It's been quite a bit since I've had time to post (don't really have time now, but I prefer procrastinating my class work). I'm just getting a bit concered with Charlie.
I figured when I adopted him at 7 weeks that he would have issues trusting people, since him and his 6 siblings were dropped off and put into an unfamiliar kennel. He warmed up a little to me and my family over the first few weeks, but now he's 8 months old and he still seems rather independant.
Charlie gets along great with our two lab mixes, and he even attempts to play with out 14 year old, arthritic and grouchy papillion mix, but with humans, it's like he wants very little to do with them.
He'll cuddle in bed at night, whine a bit when I leave for classes, and run up and greet someone with a wagging tail, but other then that, he tends to avoid everyone.
It also worries me for when I move out in a few years. I won't have any other dog with me, and most likely, won't get another one for a few years after I move out. I'm afraid he'll get depressed or something serious because of this.
It doesn't come off as typical behavior from what I've read here, but has anyone ever had a B like this? Or does anyone have any advice to help me bond better with him? I take him on walks, just the two of us, and I play a little with him when he is actually in the mood, but I'm at a loss of what else I can do.
I would start hand feeding him instead of feeding him from a bowl. By hand feeding him his meals you will raise your value to him. I would also recommend signing up for an obedience class where you can work together towards some goal. Once you have had a basic obedience class, if you want something more fun, you may want to try agility. Activities where the two of you work together will help you to bond with him.
I have found that obedience training offered not only the training, but allowed me and Duke to really bond. It's a great opportunity for one-on-one time that I truly think your Charlie will understand and love to do with you. When I got Daisy, I felt the same occurance with her. We went to Pet Smart for training - affordable. I took Duke to Beginner when he was 6 months old, then Intermediate and Advanced. I took Daisy to Puppy classes - and then practice with her what I've learned with Duke.
I've definetly considered obedience classes. I actually wanted to get him in some sooner, I just got caught up in my first year of college. Now that the summer is here I'm going to look into the classes at the local Petsmart. Thankfully it's close, since gas prices are getting so horrible.
My only concerns with actually taking him for classes is that he'll refuse to pay attention. He tries to play with every dog he comes into contact with and I think that might cause issues with him actually learning anything.
I know he's a smart boy. He's already learned several commands and such. He just prefers not to listen most of the time :).
Thanks for the replies.
He is young and has a lot of energy, that is normal. He will try and play at class, and you will learn how to re-direct him to focus on you. Is there a dog park near you? He could run off some energy there playing with other dogs a few times a week. And you may want to take him on a good walk before class, not to get him too tired to pay attention, but to 'take the edge off' his energy. Obedience class, and agility classes are great ways to really bond with your pup, just be sure the instructor uses positive training techniques, and go for it!
I don't know if all petsmart locations are like this, but I went to an obediance class at one, and our trainer gave us about 10 minutes at the beginning of class to let the dogs play with each other and get it pretty much out of their system. I used to go early and we would see the dogs as they left the class before ours. By the time we got down to some actual work, Jack was ready to pay attention.
