Desperate for advice please! I thought i had it all sorted when we brougth our 8 week old lab home - i took a week off work and began her socialisation. The plan was when i was back at work a family member would come in during the day to play, feed, eventually walk etc our puppy. However i did not bank on her howling when ever she was left!! Nor did our neighbours! So we are crate training at night which is going well, but during the day the ktichen is penned off with her toys, water and crate. I have been attempting to leave her for short bursts and am currently on night shifts, so have heard how she behaves when she thinks we are out. Granted she is only 9 weeks old but my experience of dogs in the past has not been to howl, whine and bark for so long when left?? Any advice?? Ive got ticking clocks, bbc radio 2 playing, kongs on the go and an old t-shirt!
Hello there, and a very warm welcome. At nine weeks old, your pup is still a tiny baby - still missing her mum and her littermates. She is really too young to be left much at all. You need to provide her with absolutely as much company as possible (you can get puppy minders, or send her to a puppy creche etc if your work makes it impossible to take more time off work). When she is a little older, you can start getting her used to being alone in the house for a few minutes at a time, then a bit more and a bit more and gradually build it up. And have a look at using kongs. Kongs stuffed with food (you can soak and use her normal meal allowances if you are feeding kibble) give her something to do - and while she is eating them, she has her bum on the floor, is still, and quiet, and being rewarded by the food from the kong. All desirable behaviours for a dog left alone! Best of luck with it.
Thankyou Julie - i feel terrible and probably sound irresponsible but promise i did not enter into owning our puppy lightly. My experience with our previous labs has obviously been a very lucky one! I will speak with family members about spending more time with her in these upcoming weeks when i am working. How has everyone else gone about this in regards to working?
Hi and welcome to the forum My first dog I got as a puppy at 10 weeks, and my then husband stayed home for a month to look after him. Once he was 14 weeks old we took it in turns to be at home for blocks of time (we were both studying) while also making use of neighbours (who had him at their house in the afternoons) and visits to the house of a friend with a puppy the same age. He definitely howled if left alone for too long. So, we kind of juggled things to avoid that. Our second dog we got when he was 9 months old and we (new hubby!) were both working more or less full time - we both took the first month off work but after that packed him off to daycare every day, gardually reducing it so that at 3 years of age he has daycare twice a week but is by himself 2-3 days a week. Do you live in a place that has things like day care or puppy carers or dog walkers available?
I did similar to Rachael - except didn't anticipate what would be needed in advance, so had to run round making arrangements at the last minute! I juggled my work to be at home when I could, my OH did the same, I found a puppy minder in the form of a mum on maternity leave a few houses down the street who was happy to call in as often as I wanted (she just brought her baby and kids with her), and my Dad helped out too. I also found a puppy crèche arrangement in the offices of the local dog training school. It was a faff making sure I had cover but I managed and my dog grew up to be just fine.
Ah, well, yes. He is fine though, as happy as a sand boy....his complete lack of any common sense is a different matter!
Hello from a working Mum (and dad). I think we were pretty lucky with Lilly. From quite early on she settled well in her crate and earlier than expected we were able to cut out a lunchtime visit home, leaving her from 8.30 until 3pm. I would say it's not ideal but our dog was fine, many others are not! We have a chilled out layer back girl. Not like Choccie Charlie Seriously....It sounds like you need to gradually build up the time left alone. From a minute or two while you are in the house. Have you seen any of the "click for quiet" threads. That might help. If no one has done so by the time I am on my laptop later I will post a link. Not good at doing that on my phone. jac
I had an old, chilled black lab when we got our puppy, so she just used to settle quietly in her puppy pen next to his bed, if we left her alone. But at nine weeks, you really can't leave a puppy alone for any length of time, they are like toddlers and need company, stimulation and socialization.
Thankyou everyone! I have arranged for friends/family to puppy sit this week and am looking into puppy sitters. I nipped out for 20 mins today (kibble wont buy itself!) and came back to howling again. I went to the neighbours who both said they hadn't heard her? I live in an old terraced house and can hear their clock chime so find this hard to believe! Unless she is only doing it as I leave and return.
Do try leaving her with a super tasty stuffed kong - at first don't skimp on the filling. Put really amazing tasty stuff in it, stuff she'd never normally get. It should easily last her 20 minutes. It's such a simple thing to do, but it can really avoid all sort of bad habits developing around your departure, plus it can help you establish calmness when you are gone for short periods.
The Kong in the crate was a staple for us leaving for work. Lilly was usually in there a good 5 mins before we were ready to go Such a good way of making the crate a good place
Definitely agree with the advice to leave a super tasty stuffed Kong with your pup Try raw mince, that is usually a big hit. At 3.5 years old I still always leave a stuffed Kong (or similar) with my dog when I need to leave the house, every single time. I'll do this for the rest of his life. Just gives departures a positive spin for your dog.
