Anxious cocker

[petpsychologist]

Hi,

how does Sophie behave when you are with her a lot? Is she following you when you are inside? Is she jumping on you at any time? Is she deciding when to play, what and for how long?
I think it is important for her to get confidence that everything is ok even when you are not around. If she is very close to you during the days you are at home a lot, i would try to stop that - but i know this is hard! She must not follow you or jump on you or decide anything. You should make the decisions, you should tell her not to follow you even if you have time. The problem may be that she got used to spending a lot of time with you, to deciding this and that and now that you are gone during the day, this situation has completely changed.
Try to work on making her comfortable without you even when you are around.
All the best
Michael

[Jakesmom]

Hi--thanks for the reply. When we are at home, she often follows me around like my shadow, then sometimes she'll just stay where she is when I am doing things, I haven't noticed a pattern. She is pretty "bossy/needy" but gives up easily if I don't go along with what she wants.

jakes mom