I just got my Toby 2 days ago. He will follow us around much of the time. But there are times where he is perfectly content to watch me walk away from him. I'm trying to practice as much of the natural recall as possible and not use leashes. We have a fenced yard so we are doing a lot of this here. So is that why there are many times where I can walk away and he'll plop down and watch me go? He might come more often when I have his food rations with me. Should I go back to him? He is still really sleepy and naps a lot and hard. So I was wondering if he was just too tired to walk around. Should I be concerned for that?
Puppies sleep a WHOLE lot more than I ever expected - in the early days Bailey seemed to sleep pretty much all day. He was also quite happy to toddle off around the garden on his own - and at times I would pop back inside quickly to grab something I had forgotten (usually poo bags) and he was quite happy. Bales is a confident young man now - he sees everyone as his friend and the look on his face if they don't fuss him is absolutely comical, and he sees every other dog as his playmate. This is great usually but does have the disadvantage of meaning that the slightest distraction and a couple of months ago his recall went totally out of the window. However some back to basics training and a re-read of total recall and now he is 98% reliable on recall...other dogs are still an iffy distraction but that is now what we are focussing on....baby steps and setting him up for success is our key. I used to give Bales a few minutes rest and then head back into the house - dropping a food treat every so often if any encouragement was needed. Don't think he will be too tired, I always thought Bales was just taking everything in and processing it.
Don't worry, just very early days It is very natural for a young pup to follow you around. Have a look at the puppy centre on the main website, lots of useful articles. http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppy-first-days-at-home/
Spencer was like that for the first week or so. Sometimes followed me and sometimes not, just watched me. Then he suddenly started sticking to me like glue! He follows me room to room, if he's outside in the yard even when playing with his sister, he comes running into the house to find me or just check to see where I am. So cute! Just give it a little more time, he will be attached to your side all the time !!
He will even leave me to sit at the back of the house. It's like he has a favorite spot back there. We were also on a brief walk - we just go a couple houses down and then back. We got just 1 house away and then he turn around and left me and my daughter and crawled under the gate into our yard. Later in the day we tried again with our whole family of 6. When we were 2 houses away he turned away from all of us and wanted to go back to our yard. Just new puppy jitters? We've only had him just over 48 hours.
Great to hear more about Toby. Sounds like you are doing really well! I wouldn't take it as a bad sign that he follows you sometimes but not others. In fact, the opposite! I had a dog who as a puppy behaved similarly to what you describe. I can even remember bemoaning to the breeder that he didn't seem to care about me all that much as he was happy to chill out on his own (I really, really wanted a "velcro dog"). He turned out to be one of the most self-confident and affectionate dogs I've known. As to the turning around on the walk, I think you are right that this is just puppy jitters. The world is an awfully big place - many people recommend not even exposing a small puppy to the whole house for the first days, but just concentrating on one room. Also is Toby only 8 weeks old? If yes, he really shouldn't be walking outside at all on his own four feet beyond your house until he's had all his shots. Parvo and other nasties can be quickly dangerous in a young puppy. It could be that you live in an area with very low occurrence of these diseases, but better safe than sorry. Plus why not take advantage of the short period of time that he is small enough to carry around? Take him out to see the wide world, but carried. When Toby is a big bruiser you'll be marvelling that you could tote him around these first weeks!
To me it shows that he is still a bit worried and not sure of his new home yet. It's all new to him - go slowly and take things at his pace. He doesn't need to go for walks yet - exploring the garden is quite enough for him. He doesn't need the run of the whole house either - just having access to one or two rooms might help him settle more quickly. I'm certain it's nothing to worry about - he's a little baby, taken away from his mother and siblings and first home. Give him time to bond with you - that will come at its own pace. The sleeping is just part of being a puppy - make sure he has a quiet place where he can rest undisturbed, as he has a lot to take in and also physically he is developing very fast. Try to relax - he'll soon come out of his shell.
One of my weakest attributes is patience. (Ask my kids...they will attest) Thank you @Emily_BabbelHund for the reminder to take it slow. It's so easy for me to want him to just do all the things we've been wanting him to do. Take it slow. Take it slow. Got it. He's only in our living room at the moment and his play pen. We keep him out after he has pottied. We did go on that family walk last night - he was carried in a bag. I'm trying to train him to be ok to go in our wagon so he can have more room and be more comfortable. So far it's a little slow process. The vet told me that they have had 2 cases of parvo this year. It's not a lot but it's not 0 so still being cautious.
You are doing great Remember, it will be a good two years before he's doing everything you want him to. Enjoy the puppy fun! .
Sorry, my mistake - I misunderstood. You've got it covered. I would be the same! I second @Boogie , sounds like you are doing great and wishing you lots of fun with him (and hopefully some sleep) in these first days. I'll be looking forward to hearing your adventures!
