# Bonding and independence with our pup



## Ladybird (May 15, 2016)

New V puppy owner here, and it's been a long time since I had a puppy at all. While I love the velco-ness of her, I'm concerned about her being a bit too attached to us, and her vocalizations in protest. She's 12 weeks old, and if either my boyfriend or myself leave the room she just howls and barks and has minimal stopping. It's gotten MUCH better than 2 weeks ago, like today in her kennel was just low level mild arguing and reminding us we'd forgotten her for about 45 minutes, our attempt at training. But if I leave the kitchen to water the plants out front she is ***** she has to stay behind the gate in the kitchen, and it's ridiculous! Is this normal? Am I right to view this as arguing and general conversation? Will ignoring it just fizzle it out? We currently just let her do it, wait until she's quiet for a few seconds and come back, then ignore her until she goes to her bed, then praise. Occasionally I lose my temper and clap loudly/scold her. Will she grow out of this? Will daily crate training and increasing hours do the trick?

On a second note, I'm worried about the barking altogether. Her excited "chatter" is scary to kids who want to see her, and she definitely wants to tell us when she disagrees with something. I don't mind excited barks unless it's excessive. Is this normal, and something she'll grow out of? How do I avoid the excessive barking?

Thanks for your help!


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

(I'm not sure what "****" means?)

Puppies need and thrive on consistency. She'd do best on a very predictable schedule that includes lots of "PIE": Physical exercise, Intellectual stimulation (going for walks and exploring ), and Emotional gratification (Closeness). Try to get into a routine, something like playtime>meals>walk>nap/crate time.

She's still a baby, and she's still transitioning from being part of a pack 24/7 to your life. Her vocalization is an expression of her normal anxiety and frustration, to prevent it from becoming truly problematic (and permanent), you should get her into that routine and then stick to it. Eventually, she'll learn to soothe herself and settle. Don't respond to her screaming by letting her out of her crate of going back to spend time with her on her side of the gate.

Her excessive barking when she greets is an indication of excitement, you can try to wait until she settles before the kids greet her, but what she really needs to learn is self control, which is best accomplished by getting her into that routine and sticking to it, the things she learns by being in her crate quietly generalize onto other situations which she reacts to emotionally. 

One of the easiest ways to train her, btw, is to call out whatever she might be doing that eventually you might want to command later on as she does it, something like "Good quiet!" when she's sitting there quietly, or "good sit!". Training is the association of our words to their actions, and the sooner you start this, the sooner she'll start behaving.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Gingerling said:


> (I'm not sure what "****" means?)


I believe that was a mod edit, but I'd guess she meant she gets upset/angry.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

einspänner said:


> Gingerling said:
> 
> 
> > (I'm not sure what "****" means?)
> ...


yes, it was me and you're correct einspanner


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

ahhh...figured as much. Must have been a really offensive term, wouldn't want to have the kids leave the room.


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## mskatiesd (May 18, 2016)

I used to have a problem when I was at the dog park with my V. When it was time to leave, she didn't want to go and wouldn't let me put her leash on her. I would start walking to the car and she would sit at the exit to the dog park and start doing the Vizsla howl/talk that we all know as if to say "don't leave me, I am not done playing". It was just like a kid not wanting to leave the park! People would laugh, it was hilarious! 

I don't think I ever really stopped it completely but what worked best when she did it in the house, begging for something, wanting to be in an "off limits" room was to point to her bed and say "go lay down", most of the time that was the command that worked. So, I would use that time as a training opportunity, when she does it, take her to where you want to go and say "go lay down", and reward her. Turn that yelp into a positive behavior and reward. 

Good Luck!


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## trevor1000 (Sep 20, 2013)

When Bacchus was a puppy he was the same (I'm sure most V's were)
We would give anyone that came to the house a high value treat before they came into the house.
I made sure that Bacchus knew they had it BUT he didn't get it until there was no barking and he behaved.
As far as the "back talking" goes, he still does it when he doesn't get his way lol
He is getting better though, I try to give zero attention when he back talks.
Its hard not to laugh.
I don't think at 12 weeks a puppy is looking for independence.
Oh and lets see some puppy pic's?


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## PG (May 21, 2016)

Hi Ladybird,
Glad to hear to you are one of us now. Vizslas are awesome! 

To start with, ignoring a Vizsla (or a dog in general) is not a solution. You need to set boundaries and show him/her an alternative to the unwanted behavior. A example: when he/she is barking, set a clear boundary with a "NO", and show her what to do instead, i.e. lying down in her crate, then reward her with a nice treat to chew on for the next 1 to 2 hours. Bigger the treat, happier the Vizsla.

On a further note, a Vizsla needs affection - and a lot of it. Especially in the first few month when both you and your V bond. This is very important because Vizslas like to please and crave for affection. The stronger the bond is, the easier it will to train her.

Usually V bark very little to not at all, so I am surprised that your dog barks a lot. There're two things I did in the beginning when I left the house. I gave Sky (my Vizsla) a big treat to chew so that she would associate being alone with a positive feeling, and two, I placed a used T-shirt (with perfume) on her bed, to make sure that it "smells" like me being there. Try that, it worked really well in my case. 

Patrick


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