Scared Puppy

Hugo is nearly 13 weeks, yes he is still a little buggar with his house training and what not but this is expected, me and my partner both tell him off never shout or hit him but as soon as he does it he knows hes in the wrong and he cowers away, but he is scared stiff of my partner he has done nothing to upset hugo or given him a reason to, but he will not go to him its always me he is stuck to my feet like glue and my partner hates it as he is getting fed up he isnt able to shout him to get him to come over... any tips on how to make this better ? when im not there he plays with my partner but as soon as i am home, its just mums better hahah

It's perfectly normal for a pup/dog to bond more with one person than any other. It is however a concern if he is afraid of your partner. But is he? You say that he plays with your partner when you're not there, which would suggest that he just prefers you. Given the choice, Bacchus will always prefer my company to the OH's, but I'm the one who, being retired, feeds and exercises him the most. If it is not already the case, I would suggest that your partner take over the main responsibility for feeding and exercise at least in the short term to see if this makes a difference. With regard to getting Hugo to come when called...first of all, shouting will achieve nothing except even more reluctance to go to your partner. Calling him gently using a silly excited voice and even running backwards followed by a special treat/play when he comes will reinforce his willingness to go to him.

Is your partner involved with feeding the puppy as this is a great way to bond with him. Aslo playing games which will build the puppies trust in you both too.

As Kathy said get your partner to take over feeding and play then they can bond more

Yeah i tell him to feed him if we are both there, he as only just been allowed to go outside to hopefully it will change  thank you for your help x

Yes get your partner more involved with walks, mealtimes and play   

He won't do anything for him, he won't walk on a lead or come to him when he puts down food, with me I can't stop him haha

They are very strong headed but he still is a puppy at the end of the day who naturally loves humans.

Tell him to lay flat on the floor and try and start a play fight with him they love that they will bond well and let him be the one to give him treats etc

Yeah we've been trying, will have to keep going :)xx

Hes a wee mummys boy

Yeah he is and I can already tell that he is so protective over me haha

Am I right in thinking that he was the boy that left the breeder very young?

All great advice above.

One thing I will add from my own experience is many dogs (mine, or to be completely accurate, my son's included), can be very scared by a man's loud, shouty voice. Kuchar runs and hides under my bed when my son raises his voice (eg when a horse he has backed loses; a cricketer is out; a goal he didn't want is scored etc) - there is aggression in a loud male voice which puppies recognise and can scare them, I'm afraid. I can't coax Kuchar out from under my bed; only my son can do this in a soft, kind voice so that Kuchar knows he is "forgiven" (for what, he doesn't understand).

Just a thought.

Thanks for all the advice, I don't know what to do as he just want to pick up Hugo and he yelped like he had hurt him. Really don't know what's happened

"me and my partner both tell him off never shout or hit him but as soon as he does it he knows hes in the wrong and he cowers away,"

"my partner hates it as he is getting fed up he isnt able to shout him to get him to come over... "

Please Jade, and Mr Jade, remember that Hugo is still a baby - and he's learning all the time.

With regard to toileting indoors - please don't "tell him off" if you discover he's wetted or pood indoors, he won't be able to connect the two and will only understand that you are cross with him. Just remove the wet or poo without comment. It is up to you to give him plenty of opportunity to relieve himself outdoors (cue great praise!). As he grows older and gains more control over his bladder and bowels he will learn to control his evacuations to times in the garden/walks.

Regarding coming over to your OH - do please try to understand that bellowing at the puppy is counter-productive and will only confuse and scare him. Would you go willingly to your OH if he shouted at you?

I'm sorry if I've offended you or your OH, but imho baby puppies, like baby humans, need kind guidance towards adulthood.

We have been doing everything that you have said, Hugo was fine with my OH when we first got him but it's only been the last couple of weeks Hugo is getting more and more shy with him, he's fine with me great at not going toilet in the house and goes when I take him out but he is not well behaved for my OH. We are being very patience but I don't want him to become a nervous dog when he is older, I didn't mean shout like he's in trouble to come over but to come over and play, he was so playful before but now only is with me, I know a woman will always have a better attitude towards babies so I find it easy but to get Hugo to be happy around my OH is so hard, he is getting so fat from all the treats for rewarding! He has been better tonight though so hopefully we are getting through x

Okay, so this is the pup that the breeder sent home at 5 weeks.. did you see him in the home? What sort of conditions was he kept in? Do you know if he had regular positive interaction with the humans in the household? Did you meet the dam and sire? What were their temperaments like? The breeder sounds like a BYB and I'm just concerned that this may be due to his previous surroundings or even genetics.

It's SUCH a delicate balance with a pup of this age, and his experiences now will mould his behaviour into adulthood. You need to be very careful with how you're partner is interacting with him. Of course, not thinking that your partner has done anything wrong; but if Hugo is scared, he shouldn't just go and pick him up. He's more than likely yelping because he's very scared, but have you taken him to the vets to be sure that it's not through pain? Hugo won't be being "protective" of you at this age, he will be showing fear based, unbalanced behaviour that you should not in any way reinforce. If he's having to show scared behaviour, you've pushed him too far. Take baby steps, get your partner feeding and interacting with him in a non invasive way. Don't allow him to pick him up or shout him over, only allow Hugo to approach him on his own terms and don't push it. For the moment, don't even throw treats to him to get him to approach, just get your partner to leave him be, he will of course be able to work on this in time. And if he's getting fat, cut down his main meal or use part of his meal to replace the treats. My dog is human aggressive towards men and I believe this is due to her breeding and early experiences. It's much harder to handle when she's 22kg having to be muzzled, fear lunging and snapping at people in public!!

Low calory treats. Take half a pound of liver, cover with boiling water, bring it back up to the boil and simmer for 1 min. Turn off the heat ( it will carry on poaching in the hot liquid) and leave until cold. Cut into fingernail size pieces and place on a baking tray in the oven at 130 degrees c. for an hour. Turn the oven off when the hour is up but leave the liver in the oven until it is cold. You will be left with small dried pieces of liver which are very low in calories but convenient for carrying in your pocket. And best of all the pup will love them.