Poodle behavior, or is this unique?

[catwoman]

Hi,

We recently adopted an ex-puppymill breeder toy poodle. She was rescued from the mill, from a rescue group, and then we adopted her from them.

She is very sweet. But there for some reason, she has clung onto me. I literally, cannot walk out of the room without her following me everywhere. And she can't just be in the same room with me, she has to be on my lap, 24/7. If I tell her no, she will reluctantely go over to the other couch, but stares at me the entire time.

We have 3 other little dogs and whenever any of the other dogs (who were here first) comes near me, she will growl. She even growls at my husband if I'm holding her and he comes over to me.

I probably should feel flattered that she likes me so much, but it's really starting to bother me. If I put her outside for a little while, all she does is stand at the door and stare and scratch for me to let her back in. She does not play with any of the other dogs.

We were told she is about 5 or 6 years old, however, she only has 3 teeth. But we were also told that a lot of puppymill dogs do not get the dental care they need, therefore, that is why she does not have very many. She doesn't really act like an old dog, other than not wanting to play.

So, to make a long story short, is this a poodle behavior, clinging to me like this, or is she unique? And are poodles good with other dogs? Do they like to play, normally? Our other dogs are a little American eskimo dog, a miniature schnauzer and a pocket beagle. Don't know if she's actually a pocket, but she is only 10 inches tall and weighs about 14 lbs.
The eskie is a male, the other dogs are all females.

Thanks

[Shineillusion]

This behavior isn't unique to your dog, or to poodles either. It's pretty common, actually. Especially in puppy mill rescues. She never learned to be a dog, so why would she want to play or associate with them? She doesn't know how to play, doesn't understand what the other dogs are up to, and you're her security.

That doesn't mean you have to allow her to be a suction cup, attached to you 24/7. You should probably enlist the aid of an obedience trainer or behavioral modification trainer to sort out what her particular motivations and oddities are, and find the best solutions to help her adjust.

[lil96]

Yea this is totally common behavior, my dog sometimes can be quite clingy, (but sometimes really distant) if they are other people around he likes to hide behind my legs he reminds me of the shy little kid that hides beehind th mom but really wants to come out and play. Btw my dog is an American Eskimo Spitz mix!

[puttin510]

I have two poodles that are just like that. Poodles love their owners, and want to be with, on, next to, sleep with them whenever possible. My two don't like other dogs coming near me when they are on my lap either. Grwol and snap. I always thought my older one did that because she was abused and neglected, but when I got my three month old, took her out of the household and she did the same thing to any dog that came near. I finally got her down and not afraid to be around other dogs, Last weekend. In time your poo may play, but needs to loosen up get comfortable in your household and realize she's staying. She needs to be shown how to play. My older one used to play bite very hard, now she has learned. She never really plays with balls, always thinks they are going to hurt her. On occasion she will play with my other two dogs, like today. She mostly wants me to play with her, like when I brush her.
Soooooooo it is common, can you share a picture with us?

[DeLaUK]

When I started reading your post my first thoughts were, as shine said, this is sooo common for a puppy mill dog.....I have seen it in non puppy mill dogs though, often in dogs that have been abandoned or abused and sometimes in your average healthy well socialized dogs too so I think it could be any one of these things or a combination of any. Seems to be more common in smaller, miniature or teacup dogs but Ive seen a few German Shepherds and even a Rhodesian Ridgeback once that was like this....not fun when they are trying to 'sit on you' all the time.
The problem is she has spent all of her life, most likely in a cage with minimal socialization with other dogs or people, popping out puppies every couple of months and having them taken away after about 4 weeks. At her age it could take a long time to teach her to play with toys, to interact with the other dogs, you need to stop the growling though, especially with your husband, maybe your husband could spend some quality time with her when your out, or maybe he could take her for walks, spend time in the yard with her, let him feed her instead of you(I dont know if he does this already)....just things like that initially, she may be reluctant to be with him at first but when she realizes he likes her, is affectionate towards her, gentle with her I think she will come around gradually, when she growls at him though, I would tell her sternly "no" and put her down on the ground, and do this every time she growls, if you let her get away with it sometimes she'll continue to do it and youll confuse her. I wouldnt put her in another room or outside for this as she may start to associate an 'abandonment' when your husband comes near, after the stern 'no' then ignore her, even if its just for a few minutes. You have to be consistant.
With the other dogs, does she only growl at them if she is with you and they come near? Is she making any attempt to even look interested in the other dogs? maybe one of them? As well as your husband spending time with her, if you do see any attempts from her to be curious or friendly towards one of the other dogs maybe have your husband take her and the other dog on short walks at the same time, I say for your husband to do this as you are the one she has bonded to, without a bond to your husband yet she may turn to one of the other dogs for security, so I would use this time as an opportunity for her to learn some social skills.
She only has a couple of teeth so theres not much chance of severe damage from a bite but there is still risk of infection, I dont know if this is because she lost all her teeth or if its an inbred problem, a friend had a rescued puppy mill Jack Russell, he had hardly any hair and what he did have was very thin, he had canines where his molars were supposed to be, too many teeth altogether, we were curious about his internal organs, if they were normal so we x-rayed him, his kidneys were 'upside down' and in the wrong place, the vet was amazed that he was alive he was so messed up....gotta love those back yard breeders huh!!!
Anyway, be patient with her and as hard as its going to be you have to lay down some rules and stick to them....just dont look into her eyes when she cant have her own way..... I think your doing a great thing, your little dog has probably never known affection before.

