Hi everyone, Mabel is five months old and seems to have calmed significantly of late, our only slight concern is that she can't really be left alone. She hasn't really had to be alone much since she came to us in late May, but school and work and various commitments mean that she will probably start having to spend an hour in her cage here and there. What were your experiences with leaving your puppies alone for the first time? Is there anything I can do to try and ease the transition so she isn't anxious every time we leave, this sometimes extends to leaving the room, she goes crazy. I'm worried that we've left it too late to start leaving her and by being around so much she won't transition well. Thank you in advance!
No , you haven't left it too late , it might take a little longer but she will adapt . Make sure she has had a little walk and be very matter of fact about leaving her , don't make a big deal of it , or she will ! The first time, leave her for five minutes , then come back in , again not making a massive fuss , its all got to be normal ! Familiar blankets and maybe a stuffed kong will help but extend the time slowly , and try to relax about it , an hour or so here and there isn't a lot , she will be fine x
I agree it's not too late - Mabel is still only a baby; I always think of the things people manage to teach much older rescue dogs and that makes me realise, it's never too late! Of course, the sooner we start with things, the easier it is, but that's OK, it can still be done. Just start slowly and build it up in small increments. I found that it was good to start out by leaving my first puppy alone in her crate for a few minutes while I went into another room, and gradually built that up to an hour; she knew I was still there, but she was still alone. It didn't work for my latest puppy, though - she isn't afraid of being left alone, but she gets very frustrated, which makes her bark. She's actually far better if I leave the house than if I'm just in another room.
We have similar questions - Merlin is six months old now, and we have been practicing leaving him and Poppy alone for a couple of hours, which works well (except in the evenings, which is his crazy time, so we don't get out much...). We do also practice leaving him on his own, without Poppy, but have only really done this for about 30 minutes at a time. I also practice leaving him in the car on his own a bit, which will be necessary once I start taking both dogs to training classes. Next month I will be on my own with the dogs for several weeks - which will be challenging, as I work full time. I am already busy arranging lots of help from neighbours and friends. I must say, I am already a bit worried about it... I think the main thing is not to leave it until it is an emergency, but work up to the situation slowly, as both Kate and Fiona have said.
When we first got Annie and she had to stay at home while I walked Fred, I never made a big thing about it. At first I left her in her crate. Then there is a mat in the kitchen which she sat on with her kong while we went out. At first I just left her on her own for 30 mins and little by little added 10 mins on. She did cry the first couple of times, but we still went. After about a week she stop crying because she knew we were coming back. She had toys to play with, like a ball with some of her breakfast in it, but if she had her ball she didn't get a kong
