Anybody else's dog an independent pupper who dont need no owner? (Lighthearted)

[bettydaviseyes1]

I get curled up beside and sat on, licked and finger chewed but not so much as an excited little jump when coming home. Hes never left for longer than 4 hours but coming back all I get is a stretch and a yawn no welcome back dance a lot of dogs seem to greet their owners with.

Saying bye I'm all "dont worry daddy will be home soon, I'll miss you, love you my little man..." and I get a bit of side eye and that's if he bothers to wake at all.

I think I'm just a needy food and walk provider who's warm to sit near! All I do is give that dog my unconditional love coupled with the best belly scratches (I get the leg going and everything!)

Anyone else worried their dog might ghost them? Anyone else the needy one in the relationship?

Currently making the bed round him so as not to disturb my lil lord highness... then I'll have to carry him down stairs to go wee as hes too sleepy to walk... followed by breakfast in the living room...then he wakes up a bit

You've got it wrong. It's actually a cat you have.

I've got 2 velcro attached spaniels. They come to work with me, are glued to my side 24/7 and look at me with absolute disgust when they get put in the kitchen to bed at night. I get greeted like a long lost relative when I take the bins out and if I dare to actually leave them, they lie next to the back door until I return ignoring everyone else at home........

Your dog sounds lovely. Wanna swap??

My dog is besotted with me, took him 4 years to stop wetting himself with excitement when I came home etc.

But he is also a disloyal hussy who would drop me for any other person immediately. I am only interesting if there is no other option.

Totally agree with utterlyunimaginativeusername, you definitely have a cat 😂

It's great that he clearly doesn't get separation anxiety! But he does sound slightly like a cat haha

Hahaha my cat barks!

Aw what I wouldnt give for a little excitement wee! Lol Now he does follow me about the house... but then lies down in eyesight but at a distance... @PeoniesarePink I'll do a swop! It would be lovely to have such a welcome when I go to the bins and back! Honestly my husband is happier to see me when I'm in from work! I'll swop you one apathetic Maltese for two loving excitable spaniels!

I lay at the bottom of the bed beside him the other night and started rubbing his belly, one look of disgust, a sigh (do your dogs sigh all the time like mine?! He gives real human sounding sighs) and then moved to the top of the bed to get away from me! Rejected!

Currently lying beside my feet so I feel a little bad dissing him!

Haha my Maltese was glued to be until recently. I still can't shower on my own, he needs to be in the bathroom watching me.

How old is you cat-dog?

If it’s just me at home and I go out for a couple of hours I get met with the stretch and yawn, sometimes a little “treat now pls” dance by the treat shelf. If I go out all day and leave her at home with DH I get greeted with a spinning ball of joy.

What breed is your dog. He sounds super chilled and secure. I have a mini dachshund who is very chilled out but always wants to be with me where ever I go. We are currently lying on the bed with the windows open and the fan going full blast - bliss...

@SunshineInTheSnow

My cat-dog is 4! People still think hes a puppy which is great when he misbehaves on walks and I can give other dog walkers that "training my puppy, when will he learn" look

Does your Maltese sigh and is he obsessed with lakes/ponds? I've wondered if it's a Maltese thing, he doesn't go in but just stands and stares out like a wistful woman in a 90s movie at her beachfront house...

@WhenPushComesToShove

Hes a Maltese! That does sound like bliss :)

That must be it, hes very chilled until you send a big black (unfortunately hes rascist as well as emotionally repressive) dog his way then he freaks out!

I have a velcro labrador, who when it thundered the other night at stupid o'clock was sitting shaking on my head in the bed. He's a big lad too, 26.5" tall and built like a brick sh@t house, I can't leave a room but he's behind me.
If I'm home alone I don't shut the bathroom door to shower or pee, when I'm not alone and have the cheek to shut the door he lies in the hall and sighs loudly under the door.
We wouldn't swap him for anything but it's like living with a toddler 🐶💕.

@bettydaviseyes1 mine is funny with water. Loves to paw at the water bowl and lie in the wet floor. But will not go in lakes/pools etc. He totally sighs likes an annoyed teenager! I think it's hilarious.

He loves my mom and will give her crazy spins and hi's, etc but me, nothing! I'm the one that feeds him! And buys him expensive chews!

@Sunshineinthesnow

Its so funny that he sighs too! That's a perfect way of describing it as like a teenager Haha! Sometimes he sighs at the perfect moment like when I'm asking him to sit before I give him a treat and it's like "sigh... for goodness sake hurry up mum!" He also burps more than any dog I've ever heard, my mum has dogs and none do that as much, little burpy sigh machine lol

Yes he also wont go into swim but loves a shallow paddle! They're great wee dogs :)

Hes just gone with my mum whos taking him on holiday with her for the weekend, I'm going to miss the indifference and being ignored :( lol

I sometimes wish Maggie was like this. She's always very enthusiastic when she sees me. She even does what I call her Scooby Doo impression. She runs from the other side of the room and leaps directly onto my lap for a cuddle.

I've got one like that.

Very often won't come downstairs to greet me when I get home if it's been a fairly short time and even if she's downstairs on the sofa she often doesn't even bother to get off it and say hello.

She'll sit near me on the floor or sofa for a bit but not for long and she won't actually sit right next to me.

And this is the worst bit. I have to beg her to stay with me in the evening, which doesn't work. She likes to sleep upstairs and will take herself up to bed sometimes as early as 7pm. She likes to choose which room to sleep in during the course of the evening and I can hear her moving around; she's surprisingly noisy for a small dog.

She does like to sleep on my bed though for a short while once I'm in it, so will jump on it and settle down as soon as she hears me come upstairs. She's also been enjoying the fan I've run running in the night recently.

She's supposed to be a companion dog. Obviously she's not read that memo. She was independent as a puppy as well, so it doesn't really surprise me.

Someone mentioned cats, she grew up with my two cats so maybe that accounts for it; she's been instructed in the way of the cat.

In fairness, dogs generally respond to the energy we give out. You could arrive home and do the whole high energy 'hello my boy, whose a good doggie then, yes you are, yes you are' speak in an excitable voice etc, which winds them up but I prefer less dramatic as I don't want my dog hyper. You could give it a go though, you know with treats and belly rubs to encourage him and let us know how you get on. We teach and they learn all the time without us realising and he's learnt to be low key with you.

Yes, dogs do respond and act according to our behaviour.

I have a very good bond with my dog but I'm a very independent person and I definitely think that influences my dog to a great extent. Although she was definitely very self sufficient when I first got her as a puppy and never followed me around even at the very beginning.

She has though, always relied on me for my input in tricky situations. If something in the street is new and scary she will always look at me and once I've told her she's okay she's happy with that and will carry on.

Funnily enough we had a really bad thunder storm this morning and she was really spooked by it and was panting and quite shaky - a new behaviour since she's got older - and I ended up sitting her on my lap and holding her against my body.

She calmed down and was fine after a short while, but settled down and stayed on my lap until the storm passed.

Being independent is fine when everything is good, but when things are scary I think even the bravest and most independent of us can need a hug from a friend.