we are getting our beautiful black lab tomorrow and super excited about it...(maybe slightly nervous as well ). I work from home so will be with him all day every day and plan on taking him on the school run. However my son has 3 monthly check ups at the hospital and we would be gone for 2 possibly 3 hours.My husband has offered to take time off work if necessary but when would it be reasonable to expect him to be left in his crate for 3 hours.
That should say a check up every 3 months...not sure if my post made it sound like I would be going to hospital 3 times a month
I would do start the training as soon as possible we can't leave Kyko alone as we didn't do it straight away. It's not too bad as generally there is always someone home with him, but for example myself & sister had to miss my dad's 70th birthday meal as we had nobody to watch him. We do go to the shops once a week but have a camera on him at all times, we are gone around half an hour & he just alternates between lying in front of the door & barking
How would you recommend we start training? Probably a silly question. I assume by leaving for short periods and building up?! Thanks for your reply
I don't actually know as you can see we failed at this . At first we would leave Kyko in his crate for 5 mins at a time and just sit in the car watching him & tried to build it up. But we couldn't stand to see him upset so quickly gave in & resigned ourselves to having to find babysitters. I'm sure someone will be along who can offer advice
I should add he goes to daycare once a week & has stayed at the same kennels for 10 nights and never makes a peep when left (fairly sure he knows how manipulate us .) So if we are away for a long time say once a month when we have to get our hair done for example we just pay for an extra day in daycare
We just are going through this with now 13 week old Arnie....the most he’s been left so far is 2.5 hours in his crate....we started with regular crate training while at the house.....then after a couple of weeks I left him for 15 mins maybe....and yes he cried and carried on, but we kept going, each day I left him for a few mins more and of course gave him a stuffed Kong and left some safe toys in his crate too - oh And I also left talksport radio on for him First time I left him for over an hour he ripped a hole in his crate (it’s one of those camping collapsible ones until we bring out the absolutely huge airline crate we brought our old lab over from America in) and he was very proud of himself but since then he’s been great....he’s finally even going in the crate by himself and happily runs in now when I need to leave him.... I also try make sure I leave him after he’s had his walk or some active play or at least been awake an hour or so... Today I popped him in the crate as I needed to get work done upstairs and I didn’t hear a peep from him until I went to get him back.... So that’s my advice...slowly but surely....
I can't even go to the toilet without Kyko sitting outside the door waiting. It's not so much of a problem really as he comes to work with me a couple of days & my sister is home all the time so don't really need to leave him. But can be awkward like I say my dads birthday & things like that. Oh well we made the rod for our own backs and have to live with the consequences. Probably would be easier now if we have to go anywhere as after almost a year he has calmed down enough for my neighbours elderly dog to actually like him now, they are the best of friends now, even come knocking on each others doors when they want to play
Hello, I was home with our puppy until she was 4 months. I gradually built up the amount of time I left her in our kitchen. The best bit of advice perhaps I read was that good things happen when you leave. So she has her breakfast in her kong wobbler, in a snake, she has a licky mat, frozen kong, couple of other challenges , all of which get mixed up each day . At 4 months I started to leave her when I went for work for around 6 hours. She initially had puppy pads, but at 6 months I could take these away too. She gets excited about her morning routine and in the last month has had a 0.7 of a km walk before I go to work, which will increase as she gets older. She is now 7 months and we also have a camera to see what she is up to for my separation anxiety! She is asleep mostly or just chilling. Good luck.
This is a brilliant thread, and one I was about to start myself! We have a 9 week old pup, so he's only been with us 1 week. He gets so antsy being left, has a proper tantrum if I pop him in his playpen while I go to the loo. I'm worrying that i might never be able to go out again! I think it's almost easier if you *have* to go out to work, as you simply have to leave them. I work from home so am here all the time. However I start back at uni (distance/home learning but I still need to time to do it!!) in October so am worrying that I'll have a puppy with my constantly aargh!! Will be following this thread with interest.
Work on your crate training from day one and within weeks you can certainly leave them for a couple of hours in the create. Make sure your dog is tiered beforehand and leave something to chew on. Plus we alway leave radio on. Enjoy the dog
