Me and my shadow

Good evening guys, I hope this post finds you all well and good.

My wife and I inherited two lovely loving blue staffies a few years ago when my son and his partner split up, they have been together since they were puppies and I didnt like the thought of splitting them up so we took them both on and have no regrets whatsoever.

The little girl is called Tegan and the big boy is called Zazoo (Zaz for short) the little girl is such a loving little dog and very very affectionate, the big boy loves people but does not get on with other dogs, no matter how we try he growls and barks at them, he even tries to attack the tv if he sees other animals on the screen, but with people he is a big softy just licks everyone to death.

About 2 months ago, he barked and lunged at the back fence at another dog, which caused him to crush a disc in his spine and paralyzed him for over a month down his left hand side, it was horrible and we thought we were going to lose him, but thank god he is recovering now and is getting back to his old self again.

now to the reason for this post, since the accident the big boy have been very, very clingy, he adores my wife anyway, but when she is not here he constantly follows me around, if I go to my computer he sits at my feet, if I go to the toilet he follows me and lays down at the door till I come out, if I sit on the settee he sits right tight next to me, hes like a constant shadow, when my wifes at home hes the same with her, is that normal behaviour for this breed of dog? Im not moaning I love the dogs to death and they are our life now, Im just worried he might not be feeling well again.

thanks in advance for any help and advice

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Hi from me & Katy, welcome to you, Tegan & Zazoo Sounds like a horrible accident for you all but all I can say is that Katy loves constant attention be it leaning on me or laying on my feet. Staffies love human contact, all the time they are touching you it seems to comfort them

I agree with Jen, they definitely LOVE to be right beside us (if not ON us like my boy is right now! ). He may be a bit more clingy than usual due to the accident (how awful btw! & good luck getting him to 'rest'!), but also the separation from your son + partner. Enjoy the extra Staffy cuddles !

That must have been so worrying. I'm glad he's made a good recovery.

It might be that he developed a different behaviour at the time of the injury that has become habit but it could be that there is some residual discomfort. Have you talked to the vet? I would think about asking for a short course of painkiller/anti-inflammatories to see if he changes with them, so as a diagnostic tool.

I would try to settle him if you can. If he's over-clingy because he's worried, even though there's no longer anything to worry about, that would mean he's living with a level of stress that he doesn't need to have. Also, if you do need to go away for any reason, it might be more difficult for him than it needs to be.

I'd be thinking of things like not giving him so much attention when he is being clingy, praising him if he does move away, trying to train him to use a bed that you can then move fractionally further and further away. I'm not suggesting that you reject him at all, just that he starts to learn that he can be a couple of feet away and that's still ok.

But, if it doesn't happen, it's not the end of the world. It sounds like you have one very happy household there, which is the main thing

That must have been a very scary time whilst he recovered. They are very very human orientated and can follow you around the house, mine used to a lot but not so much now.

She will climb two flights of stairs to find me and will sit outside the loo. If we leave her indoors while we catch a few Ray's of sun she will wake up and tell us off for not telling her it is sunny and time to sunbathe. So yes, typically where we are she is.

That said she will take herself off and have her own time in her bed or stretched out on the sofa. How long have you had them and has he become more clingy since the accident ? Or has he always been close to you guys ?

It is also possible that the two aren't connected and it's just that he has become more comfortable around you after the accident (poor lad) and as such he is just doing what he potentially would have done in the first place. Staffies are like shadows and are very human orientated as it is. However, if it is concerning you then a trip to the vet to get checked out won't hurt.