Our puppy is 15 weeks old, we’ve had him for 7 weeks now and he HATES being left alone in the day. At first we couldn’t even leave the room before he would start barking non-stop and all the advice about ‘waiting for him to stop before you go in to him’ went out of the window because he was like a machine and just didn’t stop, not even for a second. 7 weeks on he will follow us around like Velcro which is fine - we had been told that about labs - and he can now let us move briefly in and out of the room without barking. BUT during the day we need to leave him (in his crate) for just 1-2 hours for work but despite being consistent in our routine, settling him until he’s snoozing before putting him in his crate and making ZERO fuss when we come home... still he barks like a machine until he hears us come home. If he falls asleep as soon as we crate him, he’s fine for about 30-40 minutes while he naps but then the barking starts. It’s as if he just doesn’t know how to settle himself and I’m at a total loss knowing how to settle him when I’m not there! We installed a pet camera so we know for sure this is his habit now and it’s so frustrating- for us, for our puppy and I’m sure for our neighbours. He’s free to follow us around at all other times of the day and evening and sleeps happily in his crate from about 10:30-5:30am. I know from the video camera that he sometimes ‘stirs’ at night but then settles himself back to sleep until he needs to tell us he needs the toilet at 5:30, so I don’t understand why he can’t cope being alone in the daytime for only 1 hour??? We’ve tried letting him ‘just bark it out’ but after nearly 2 hours, and no sign of stopping, we opened the front door, waited for silence then went in the room, ignored him for a few minutes then let him out. Can anyone help? Has anyone else successfully overcome this??? I’ve also been using Pippa’s “Click for Quiet” training which he does up to 3 minutes now - but it’s not making any difference when we actually go out. He doesn’t seem anxious when we get ready to go out - and he doesn’t seem upset with us when we get home. It really seems to be a habit or a reflex of some kind. It’s just making us feel really bad for him. Ps. He also has the radio on, a ticking clock and ignores any stuffed Kongs! He’d rather bark!!!!! Help please
My reply here starts out sounding like a different top but just read it through. There's a video in a Sticky thread about letting your puppy off the leash without fear of it running away. She talked about how puppies under 4 months of age have a VERY strong instinct to stay near Mom and the pack for safety. They won't go far like an older dog will, even when something interesting like a squirrel runs by because their security instinct is so strong. But after about 4 month that instinct starts to fade. That made me wonder about my pup whining when left alone, and now yours. She is fine in her crate when we are visible. But when no one is in sight she would cry non-stop. I would try to leave her alone for longer and longer periods of time because sometimes I just really have to go off to the store or doc appointment or something when Hubby is at work and no one can be with her. So I figured she just has to get used to it, like it or not. For a long time it didn't seem to be getting any better. She'd still be crying when I came back from the store an hour or two later. Now that she is a little over 4 months old she is staying in her crate quietly most of the time when alone. She'll cry when I first leave but after a few minutes settles down. I thought, yay, she's finally getting used to it after doing it over and over! But after watching that video I think it's her age that is finally making a difference. Since she's passed that 4 month mark her security instinct is fading. She no longer has that overwhelming need to stay near the pack for safety. The point of my story is, you may not be able to solve the problem at his age and it may very well just go away on its own when he's around 4 months old.
top=topic in my previous post (stinks you can't edit after 5 minutes) I'll add that ours is almost 19 weeks now and she just started being quiet within the last week or two. So if you can hang in there a couple more weeks he'll hopefully start to quiet down.
You don't want to create a problem with separation anxiety; that is a hard bridge to come back over once it's crossed. I'd recommend having a read of the book "Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs" by Malena DeMartini-Price: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JV9ZSJ4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Thanks, I’ve done a lot of reading/research into SA and I don’t believe it’s true separation anxiety as he shows no signs of distress, he just barks. He’s no more or less clingy when we get home. He’s pleased to see us but doesn’t seem upset in any way, even if he’s been barking for an hour. It feels to me like an automatic reaction. He’s good at night and can settle himself back down if he stirs so I know he’s capable of settling, I’m just stumped as to how to transfer that same confidence to during the day
This makes a LOT of sense to me. Thank you! He has very slowly accepted us briefly leaving the room without barking - although this has taken many weeks - and he still wants to follow and see where we go of course, but he’s not as barky. It makes total sense that as that dependence instinct fades a little bit that he would feel able to settle himself down without us there. I really hope so! I’ve been teaching him how to work a Kong with some simple fillings as I think he maybe found it too difficult at first. Everywhere I turn people say that occupying him with a Kong and the fact that licking is soothing for a dog, makes me think this is also worth pursuing. He will never need to be left more than a couple of hours, and only a few times a week. Here’s hoping the age factor helps!
The reason the click for quiet isn't working when you go out and he is barking/crying is because he hasn't yet progressed up to you being away/out of sight for more than 3 minutes . He will learn to settle for longer periods when you have built up his confidence that you will return. Separation starts building with literally a second, then 2, then 5 and gradually builds to a minute. One minute then builds gradually to 2 minutes, then 3, and 5 , 7, 10 and 15 minutes. If your pup starts barking crying before you return on this slow build up he's not ready and you need to take a step back and slowly start building again.
Another good book is Patricia McConnell's 'I'll be home soon - How to prevent and treat Separation Anxiety'. Easy to read, follow and put into practice.
