Pets becoming to attached.

PRINCESSX87

Pets becoming to attached.

Since moving in December we have seen a massive change in our pets:-

1 dog
2 cats

They are becoming far to attached & its getting out of control.:mad:

Their attached to my hip every moment of the day. The cats cry if I have a bath & they cant get to me. If I pop to the local shop, The cats follow me, On a few occasions even coming into the shop.

The dog is the same with my OH until he goes to work, Then its back to my hip until he returns.

Night time is becoming a joke. The dog will not stay down stairs, He comes up during the night jumps on & off the bed, If I shut him out, He barks & cries all night. He is only happy when he is in the middle of us.

The cats make like a screaming noise until one of us gets up and lets them in.

This is all new behaviour in all the pets, But its making me dislike them, With the lack of sleep and constant tripping over…

Does anyone have similar experiences?

Mankysteve

Are they all neutered?
With the Dog at night try a cage with a cover it will make him/her feel more secure.

Not sure about the cats I take there have access to the outside, Kick em outside and lock the cat flap when the weather nice.

When you go out leave a radio on.

Griizelda

They all sound anxious and stressed, probably caused by the house move. Have you tried Feliway for the cats as lots of people on here recommend it?

Leaving the cats outside when you go to bed seems to be distressing them more, so can you keep them in at night, even if you shut them in another room? (and keep them shut in the house when you pop to the shpps!).

I know it's hard, but try giving them all lots of attention and reassurance, other than that, I'm not sure what to suggest. My dog sleeps happily on the landing (not allowed in the bedrooms) and I've got three laid back cats who sometimes sleep on the bed, but often sleep elsewhere. Sorry (and good luck!).

bagginslover

This all sounds like very typical seperation anxiety (yes, I know, it sounds counter intuitive....).

You need to build up the ammount of time you spend away from them. Start small-shut them in a room with no human company, then go straight back in. If they make a fuss, whining, or meowing (depending on the species you are working with at the time ) DON'T go back in, if you do, it will reinforce the thought that making noise makes you come back, and they will get noisier. When you go back in, don't make a fuss of them, just go in and sit down/carry on with what you were doing before. Once they are calm again, then call them to you and praise them. You need to do this consistantly, slowly building up the time you are away from them, and only go back when they are quiet.

For the dog-invest in a crate (also called an indoor kennel, basically a cage, though a large pet carrier works just as well), encorage the dog to sleep in the crate, put their meals in there etc. . Once the dog happily goes in the crate of his own accord, start shutting the door behind him. To begin with only close it for a minuite tops, then let him back out again (again, only when he is quiet). Again, build up the time you shut him in for. In time, the crate will become his go-to area when he is tired, frightened, or stressed, he will see it as a safe place to be, and will want to be in there. You will be able to shut him in there at night, and get a good nights sleep

All this will take time-there is no quick fix unfortunatly