I have a 1 year old whippet who is very 'needy'. If he isnt in the same room when i am in the house he will cry! If i am out at work or we are in bed he is completely fine downstairs on his own. Has anybody got any ideas as this is driving my girlfriend crazy?! She plays with him, walks him and shows him affection but i have, historically, been the one who feeds him, walks him and is generally the 'pack leader'. He also follows me from room to room. He is a very affectionate, soft dog and absolutely loves attention, which he gets lots of.

Hi woody

we make them needy - they're not born like that as a general rule ;)  I've got one just like it - all my own fault and I feel guilty about it because (a)I should have known better, (b) I should have seen the early signs and (c) it's causing unnecessary stress to the dog.

Nowt incidentally to do with me, or anyone of the human family, being 'pack leader'!  Simply I am the main source or food, water, shelter, exercise, general day to day comforts and also coat care which is always a lovely 1-2-1 enjoyable experience in a multi dog household therefore I'm each of the dogs most valuable resource - others can chip in too but it's me they spend the vast majority of their time with and they've worked out that's it's when I'm around they gain most :)  One has taken this to extremes unlike the others who aren't quite so needy or demanding of me forever being present and dancing attention on them.

The cure requires gradual building of less time spent with you - short periods of being alone when you're in another room, gradually building up towards longer periods etc, more interaction with your OH even when you're around yourself and trying to re-focus the dog's anxiety onto something soothing and recreational, perhaps a big marrow bone ;)  Incidentally I'll be trying these methods out myself :-D  so we can compare notes!

But adopting a dog, even one with such a pristine
background, isn't always a walk in the dog park. Training challenges can be compounded when a dog
has been abandoned, neglected, or abused. Adopting a dog with a needy background is a
challenge. But becoming a pack leader for a needy dog is not for
everyone. They can require more time and work to train, but
there are lots of good dog training books and courses
to help. The biggest obstacle in adopting a needy dog has
nothing to do with the dog. The tingling thrill we feel when we first fall in love is
not enough to sustain the challenges of a long-term
relationship--even with a dog. Relationships require Active Compassion, which is the
ability to act in the best long-term interest of our dog,
and in our relationship with our dog. We've had more than one needy dog end up at our
house for a visit along with its human caretaker. But before we can begin to practice Active
Compassion, we need to ask ourselves one key
question:
Do we love our dog?

Whippets can be very sensitive needy dogs.  It is very easy to reinforce the needy behaviour without realising it just by doing what comes naturally, to comfort them when they seem distressed.  He obviously doesn't have seperation problems as he is fine when you aren't there so that makes things much easier.  Dogs do what works and it is likely that if this behaviour wasn't working it would have stopped by now - can you think of anything you do that may be reinforcing it.  Do you give him a fuss when you come back in the room, tell him it's ok your back now, let him come through after he's whined a few times?

You are doing the right thing letting your girlfriend take over the fun activities like walking and feeding, again as above not because it has anything to do with pack leadership but because it will help your whippet she your girlfrined as the provider of fun things and help them develop a stronger relationship.

Does your lad have a favourite toy, food treat?  What I would do is have a pot of his favourite treats in the room where you spend most of your time.  When you go out of the room your girlfrind starts to feed him his favourite treats, when you comes back the treats stop and you come back in without making any fuss, don't talk to him or touch him as any kind of interaction will be reinforcing to him.  Try the same with a favourite toy.  Keep these special rewawrds just for this purpose and he doesn't have access to them at any other time so they will be of extra high value and he can start to build up a great association with you being out of the room and him being left in the room with your GF.

It would also be a good ides generally to build up a positive association with you noit being around, make sure he has planty to do and occupy himself while you are out with interactive toys, like a stuffed kong, or treats balls.  You could get him used to playing 'find it' with a scented toy or treats and set something up for him to find just before you go out.

Good luck :-)

My cocker is the same he is sat on my feet now in the office, when OH gets ready for work his dog is all over the kitchen Whistler sits between my legs looking on. We have distinct his and hers dogs, Whistler follows me from room to room, we somethimes hide from him as well!!! I just thought that all dogs would pick whom they belong to!!!

I've just recently taken on a 4 yr old mongrel [that's for teri :-)] and he whinged continuously even when we just looked at him also when we walked into the room even if we had all been out for a walk together! over anything really- the way I dealt with this annoying problem is to completely ignore him- no eye contact no touching, I just pretended he wasn't there- when he would shut up and go and sit on his bed- I would go up to him and give him a stroke. Now he has stopped.
Recently I put up a stair gate to stop him from trapezing around following me around the house too. The ex owner said he would jump the gate but he hasn't as yet! 

> I've just recently taken on a 4 yr old mongrel [that's for teri :-)]

Are you trying to say that champion bitch I've got on e-bay is of dubious pedigree   (kidding folks, she may be a pain but she's precious - and priceless!)
(if it ain't that then ya lost me kiddo )

Oh gosh sorry wrong person me quipping at! was meant to be Toolz not you soz!! well it does begin with T lol x

And we are both young, gifted and gorgeous....easy mistake to make :-)

true, true, awfy true