[catwoman]

Thanks everyone, for posting suggestions. I had never had a poodle before, so wasn't really familiar with this behavior.

Well, we have 4 ex-puppymill dogs. The toy poodle, the one I originally wrote about with the clingy behavior. And when adopting her, we also adopted a little white and orange pom. She is about the same age as the poodle, but she has all of her teeth. But she is VERY overweight right now. And her knees aren't too great. That is pretty common with poms. But we have her on light science diet. Hopefully, she will lose. She's about 15 pounds.

Then we have an ex-puppymill breeder that is a miniature schnauzer. When we got her, she was almost dead. They thought she just had a really bad urinary infection and she was being given an antibiotic. But, she wasn't getting better, would pee every where and there was blood in the urine. So, we took her to our vet and right away, he knew without even taking x-rays, she had bladder stones. This breed is prone to them. She had the surgery to remove the stones and while under the knife, we got her spayed. The doctor said she had EIGHT stones! He saved them for us, they are about the size of a peanut M&M, maybe a little larger. It is no wonder the poor girl had to go all of the time. And she was sooo skinny. Well, we've had her for about 9 months now, and she has fattened up to be the chunky little schnauzer that she was suppose to be. Very energetic and loves to play. She is such a great dog. We named her Greta.

Then, we also got a beagle puppy. She is not an exbreeder, but a reject from the puppymill because she has bad knees. The little socket that the kneecap normally fits in, is not there, therefore, her knee is on the inside of her thigh. She walks sort of like a little cowboy. Her name is Holly. She is about 8 months old now. And she is sooooo much fun. Loves to play, runs just as fast as a dog with good knees. Nothing slows her down. Having said that, she will need surgery down the road for the knees. The vet said without the surgery, she might get arthritis, and even become paralized. I have mixed feelings on having this done. It is a very expensive surgery and I can't stand the thought of the pain she will probably be in afterwards. But then again, I don't want her to become paralized either. What to do....

And, the other dog we have is a small American Eskimo, named Gianni. He is my pride and joy. He really fills our house with love. LOVES to give eskie kisses. That dog will literally, lick my face for an hour if I let him. I hear that is an eskie trait.

So far, all dogs are getting along. Except for the poodle growling at the other dogs if I show them attention.

But my husband is going to start spending more time with her. Perhaps like you suggested, him feeding her instead of me.

I need to get her interested in the other dogs too. I know that the pom likes the poodle. Oh, by the way, the poodles name is Lisette. I guess that's Lisa in French. She was named that from the rescue group and we just kept it. Heidi, the pom, will sleep right next to Lisettes crate at night.

Just wanted to thank everyone for the suggestions. I guess I needed a little encouragement. I was about ready to send her back to the rescue group, but I don't think I've given her enough time to settle in. We've only had these 2 new ones for about 2 1/2 weeks. I need to be more patient. I realize this now.

I have took some pics of Lisette and Heidi last night. Lisette was scared to death of the camera, so they aren't too good, but you will get an idea of what she looks like.

Now, to figure out how to download the pictures onto the computer and onto the message board

[DeLaUK]

Cant help you out with the photos but I really admire you for giving these dogs the chance of a great, loving life. Ive done a lot of work with rescues and I know how it can make you feel, it can make you 'emotionally exhausted'. Thees a lot of people in this forum that will help you out with any support, encouragement....or even if you just need to 'vent' sometimes.