How Much Attention do Dogs Need?
My Jack Russell mix wants attention every minute. He will not play with toys alone. Average is 16-18 hours a day. How much time should we actually spend playing and training him? How can we get him to not need our attention every minute?
Thank you.
Many Blessings,
Anita
Montana
Most dogs love attention. For example, I’m pretty convinced that my pal Buster would be content to receive attention from every person on earth simultaneously for 24 hours out of every day.
The realities of life prevent most dogs from receiving such extreme amounts of attention. And most of them do fine in spite of it. Buster uses most of his time alone to engage another of his favorite activities: napping.
Some dogs suffer from a condition known as separation anxiety. These individuals may become extremely agitated when they are left alone or do not receive the sort of attention that they desire. Fortunately nothing in your question indicates that your dog is afflicted with separation anxiety.
I recommend that you start with some enrichment activities for your dog. Make sure he gets plenty of exercise every day. Consider feeding him in a Kong toy or foraging ball. Spend part of each day training him–this sort of mental stimulation is vital for well being.
Finally, remember that, if you are like most people, you cannot devote your entire life to your dog. Do not give him attention when he demands it. Instead, give it to him when you want to and are able. There is nothing wrong with ignoring his attention-seeking behavior when you have other things to get done.
Of course, I am not recommending that you neglect your pet. But I have a hunch that will never happen. Spend as much time as you can with him.
Remember that many dogs are left unattended for eight or 10 hours every day while their owners work. The average dog gets by with an hour or two of play time each day. I’d recommend that you, and everyone, aim for much better than average. But 18 hours each day definitely is excessive.
Photo: Foraging balls. The best idea since sliced bread.
You have questions. 
I have a 8 year old Doxie female. She has always been a natural born mommy. She has taken on other female puppies even when she had her own to tend to. She had to have all the pups. We had a litter in Jan and I decided to keep one of the long hair females. Now my Scooter snaps at her, bites her and keeps her and the other pups from the food and water dish. Her personality has totally changed. I lost her Bio grandma a year ago to Congestive heart failure, cushings, her liver shut down, she had cancer and at the end she was full blown Diabetic. She had developed a caugh and now my Scooter has developed the same caugh. She looks sad all the time now. She is totally not the same little girl and she is getting worse. Could this be a sign that she may be ill with something? Or just age and how do I control her out bursts. There will be times she cleans them and lets them lay with her. They all stay close to her. Even the older pups. She is really mean to the babies.
Scooter’s mommy Nancy
First, Thank you for using the picture of me with my kong on the dogster newsletter, what an honor and what a perfect subject for me. I am a huge attention pig. I demand attention all day! Mommy walks me, takes me to the dog park, plays laser chase with me, Daddy chases me till he is ready to pass out, but I still have energy left! That is when the kong comes in, stuffed with wonderful treats, frozen peanut butter or canned food, I am doggie heaven!
Mommy used to just throw the ball and I would fetch it…so on and so on,,,but know fetch is a training time, do a trick…Mommy throws the ball, much funnier. I learned to speak, stay down and wave this wave.
Mommy has also started the ignore me trick. I don’t like it at all, but I guess even though I am very loved, Mommy needs time to herself. Doesn’t mean I stop trying, I use the toy in the mouth, ears back and big eye look. BOL!