Ask Me Help Desk - Just got puppy need some help.

Hi. I just got a german shepard wolf hybrid puppy yesterday. He is beautiful and very sweet and smart. He is 10 weeks old but he whines or howls whenever I or my boyfriend walk out of the room. I encourage him to follow me when he does that, because sometimes he will stop when he sees where I am. Also he likes to be held so when he sits at my feet and paws at my leg I will pick him up. I don't let him on the couch with me, I will stand when I am holding him, so he doesn't try to get on the furniture. He also doesn't like it outside. He is housebroken and he will go out to pee and poo but then he wants to go right back in and will sit and howl and bark at the door. Which is fine since he and my full grown dog are inside dogs. He likes my big dog, but he doesn't really want to play with her or anything, if he is up he will run up to her and lick her then come back and lay down. He really just seems to be really into me and then my boyfriend as well. He is playfull, he has a rope and a squeaky bear and he will play with them. I just don't understand why he whines all the time. He whines when he is laying by our feet or following us around and sometime he will outright howl or bark at us. I was just wondering if he will grow out of it or if he has separation anxiety.
Thanks
Jess

He apparently has more wolf in him that you think. A friend of my son has wolf cubs as pets. They are growing up now and are a year old. From the stories I've heard about the cubs, they are very one person wolves. My son's girlfriend has a female wolf and that wolf must be with her at all times. She has to take a shower with her owner. She has to sleep in a bed next to her owner. She has to ride in the truck with her owner. If she is not with her owner all she does is howl and whine the whole time. I don't think your little one will "grow out" of this whining and howling mode as the year old wolf still hasn't grown out of this activity. Now, the female's 2 brothers on the other hand are different completely in temperament from her. They are not so posessive of the human and it does not bother them to be away from their humans. I think it's just a personal thing with each animal. Also, wolves don't particularly "play" with toys either. The more wolf in the animal, the less they actually want to play with toys I've discovered. I had GS dogs who did not play with toys at all until I discovered they had more wolf in them than I was originally told.

Your little one will just have to learn to follow you around. Pretty soon they'll think they are human also. Wolves are lovely pets to have if you get them early enough. They can domesticate very easily also. But they tend to be one human wolves though so be very careful how you discipline your little one. They will also interact with other dogs quite well. Just be very careful at feeding time when yours gets a bit older though so as to avoid any aggressive behavior. The 3 wolves I was speaking about are all fed separately away from each other and other animals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fixius_ae

Hi. I just got a german shepard wolf hybrid puppy yesterday. He is beautiful and very sweet and smart. He is 10 weeks old but he whines or howls whenever I or my boyfriend walk out of the room. I encourage him to follow me when he does that, because sometimes he will stop when he sees where I am. Also he likes to be held so when he sits at my feet and paws at my leg I will pick him up. I don't let him on the couch with me, I will stand when I am holding him, so he doesn't try to get on the furniture. He also doesn't like it outside. He is housebroken and he will go out to pee and poo but then he wants to go right back in and will sit and howl and bark at the door. Which is fine since he and my full grown dog are inside dogs. He likes my big dog, but he doesn't really want to play with her or anything, if he is up he will run up to her and lick her then come back and lay down. He really just seems to be really into me and then my boyfriend as well. He is playfull, he has a rope and a squeaky bear and he will play with them. I just don't understand why he whines all the time. He whines when he is laying by our feet or following us around and sometime he will outright howl or bark at us. I was just wondering if he will grow out of it or if he has seperation anxiety.
Thanks
Jess

He's got to adjust - he's been "somewhere" for 10 weeks and suddenly he's moved to your house and you're the only security he knows.

Was he with other dogs? Is he socialized?

Sounds like he needs to get adjusted to his new surroundings -

I will point out that you are rewarding him for whining. Also, if you aren't going to allow him on the sofa, you need to stop picking him up when he paws at you. He's not going to understand when he weighs 60 pounds why you won't pick him up when he paws at you, when you always did it before. And his pawing at you at that point is not going to be cute and playful like it is now.

Thanks twinkie that was very helpful info. He does seem to have a growing bond with me and not so much my boyfriend but he usually is OK once he figures out where I am. I'm very excited about him to and I think he will be a wonderful dog. And froggy your right, but he just got here yesterday and I don't think it will hurt to do it for a few days just until he gets a little more comfortable. He was around other dogs. The man I bought him from bred a few different kinds of dogs, and his last brother was just sold yesterday too so I'm sure he is just trying to figure out what is going on.
Thanks for all your helpful input.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fixius_ae

Thanks twinkie that was very helpful info. He does seem to have a growing bond with me and not so much my boyfriend but he usually is ok once he figures out where I am. I'm very excited about him to and I think he will be a wonderful dog. And froggy your right, but he just got here yesterday and i don't think it will hurt to do it for a few days just until he gets a little more comfortable. He was around other dogs. The man I bought him from bred a few different kinds of dogs, and his last brother was just sold yesterday too so I'm sure he is just trying to figure out what is going on.
Thanks for all your helpful input.

I also think - and I don't know how possessive the dog is as far as you are concerned - that a dog can bond more closely with one person than the other. One of my German Shepherds is totally devoted to me. She's not a problem at all but wherever I am, that's where she is. She has been that way since she was a baby.

My previous dog was a Lab and it was the same way - we called him the velcro dog because he was pasted up against me 99% of the time.

My other (current) GSD absolutely loved my husband to pieces - he was (literally) the center of her universe. She sat next to him for hours and hours. Wherever he went, she went. We also had a Rott that absolutely loved him - the two of them went together on pizza runs. Drove me crazy.

I don't know why dogs pick "their person." All the dogs listen(ed) to the other one of us so that's not a problem but you can see where the "loyalty" is.

My niece also has a husky/wolf mix (I think that's what it is) and she said she would never get another one because she is the leader of the pack in the dog's eyes and occasionally it gets problematical. That and the howling (the dog, not my niece - :D)