Dogs behaviour when daughter home

[Yellow55]

We’ve lived harmoniously for years as a family with our dog (dachshund). Then my daughter went away to uni a few years ago. Now the problem is whenever she comes home he constantly whines and pesters her and will not leave her alone. Any advice would be great fully received

What is the reaction when he whines and pesters? Does she eventually give in and give him attention?

Loads of attention and fuss initially. But it goes on for days

He obviously sees her as a “high value” item/person! I imagine you are all very pleased to see her and have her home and perhaps he’s picking up on this fact and wants to have her attention to increase his standing within the “pack” structure. I think it’s natural to put a “human” spin on these things and think “oh he must really have missed her so now he wants loads of fuss and attention from her”. Much as I love my dog I also recognise she becomes like this with me when others are around and she sees me as a resource to be competed for(usually with my child! 😂). Wearing as it would be I think perhaps your daughter completely blanking him if he is scrabbling for attention etc I.e stand up and walk off, turn around and ignore him, silently pick him up if jumps on lap and put back on the floor, no eye contact etc. Then only give attention to him from her when he behaves as you want I.e when sitting quietly or lying on the floor - can then have attention but if he then ups the ante and gets over the top again she will have to reinstate the boundary and walk off again etc. I hope that’s helpful

Okay so no more fuss. It’s hard to resist but you have to be consistent for it to make a difference.

When daughter comes home she shouldn’t greet him initially, wait until he is calm (no whining, waiting patiently) then she can.

Every time he paws at her or whines at her, she should ignore him and if possible turn away or leave the room. Eventually he will start to learn what behaviour gets him attention and what doesn’t.

When he is calm, don’t just reward the behaviour with lots of fuss (you can sometimes) but also have more structured activities like fetch, some tricks, hide treats for him to find. So they’re still having fun together but in a way where the attention isn’t just on your daughter.

And also the other family members should ignore too. If he’s whining at your daughter, don’t step in and say shhh or anything. Because that’s still attention and rewarding. Everyone ignores him until he is being polite and patient

Wow. This is really helpful. Thanks all. Ok plan of action next time. I will put into place how we all react when she comes home again .thanks so much

How is your dog normally when left alone?

How is your dog with semi regular visitors?

He is only left alone for an hour every so often . To be honest he’s not great with visitors . It’s almost as if he can’t contain himself and gets so excited

Sounds like your dog, quite understandably, doesn't really view your daughter as being a member of the household.

Mine is a bit dodgy with visitors sometimes, but tends to be better if they are already there before him (strategic trip around the block while they enter) or we all enter at the same time.