We got our black lab puppy just over a month ago now, and he's a little star, he has slotted into the household really well, and is actually very well behaved most of the time. We're crate training him and he quite likes his crate, he often nips in for a lie down during the day, the door is always open so he goes gets a toy, etc etc. At night he's very good, after his last wee he walks in himself, and if he'd very tired he tries slipping in rather than going out into the yard, you shut him in, cover him with a blanket, and you don't hear from him for 7-8 hours when he calls for a wee. He has never soiled it. The problem is during the day, if you shut the door on him he is ok whilst you are in sight, but then he wails!! Literally you'd think we had a wolf shut in the kitchen.. You can give him a pigs ear or a chew, and he'll be happily quiet whilst eating it, but then start up again. Can I just say he's not left much, I'm out of the house from 7-5.30 Mon-Fri, but I take him to my MIL on my way to work who has 2 little dogs that he adores, he plays with them all day and comes home exhausted with my partner who brings him home when he's done from work at 3. At the weekend he's with us most of the time, but say on Saturday, he woke up a bit earlier than normal for his morning wee and poo, 5.07!! (its normally about 6) but I'm up at 6.10 anyway for work midweek. I let him out for his wee and poo, which he did both, gave him no attention, put him straight back after he'd done his business, then as soon as I got upstairs, the howling started, I'm worried he's going to wake the street, all I wanted was 1 hour. He has his last food at 7, and water up at 8, but its during the day too, you pop him in to do an hours supermarket shop, and the neighbours think he's being tortured. I'm confused as we need him to wake us for his wee, so I don't want to discourage barking, but I think he needs to be able to be left for an hour at this age. He also has a smaller crate in the boot of my car, which he complains about equally.... Any help would be much appreciated.
Hi there, welcome to the forum and apologies for the delay in responding. Learning to be happy alone is challenging for most puppies, but this is something you can teach. Have a look at this thread: How To Teach A Dog To Be Alone. then shout if you have any questions.
Hi, Is he crated while at your MIL's during the week? If his schedule there differs from your weekends home with him, that could be the issue. One of the things we tell our puppy buyers is that the weekend crating schedule should resemble the weekday one for several months. If he's not being crated at all while your MIL cares for him, then he won't like being crated on the weekends with you. If she is following a schedule resembling your weekend one, then it is likely he just doesn't want to be separated from you. Stick to the schedule and he should adjust to it over time....consider giving him a high value treat while in the crate on the weekends.
