# My clingy Vizla is a SUFFOCATING ME!



## Havana

She is super friendly 2 year old girl , but the constant demand for attention is driving me NUTS! 
I work from home so she sees me / humans 24/7, never alone .
She gets 2x 1h ( sometimes more) walks / runs a day . She's well fed , looked after in every possible way. All in all , she is a very good hearted girl , really submissive ( I adopted her at the age of 1 as she hated being in the ring as show dog and needed confidence boost & just one owner) dog , but it's never enough .....
I can't play with my nephew or talk or giggle with anybody without her rushing to come and demand attention. 

When she's hanging around ... It's not like a normal dog minding their own business - she's quite honestly - stalking me ! Just following me around , staring at what I do and denanding to be part of it . 
The clingier she gets - the more need for distance I crave and ask her to go away . I don't let her dominate me , but I'm just so incredible over trying to get her to chill the **** out and just be a dog ! 

She sees other dogs for playtimes and has everything she could ask for . 

So now I'm hoping for some good advice to help break this frustrating stalking 
Cheers


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## organicthoughts

You sound just like my ex girlfriend 

But reality check time..... you own a vizsla, this is what they do. It'll be pretty hard to train a vizsla to not be a vizsla. They are called Velcro for a reason.

You can give your dog stuff to do though. Train it to eat a raw beef knuckle on a towel. That should keep her occupied for a couple hours. Really tire her out. My dog sleeps the majority of the day because he gets high intensity exercise and training. They need mental and physical stimulation to be relaxed in the house.


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## Rbka

Crate training if need be, it's never too late to start....

I think it was TexasRed who posted once "dogs need to earn their space in my house"... I follow that mantra. If Nico is behaving in a way that doesn't allow me to do what I need to do then he must be crated (getting in my way while getting ready for work, getting in my way while working from home, destroying things out of boredom or to get attention). These dogs need a lot of sleep if they get the right amount of exercise (high intensity as organic thoughts said) and sometimes they don't realize. Does she have a crate?


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## Canadian Expy

Another option would be to teach your dog to go to a specific place when you need space, have friends over, eat dinner, etc - we use a dog pillow with the command "pillow".

It works extremely well. If I take my dog with me to work, I bring the pillow with me and he will lay beside my desk no problem. Same thing at home, if we visit friends or family, etc, the pillow comes with us and the dog knows the drill. This exercise also helps teach a really solid stay, just remember to release your dog from the pillow when your ready for it  

It also helps if you can give them something to chew and focus their attention on, as OT mentioned above.


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## trevor1000

organicthoughts said:


> You sound just like my ex girlfriend
> 
> But reality check time..... you own a vizsla, this is what they do. It'll be pretty hard to train a vizsla to not be a vizsla. They are called Velcro for a reason.
> 
> You can give your dog stuff to do though. Train it to eat a raw beef knuckle on a towel. That should keep her occupied for a couple hours. Really tire her out. My dog sleeps the majority of the day because he gets high intensity exercise and training. They need mental and physical stimulation to be relaxed in the house.


I'll second the big raw meaty bones to buy you some time.
My boy gets 4 or 5 a week.
It's kind of the evening thing to do
And when he is tired he is more content to chew on his bone longer.


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## texasred

While I believe this breed needs more attention than other breeds. I also believe they need to be taught, that a little alone time is okay. 
If you let them help you, any work you do can take 3x as long to get done.
Why not put the pup up. Either by crating, or teaching them to lay in a certain area. Doing this gives you more time for quality interaction with your dog, along with teaching the dog its okay to be alone for a time. If a dog does not learn this they become unhappy, and keep demanding more. You keep giving them more, but because they didn't learn to settle without you, its never enough. 

These type of dogs remind me of the spoilt kids, that we have all seen at the store. Given everything, but falling out in a fit for more. 
Dogs just like kids need boundaries. Set some and you will get a happier dog, even though she is going to protest at first.


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## MeandMy3

I work from home two days a week. My vizsla is too needy/clingy to be with me while I work so she gets before and after work time and she sees me on my lunch hour. The rest of the time, it's business as usual and she is crated. At first I thought it would be great to have her with me so we tried. I got nothing accomplished and if I was typing or on the phone, she was constantly nudging me. It seems she needs her normal routine and I am ok with that.


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## jld640

I agree with TR about teaching that a little alone time is a good thing. Just to give you some perspective, though, Savannah (now 4 and a half years old) still needs to practice being alone. Every. Single. Day. It is a difficult skill for vizslas, particularly if they are already used to being with people 24/7.


