Jack Russell Puppy 8 weeks Soo Clingy please help

nc1002

Hi, I just got a Jack Russell puppy about four days ago,  he is currently seven and a half weeks and he is a family dog but he is so clingy to me. He's friendly to everyone but if I leave the room he whines, if I put him down in the kitchen he whines and follows me around and he doesn't do that to anyone else.
Is this normal behaviour just because he's so young? Will he eventually stop this? Is this common for the breed? Or what should I do?

He's great and I adore him I just don't want him growing up this reliant on me.
I'm currently training him to not have me in the room for short intervals and will increase that over time, he seems fine when there are other people there with the occasional whine, but if I'm in the room he will always choose to come to me.

Please if you have any tips or advice let me know!
Thanks  

mcpitman

Your his new mum.

You need to start distancing yourself from what you are doing. When you say "put him down" do you mean for a sleep or because you are carrying him around? (hint - stop carrying him around unless you want a lap/handbag dog).

When he whines due to separation, do not go back to the room or place where he is until he is quiet. Otherwise he will earning that whining = immediate attention.

How is he sleeping at night?
How is his feeding routine?

nc1002

@mcpitman
Thanks so much for your response. When I say put him down he can't climb up or down our steep stairs just yet so I have to carry him down the stairs, but I place him down on the kitchen floor right after the stairs. I don't carry him unless it's necessary.  

He's also the worst at dinner time - whilst we're all seated at the table he jumps up at our legs and whines a lot for our attention. We ignore it, however, I wonder how long he'll do this for and if he will grow out of it? And he really bites at our ankles. 

His sleeping is good, I let him out to pee twice and he eats normally 3 times a day - at consistent times every single day -  which is what our vet recommended for the food he's on. 

gettingtheresometime

Give him time but the key is to be consistent.
decide now if you want to allow him upstairs....if not then don't carry up there. Again with you eating at the table, don't engage with him. It's abit like a naughty child, if they learn that the only way they can get attention by misbehaving then they will. 

I found that when our beagle started nipping it was best to cry out in a high pitch yelp.

onwards&upwards

Have you ever had a puppy before?  He’s only 8 weeks this is pretty standard stuff. 

It might be a good idea to get a few puppy/dog training books off Amazon and have a really good read. 

mcpitman

nc1002 said:

@mcpitman
Thanks so much for your response. When I say put him down he can't climb up or down our steep stairs just yet so I have to carry him down the stairs, but I place him down on the kitchen floor right after the stairs. I don't carry him unless it's necessary.  

He's also the worst at dinner time - whilst we're all seated at the table he jumps up at our legs and whines a lot for our attention. We ignore it, however, I wonder how long he'll do this for and if he will grow out of it? And he really bites at our ankles. 

His sleeping is good, I let him out to pee twice and he eats normally 3 times a day - at consistent times every single day -  which is what our vet recommended for the food he's on. 

As on a previous before, decide if you want the dog upstairs long term. My 8 month old lab pup has never been upstairs and never will. It's a personal choice, mine is based around hygiene (love dogs but hate thought of one sleeping on mine or the children's beds). None of my past dogs have been allowed upstairs.

Good to hear you are not carrying him everywhere, keep ignoring him at dinner time, or if he continues, pop him into another room where his bed/crate is and ignore him until you are finished. Current dog learnt at about 10 weeks not to disturb "human food time" and just goes off to her bed now when the plates go on the side to "serve up".

Nipping and biting is their version of play. When with other pups & mum they will be quite boisterous, however learn when it becomes too much because other puppies will yelp when hurt. So again, I agree that a short sharp, loud (but not shouting) yelp will let pup know when it hurts.
In addition if the biting is on a limb or hand, make that part of your body go completely limp when you "yelp" for 15-20 seconds and look upset at the pup.

Eating is all good news and appetite in general can be a good mood indicator.

Ignore/mange the bad behavior, reward the good.