My puppy avoids me but cries when I leave. What does this mean?

Yes. It can be traumatic for young puppies to leave their mom, litter mates, and previous home that they knew. He needs to develop a new bond with you and learn a new home/environment/routine to gain confidence. Keep working with him and with time and becoming older he will learn. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I recently raised a litter of puppies from a dog I adopted, & at about the same age, 1 of the puppies became very shy & scared. If you picked her up, she would sometimes scream like she was being murdered. With extra attention, over the next 4 weeks, she became much calmer & less anxious. She was never as assured as her litter mates, and all I can hope is she continues to mature & do well. All animals have different personalities, & at this young age, you cannot say how one will turn out. Give him as much of your attention as possible, & when it comes time to place him ( if you decide to ), it might be best to find someone with some experience raising dogs ( not a first-time dog owner ), & is possibly willing to put a little extra time in to train & socialize this pup. Take care.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Duke is very young. At 4 weeks he should still be with his mom and litter mates. He is very much like a human baby at 4 weeks-play a little and sleep 15-20 hours per day, poop and pee. At 4 weeks he doesn't quite have the ability to be trained yet. I would be patient, let him be a baby, cuddle with him and start easy training in another month or so. Good luck!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Oh goodness Rocco is cute! Rocco is still very young! He likely misses all his litter mates. Making the crate a good place to be is your best approach. When he is out with you, leave the play pen/crate open so he can walk in and out. Give good treats and toys in the crate with the door opening. Tie the toy or rawhide chew with rope in the crate so he can't take it out to play with or eat. Teach him how to "go to his bed" which will be the crate. When he is tired pick him up and lay him in there. If you have free time snuggle with him. It will take time and like I said at 8 weeks he is very young and this is normal behavior. I hope this helps and good luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! No, this likely means that he is timid so I would recommend to always go very slowly with him and to talk to him in a soft voice so that he starts getting more used to you. Treats are always great too. I am sure he loves you it is just that dogs sometimes have distinct behaviors such as being timid and they just need to be approached that way and taught that everything is ok. Good luck and have a great day!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Dogs are thankfully all about treats and affection. I would recommend that you consider having your mom give him treats and as much affection as possible. Usually with treats he will most likely get to like her company more and more. This will likely help. Good luck!

I hate to hear that you are upset and I hope things settle down for you. No, Loki does not hate you. Some dogs are more in tune with their human’s emotions and some are not. They are all individuals. Also, Loki is still a puppy and this he has a short attention span and is more likely to focus on his own needs. He may become more in tune with you as he grows older. Don’t hold it against him. He’s still learning about life. I hope his is helpful and please feel free to post any further questions.