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## mswhipple

Willie is approaching eight years old. Still, as I type this, he is sitting on the floor behind me, staring at me. I don't think the Velcro factor ever really fades away... You just become accustomed to it. LOL!! ;D


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## Spy Car

To amplify a little on Organicthoughts' outstanding post above, all dog have physical, mental, and emotional needs. What's rather unique about Vizslas is that in all 3 areas their needs tend to be off the charts. 

I think (being impossible to ignore) the physical needs and emotional needs are clear to see. But it is the mental needs that sometimes get overlooked. These guys need to work, and train, and hunt (or have some substitute that fills that "mental" gap). 

Other posters have said it before, but it is the mentally well-worked V that is content. More than the just physically well-worked Vizsla. If I had one word of wisdom for a new of prospective owner, that would be it.

Bill


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## hobbsy1010

organicthoughts said:


> You sound just like my ex girlfriend
> 
> But reality check time..... you own a vizsla, this is what they do. It'll be pretty hard to train a vizsla to not be a vizsla. They are called Velcro for a reason.
> 
> You can give your dog stuff to do though. Train it to eat a raw beef knuckle on a towel. That should keep her occupied for a couple hours. Really tire her out. My dog sleeps the majority of the day because he gets high intensity exercise and training. They need mental and physical stimulation to be relaxed in the house.


Get used to his posts they are more than often spot on and fact based.

So annoying :-\

Hobbsy


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## emilycn

I was going to say, Havana... what you're describing sounds like textbook vizsla.


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## Kristend

Hi Guys,

My vizlsa sounds the same. But she's so cute I can't get mad! 

We just want to train our vizlsa to go to her bed and stay on it when we have people over, so she doesn't sit ON them on the couch.

Any tips?

Thanks


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## Vizsla Baby

Personally, I absolutely love this trait in them. 

I work from home too. One is in her cozy cave right next to me and the other is on the bed behind me. Both within arms reach. If I leave the room, they will both follow me. 

In my opinion, the more you try to push them away, the more they will cling to you. That's what they do, eager to please, eager to be loved by their humans. 

P.S. The one on the bed is now standing next to me with his face on my lap demanding a belly & chest petting. It's what they do!


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## Watson

Apparently this is the one trait that will either make you love the breed, or not. We love it, and often find ourselves seeking out Watson to cuddle up to him. This is him right now, keeping my legs warm while I work.


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## Hbomb

We have the opposite problem- Hercules isn't clingy at all!

He will sometimes lie on the sofa with us (and he comes to bed at night when husband is on night shifts) but he doesn't seem that bothered if we pat him or not. Often he's happier lying next to the fire than on the sofa next to us.

If allowed he will often disappear upstairs and lie on the foot of the bed for long periods of the day when he's not being fed/out walking. We try to keep him downstairs with us as otherwise it feels like no one would know we had a dog! The only exception to this is when my dad comes round, he seems to really like him and is always pestering him to play with him. 

He's a friendly playful dog but not particularly 'velcro.' It's good in that he isn't constantly seeking attention but sometimes we think it would be nice if he were a little less aloof. 

Anyone else have a non velcro V?


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## texasred

Lucy went through a non Velcro stage. She liked to lay in her crate and just watch. Its in a open area of the house, so she was not far from us. If we weren't going somewhere she would go to her crate. She started doing it more than I was comfortable with, so I shut her out of it for a couple hours each day.
It didn't take long before she was back to interacting with us. I just try and find a happy medium when it comes to these dogs.


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## Idntnw

As I was reading this, Ranger was on the couch in my daughters face and looking over the back watching us in the kitchen. Stalker is an understatement. But we love love this. Its makes him awesome. I want to name my next one Velcro. Seriously. 😜😉👍


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## einspänner

I think Sting might have owned a vizsla. 

Every Breath You Take https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs

Don't Stand So Close To Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNIZofPB8ZM


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## samkins

The velcro nature is what made me want a Vizsla, I love the neediness.

However Moose vacillates between velcro, kind of needy, and alone time. There are times when he needs to be right on you or leaning into you (30%), but other times, he will be on the other end of the sofa, content curling a bit away from you (35%), he needs space to sprawl out. Then there are times when he prefers to be away from us, like I am the too needy mom. He will go to the next room and nap at the base of the stairs or go to his crate (35%) 

But he is growing into his velcro nature and over time is demanding more love and attention from mom and dad, finally! I think having a dog sister from day one has affected his need for attention and slowed the process a bit. I still get secretly sad when Moose decides he has had enough cuddles and goes to another room or spot away from me, but oh well, at least I got some kisses.


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