Hi guys I have just taken my little puppy home Sunday his name is pies and he’s a lovely pup. Am I doing the right thing by leaving him to cry it out when he’s worked up? He does it even after we’ve been to the toilet he’s got a full belly and his bed blanket and toys to play with. So I know he’s ok but he’s crying out for attention. Am I doing the right thing by leaving him to cry it out and then when he’s quiet rewarding him? Any advice would be much appreciated Thanks teide and pies
Hi Teide! When is this happening. What is his routine and what have you done so far when he has cried?
Don't leave your puppy to cry. Puppies, the same as human babies, need their emotional as well as physical needs met. I can't remember who I should credit for this phrase but I read somewhere that if you think of it as ' crying for a relationship' rather than 'crying for attention' it puts a different slant on it. Your puppy needs to know you are there to make him feel safe and able to relax. Of course he will gradually learn to feel ok when left alone for limited periods, but not when he's only just left the comfort of his litter mates.
Hi it happened yesterday morning when I needed to have a shower.. he screamed the house down he was with his bed toys water everything he loves when I’m in the room with him but when I left he cried badly. I managed to have a shower and wash my hair this morning and he didn’t cry... He had a wee so I know he was ok he’d been fed he was ok but I think it’s for attention? Our routine is bedtime at 10pm toilet 12.30am Toilet 2.30am Toilet 4.30am Toilet 6.30am Breakfast 7am Play time and naps and toilet until 9.30 ish Then toilet before we get in the car to go to work.. lunch 12pm In between kongs with vegetables and some of his food allowance Then he will have food allowance in training so far we have mastered sit and he will sit before he is fed as well! Then dinner around 5 ish Then we do some more training and play and toilet Then 9.45 we go into the garden for toilet before bed then 10pm bedtime Sorry for the long post but that’s his routine I’ve seen it’s best to leave them to cry it out? Thanks for reading Teide and pies
He’s so good the rest of the time it’s just mainly been when I need to have a shower before work.. and I do have to get ready for work it’s jusg me and him in the mornings then he comes to work with me I’m a support worker for people with learning disabilities so he’s having lots of cuddles and play and naps meeting new people going to new places and then my partner gets home at 5 and it’s the 2 of us with him again... I don’t want to do the wrong thing by him! I want to bring him up the best I can so I’m just looking for good advice Thank you so much!
Hmm, I can't see in this where he is resting and how you are introducing him to being left. He is most likley screaming in panic. He is a tiny baby who has just been taken away from his mum and siblings. A pup this age cannot look after itself so it is going to do everything it can to not lose you as well. He needs to learn that he's ok on his own for a short while and that you will return.
I think for us the most important thing was identifying situations prone to hysteria and making sure that didn’t happen basically. It’s highly likely that your 8 week old puppy isn’t emotionally ready to be left alone so you manage that situation by showering as they sleep or going in shifts to shower etc etc. like with clicker training positions we don’t ask the puppy to jump straight to the end goal behaviour, we set up situations they can manage so that acclimatizing to the goal behavior is not a painful experience. You don’t want to validate crying and inadvertently encourage it, but i think you also need to manage situations so that hysterical crying isn’t the outcome. Do you have a puppy pen? This can be a useful tool while you train day time closed crate door training but i wouldn’t rush it!
He will do it when I’m behind the puppy gate also. We have open plan kitchen and living room and he will cry for me until I come back through the gate even when he can see me.. at work he naps on his blanket in clients kitchens he can see me and sometimes he will sleep soundly even when I’m in a different room and he’s watched me walk out it’s just at home he cries like that? At home he sleeps on his bed in the living room. Then at night in the crate in our bedroom and last night was a great night after the toilet breaks he only cried for 5 mins before going back to sleep.. we are going to move the crate downstairs end of this week as we know he will be home sick and missing his siblings.
