new member - Hi, 8 month old puppy with a problem

I have a eight month old rescue pup. I have had her for six weeks. She is very dominant and follows me like a shadow.
She had not been house trained and it took me about two weeks to get her clean in the house. However if I go out and leave her for a while even if she is with another member of the family she pees when I return home (not with excitement) She also refuses to eat if I am not there.

Can anyone advise me what I can do

Welcome aboard.

I am sure if you post your worries under behaviour and training alot of members maybe able to advise....

Hi, welcome to Dogsey...

None of the things you have mentioned suggests a dominant puppy.. She is following YOU.. The peeing sounds like it's submissive - a lot of dogs won't eat during the day, if their owner isn't there...

Well done! Toilet training her in two weeks...

Which rescue centre did you get her from? They should be supporting you with your dog if you give them a ring.

Following you isn't dominant (dogs are very rarely dominant), it's probably because she's in a new environment and is unsure of what's going on.

My rescue dog followed me around the house for a few weeks. I just let him get on with it, didn't make a fuss of him when he followed me. Now after two years he doesn't follow at all in the house.

Once she's settled she'll stop following you.

HTH

I agree with the others, it's certainly not dominance and in fact she sounds like anything but

It sounds as if she's a bit nervous when you come back but that is quite normal for many dogs until they get a bit older, especially in new surroundings.

What sort of training methods do you use? anything in particular? for instance do you tell her off if she urinates when you return to the house or anything like that?

It may be useful to invest in DAP diffuser as this can take the edge off anxiety which may make her more likely to eat during the day perhaps.

Wys
x

Hi Janice welcome to Dogsey.
Someone else posted with a similar problem a couple of days ago , if you look at the thread you will see some suggestions to help with the behaviour

http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=106481

Thanks for your reply.

I do not tell her off when she urinates in doors, just take her outside. If she goes outside, praise her and give treat. I do have a dap diffuser but have not noticed any difference.

i have one like that, she came out of a gundog kennel so wasn't housetrained at all, she does still wee when we come in from work sometimes, what i find is if i ignore her when i first come in and go straight outside with her to greet her then she sort of forgets to do it, and if i do get it wrong,i just clean it up.

Welcome to the site

Like the others have said following you is not dominance & the peeing is appeasement/exceitement & nothing to do with house training.

She will stop doing it naturally, but to save her from doing it indoors, can you greet her outdoors where it doesn't matter ?

I used to have a BC bitch, who used to do this in excitement when she saw certain human friends.

She might have had a bad home before she came to you & sees you as THE provider of all things good to her.

Not eating whilst you are not there can be typical of a rescue dog & enlisting others to feed her whilst you are there(very tasty treats)will help her realize that she is safe with you & your family.

It will take time & you need to take very small steps with her. Going to a training club will help, but don't rush her. Clicker training is good for rescue dogs as it is a "Hands off"method & makes the dog use it's brain to learn.

Good for you on choosing her, rescues can repay their rescuers many times over.