Hi everyone, I have 2 new dogs after having lost two older ones in the last 8 months. I have Stevie who is a 2 year old Golden Retriever and Taffy who is an 18 week old Yellow Golden Retriever. Stevie does not sleep in a crate but Taffy does because of her age. She is a really good pup and has no complaint about going in her crate for the night (sometimes even opening the door with her nose to get in). She's been good about this since the 2nd night we had her (at 12 weeks old). She is only in her crate at night and spends her days with Stevie and I throughout the house and on walks. Lately I've had to go out for a couple hours on a couple different days. I put her in her crate, in our bedroom, and Stevie stays in the room with her. He is gated in and they both see each other. Unfortunately she cries and barks while I am gone. I hear her once when I was leaving but hoped it would stop not long after. Apparently not..one of my neighbors told me he heard her causing a scene and was worried about me so he rang the doorbell to check. No answer of course. I feel bad for her and for my neighbours (we're in a house). I leave her with a toy and with the t.v. on and again, she has Stevie for company. Any tips on how I can deal with this????? Thanks.
You need to get her used to you not being there by leaving her for 1 min, 2 mins etc etc. Leave her with something like a frozen stuffed Kong to occupy her. It takes time for them to be comfortable on their own.
Thank you Naya. I'm going to start training 101 today. I was hoping that having the second dog in the room with her would help...but I guess her being in the crate and him not, it makes for a very unhappy puppy. I'm going to give her a stuffed Kong and leave a relaxing show on the t.v. to help keep her calm and do the training on a gradual climb, as you suggested.
