and then he won't need to be behind the gate after a while he will accept it. If however you persist to let him interupt your cuddles he will continue and the bigger he gets the harder it will get, ad as i say he may snarl at your husband when he comes near you.

Jenny mc

Sorry to disagree with person who answered you but it is NOT jealousy.  Jealousy is a human emotion which dogs can not feel - they do not have the reasoning power within their makeup to do so.

You say your dog follows you around and sit by your feet - so - I gather you spend more time with the pup than your husband.  If so what is happening is your pup hopefully sees you as No 1 in the pack (dogs are very social creatures and pack rules matter very much to them) and himself as No 2 while hubby comes in at No 3.  When your pup sees you cuddling/paying attention to hubby he is miffed, not because he is jealous but because he thinks he should have attention before hubby not after.  You need to promote your husbands position in your pack to get your pups attention seeking behaviour to stop.

with respect the pup being miffed because he wants the attention, or thinks he is second in the ranking and should recieve the attention before the husband- is simplified as jelousy!.
However to save further confusion: the pup does not 'appreciate' your husband recieveing attention, this needs to be made clear to the pup that the attention will continue, and he should sit quietly and accept this. Your pup may also be protective towards you and when he is bigger if he is still 'unappreciative' of your cuddles he may challenge your partner, either through protection, or simply because he thinks he should be recieving your cuddles!

No it ISN'T jealousyand to say so is to misinterpret the motivation behind the dog's behaviour.  Dogs are social animals.  They have a very proper order of doing things with the leader having most privileges and those lower in rank deferring to those higher up in status. 

To take on a position in the rank that you don't have is regarded as a gross error of protocol by any social animal and that includes dogs. 

If the dog thinks it has a higher rank in the pack than the husband but husband gets attention from the leader first the dog will be acting as it does not out of jealousy but because in dog terms, husband has committed a serious breach of protocol and should be put in his place which in the dogs eyes is AFTER or lower down the ranking system than the dog.

I actually think you are both right! :)

The pup is so bonded to Jenny that he sees any contact with someone else as a threat which is a pretty good definition of jealousy. He's insecure (hence the crying when she's in another room). Dogs *are* social animals, but if he wasn't insecure he would just play with (or challenge) the husband in Jenny's absence.

On the other hand, yes the pup *should* be placed at the bottom of the pack as things could get nasty if he grows up thinking he's higher in rank than the husband. Jenny's already doing the right thing by showing her husband affection before the pup. :)

Jenny you hit the nail on the head when you said "I just dont want him be too dependent on me" as I think he already is and that's your problem. Try to get your husband more involved in the pups care...feeding, grooming, taking him out for wees, training etc. so that he looks up to, and depends on both of you more equally. Also, although you think what he's doing it cute and funny, he'll pick up on that and play on it. Don't let him get away with it. See it as a no-no just as you would with other naughty behaviour. When he jumps in between you tell him firmly No! and put him on the floor (an action which puts him below you physically also places him lower in rank).

Kath.

I think he sounds insecure.  My thirteen year old yorkie Toby was found in Jan last year.  Although we found the owners I cannot say what type of home he had.  However, he cannot bear to be away from me.  When washing dishes he sits on my feet or has to touch  me in some way.  He cries if I am in a different room and will go for anybody who comes near me.

We have tried numerous ways of dealing with the problems poor old Toby has but to no avail.  In your case you are at the other end of the spectrum with a youngster and therefore need to deal with it in an appropriate way.   I therefore understand totally what you are saying.

I am no animal behaviourist and no great advice giver because where Toby is concerned he is just ending his years with us.  I am so fortunate that my other four have laid back dogs who ignore him.  I do however, gently move him aside as my other four need loves to.  He is quite persistant but I dont speak to him I just very gently move him away so he knows the others needs hugs and cuddles.  I suppose with Toby having lost a home of 12 years must have caused him incredible stress.  If only the old man could talk.

I wish you lots of luck and Im sure everything will turn out fine.

Tessa

Tessa, you sound like a caring, sensitive, sensible lady. Toby is very lucky to have found you. :)

Kath xx

Just wanted to thank you all for the advice - we are starting puppy classes on Saturday - all three of us!!

Jenny

Brilliant!!

The more your husband is involved as well as you in caring for your dog the more chance the dog has got of seeing your husband as being more senior in the pack.  Any kind of training, whether its obedience or general 'good behaviour' training will put both humans 'in charge'.  Once your dog gets the message that he comes bottom of the pack he will accept human privileges.  This of course does not mean you have to be harsh, unkind, or forceful (not suggesting that you might be) just firm but fair in your handling of your dog (both of you!!).

Best wishes

Suzie