Adorable Puppies: How To Manage
Your Attention-Seeking Puppy

By Teri Champigny

Puppies love attention. They crave for it, they cry for it, and when they get it, they will do anything to keep that attention focused on them. Your puppy does not care if the attention that you are giving him is in response to something positive or something negative. All he cares about is getting attention from you.

Let's say that you're trying to have a nice, peaceful dinner, but your puppy keeps jumping up and down, standing like a prairie dog right in front of you to get your attention. When you try to correct him by pushing him down or yelling “Off!”, he just gets more and more excited and continues to jump up and down. He's doing so because you just responded to his behavior.

By yelling at him and pushing him down, you are actually giving him what he wants. You are answering  to his needs whether you realize it or not. The response (attention) that you gave him, even though it's not positive, motivates your puppy to keep going because he knows that whatever he's doing is working.

Here is another example. Your puppy gets a hold of your key chain and starts running around the house with it. What do you do? You stop whatever it is you are doing and start chasing him. Your puppy does not register chasing as a form of discipline. In his mind, you are either playing with him or that whatever he has must be really good because you want it. So he will keep on running until you stop or one of you eventually gets tired of playing chase.

To your puppy, attention can be as simple as giving him a smile. This acknowledgment is saying to him that what he is doing is right. The reason for this is because puppies think that we are just like them. Therefore, when your puppy gets excited and you respond back by getting excited, whether it is positive emotion or negative emotion, your puppy will think that you are following his lead, which further reinforces his behavior.

The fact that you are upset with your puppy's action does not represent anything to him. His reaction is based on your body contact and excitement. Even if you yell at him and then push him hard, he will most likely stop and walk away. However, the only thing that you have accomplished is scaring him. It is possible to train your puppy without having to establish fear.

Show your puppy that the way for him to get your attention is through positive behavior. The best time to do this is when he is calm and resting or chewing on a bone peacefully. Slowly go to him and give him a gentle pat or a soft belly rub while whispering a warm praise. Eventually, your puppy will realize that being calm and quiet is what gets him the attention he wants. He will then repeat the behavior of what you are paying attention to.