Bonding with new pup

[jwed 16]

Hi lads, 

just curious about your stories and experience of bonding with a new pup. My new lad doesn't feel like he's bonding with me. When I'm rambling around the garden doesn't come with me, prefers to stay back. Even when I call him over doesn't come. I spend a lot of time with him, playing, talking to him. Even when he's resting just have him at my feet in the house. I feed him every time, nobody else. Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to give him more time? He's 12 weeks old and I have him just over a week.

Just for some context this is a new springer pup, my last pup sadly died and maybe I'm unfairly comparing him on everything to the last pup who more or less bonded with me instantly. 

Thanks.

[DAVE P 100]

Had pups like that myself in the past,just keep doing what your doing and he'll come round in the end

[ollieollie 766]

Patience, he’ll realise he’s landed on his feet soon enough

[ollieollie 766]

My current cocker took a good 6 months, now he adores me, proper little mate he is

[jwed 16]

Thanks lads, that's reassuring to hear.

[jwed 16]

Just an update here lads. Starting to gel a bit now. He still has his moments, I'm giving him plenty of treats. Spending lots of 1 on 1 time with him every day, lots of play etc. A couple of times when I have him on walks up the field he just turns and runs home which is a bit annoying. Hopefully he'll grow out of that soon?

[Casso 1,261]

On 30/10/2018 at 23:06, jwed said:

Just an update here lads. Starting to gel a bit now. He still has his moments, I'm giving him plenty of treats. Spending lots of 1 on 1 time with him every day, lots of play etc. A couple of times when I have him on walks up the field he just turns and runs home which is a bit annoying. Hopefully he'll grow out of that soon?

You gotta ask yourself what bonding is and what the process is ?

until sexuality your pup should be hunger driven / gut driven , after that he becomes more tactile and needs more physical contact in whatever form you chose, 

at that age use food to overcome fear, when pups venture into unknown wide open spaces , instinct kicks in , why wouldn’t it , it’s s tiny f***ing pup , in a world where it’s has no understanding of shit and it feels very Prey-like, it doesnt know there’s isn’t a bear through the next gate, f***ing dogs evolved in a world where eagles ate pups , ya get me 

the more you introduce fear/ instinct the less control you have , people dragging pups around to get them used to the world will be found to be complete bullshit , pups should get aligned with us first and through that connection approach the world , I don’t bring a pup out and throw the world at it , 

good temperament is build like a fire, we start off with a little want / a tiny spark and then we add a distraction, still keeping the pup interested in us , gradually we build  focus,  as the pup grows his ability to hold focus expands , we get to a stage where no matter what environment we’re in, it will only add fuel to the fire to focus on me , that’s how  a group mind is formed  it might be s bit slower but it’s foolproof if done right 

if a pup is not ready to go out then he’s not ready , the language the pup is speaking makes complete sense to it , it feels overloaded by its environment and acts accordingly 

pups bond by Doing , talking petting whispering can be overpowering , a pup has limited ability to deal with stress 

hand feed all foods , no bowl get the pup to make good physical contact , no corrections , look for behaviours for food , if it sits , give it a yes and reward , get the pup doing the action before adding a command , vital ,because the action is coming from the inside out , not outside in which is more difficult to grasp 

most of all enjoy the little f****r, nice quiet country walks sticking in by the hedge is a great start to bonding 

Edited November 10, 2018 by Casso