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Location: Springfield, IL
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 32
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Thrilled to see strangers?
After having a dog for about 17 years who died recently, I ended up (I swear, not by intention) getting a dog that almost looks like a copy of my old dog as a puppy.
I had just heard a shelter had German Shephard mix puppies and knew that was what breed my old dog Roo was, so I had to have a look. Next thing you know I'm going home with a Roo clone. Well, not exactly.
For one thing old Roo made a huge production every time I came home. She practically jumped out of her skin. She even made a special kind of squeal noise she only made when I showed up. I don't know why, its just how the dog came. I can't read this any other way than that the dog just liked me a lot, and always did.
Now, the new puppy is friendly but since she is young and destructive she has had to be crated at night, and now has a pen in the backyard for when I leave (yes, I can't spend 24/7 with my dog, great if you can). She hates being crated before bed and is clamoring and howling to get out every morning as soon as she sees me open an eyelid, so much so I have to practically dash outside with her every dawn.
Well anyways..... being so used to coming home to a welcoming production, it was quite a change to come home now to a dog happy to get out, but not particularly estatic to see me lol. She wags, she comes over and licks, but its nothing nearly as dramatic. But wait-there's more.
When neighbors, meter readers or strangers come up to the fence to pet the cute puppy- because she's a magnet, she DOES jump out of her skin. She's obviously thrilled, yipping and wagging and trying to climb out and get at them.
Last week for instance I met some friends downtown at a festival and thought I'd bring the puppy along to get some exercise, and she was practically a rock star. "Can I pet your puppy?" was like a broken record and hundreds of hands and stooping admirers. She was of course thrilled by that experience, bathed in the attention and was quite worn out for once.
Is there such a thing as a puppy being oversocialized?
She does follow me around the house constantly and hardly even needs a leash outside, but I'm perplexed by the reactions to strangers. So is this a dog that's going to go fetch tools for the burglar?
It seems a silly question, but you can't help but wonder if you're doing something wrong- even causing resentment with the crating. And even have thoughts creeping in to the back of your mind that well, maybe your dog really would be happier with another owner.
:/