Hi everyone, I'm new to the site. Brought home our wee black pup last weekend, his name is butch.... He'll grow into it.... He's now 2 months old. We are doing really well I think, he is pretty much toilet trained, there is the odd accident, but nothing major. We are managing one wake up during the night around 3.30/4 for a wee/poo, but this is instigated by butch with a whine and occasional woof rather than me waking him. Only problem with this is he then thinks its play time when he comes back in. His last meal is usually around 8 and he has water all night, having just read others comments, I wonder if we should change this to last feed at 7, water lifted around 9, then bed at 11.30/12 with me waking him around 3/3.30 for the toilet and slowly stretch this out until he sleeps through the night? He has been a wee bit poorly, stood on something and ended up with an infection so is on antibiotics and painkillers until Wednesday, don't know whether to change his routine until he is off the medication? He seems fine, bounding about and up to mischief for 45mins to an hour then crashes out for a few hours, goes to the toilet then the same again during the day. He had his first off leash experience at my parents farm today, so has tired himself out, 10 minutes of running in the fields and exploring has tired him out good and proper. Anyway, my actual proper question is how do I get him used to being on his own. We both work, however for the most part we are able to work from home. There are going to be times when butch has to be left on his own though and I have read if butch isn't able to cope with this by the age of 13 weeks he might suffer from separation anxiety. We stay in a flat (communal gardens out the back and 5min drive to parents house for running/exercise). All the neighbours have met him, and I have said to them we will have to train him which is going to involve barking, and the neighbours are all fine with this. However, I'm worried there will be A LOT of barking. So, looking for suggestions on how best to work on this. I have 'charged my clicker' he now sits at my feet when it comes out. We have a crate but any time he goes in he wees and comes out again, bedding all washed and now being used as his outside crate bed to get it to smell of him, and we will try crating again, so advice on this would also be useful... Sorry, I've written a book here! Clara & Butch
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hi Clara, I left Harley a week after we got her. To start with I got Harley to go in her cage for a few mins and worked up to me being able to leave her for 10 mins, then half hour, then an hour. I initially left her to work for 2 hours (my neighbour popped over to listen, but she was asleep). The first 2 weeks I would get my neighbour to pop in daily if I was at work for more than 2 hours to let her out. Eventually we have worked up to 3-4 hours max alone. My neighbour does pop into my garden occasionally to look through the window and always says Harley was fine. The only thing you can do is try leaving Butch for short periods to start. Good luck
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hello there, and welcome from me and my 9 month old hooligan Choc Charlie. I built up from leaving for just a few mins, to 20 mins, to an hour. Then, I had someone come in for 1.5 hours, then 2 hours etc. Just take it slow, and build the confidence that you'll return and all should be fine. My boy is a chewer - I took a lot of stress out by leaving him in a safe place (metal pen on hard floor) and left (and still do) his food allowance in kongs and kongs goodie bones. He chews himself to sleep on safe stuff and is fine now (at 9 months) up to about 4 hours. I think it's important to have someone visit to maintain toilet training at first. Good luck!
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hi Clara, Welcome to the forum.ive got Dexter a 14 month old yellow boy...he's my first dog so Im not the best on advice unless I've experienced it first hand,if e learned so much on here my forum contributions are to chip in as a cheerleader or to tell you a funny story ( or not!) that will make you feel better about whatever mischief has befallen you that day ;D You might be lucky....not all Labradors are barkers....there is a thread going on in Behaviour ( I think?)called Woof....you get a good range there of what to expect....and you can give Butch the Sandwich Song Test! ;D Have a good time with your puppy Bye for now Angela x
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hi there, as others have said just take it slowly, don't rush into leaving your pup for long periods from the word go. First a couple of minutes, then 5 minutes, then 10, then 20, … working it up to a maximum of 3 - 4 hours. It is best to use a crate during this time, both from the point of view of safety for your pup, and also so he doesn't chew anything in your house… If you take it slowly, he will probably be fine because he understands you will come back soon. It is very frightening for dogs to suddenly be on their own, and they have to learn to trust that you will always return.
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own We have Charlie (11 week old chocolate lab), we use a crate if we need to leave him and worked up over the space of the last 3 weeks to leaving him for up to 3 hours. Usually that is only 3 times in the week but he is so happy there that most of the time if he wants a sleep even when we are at home he takes himself off in there for some peace and quiet! He can access it any time and the door is left open unless we go out. He sleeps in there happily at night too for about 7 hours before he wakes us up to go out for a wee/poo in the morning. The space is his so we made it snug and put his comfort blanket etc in there. It is under the stairs so he is surrounded by us rather than being in a utility with the door shut (not that we have a utility but I think he feels safer knowing he can see us and hear us most of the time!) I would say that this took time to build up though so take it gently. Xx
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own I think all the advice everyone has given you on building it up gradually from 5/10 minutes up to 20 mins and so on is really good advice and exactly how I did it with mine. One of us works from home all day so there was always the potential that Rosie would get used to expecting company all the time so we built it in to her routine from a wee toto to ensure she would get used to being let for at least a little time each day. She has her pal, Coco, who makes it easier as having two dogs left is always more comforting. Now I can leave them both quite happily for 2-4hours tops and as we always give them a good walk before ever leaving them, we return to dogs who have definitely been snoozing - a give away by the bleary eyes and cosy bodies! Good luck with it - Butch will be fine - but always glad when you're home.
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hi everyone, So we left him for 10 minutes today and he wasn't too happy, think he's had a little too much attention over the last week or so.... But we will persevere. A little alone time when we are here would probably be good for him too, we've just been letting him crash out in the living room when he's tired out, but moving him to his bed/crate would seem to be the way forward. Just had a chunk taken out of my ankle.... a little too pleased to see me. Another thing on my list of and things to work on, I swear he thinks his name is no.... Of to work on the clicker for 10 minutes... Clara
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own [quote author=Susan Jay link=topic=3413.msg37580#msg37580 date=1385406658] we built it in to her routine from a wee toto [/quote] That's just a fabulous expression! Clare
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hi Clara - welcome to you and Butch, We just gradually built it up like the others have said, and time out in the crate whilst we were home too. Just takes time.... Jac and Lilly - 3 and a half
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hi everyone, Thanks for all your advice, we've been working on this all week. He's now quite happy playing with his toys on his own, and he goes to bed without us needing to sit with him until he falls asleep. He's been left on his own a few times and while he barks when he sees us leave, he calms down and is always tucked up in bed when we come back... I think it helps that he is now confined to the kitchen in the morning when we are getting ready for work, he just sits and watches us, woofing occasionally then playing with the child gate and locking us out of the kitchen..... He's sleeping much better through the night too, went to bed at 10.30, one pit stop at 5 this morning then woke up at 8. 2 hours of food, manic play and trips to the toilet and he's crashed out. I'd forgotten how much work a puppy can be! Clara
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own So some mutual crashing out then! Good to hear your progress. Doing well
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hi all, I just wanted to say thank you to those that were involved with this thread (both starting it and replying to it). We've had our little monster for just over a week now and today my partner and I both had to do a full day in work before having the rest of the week at home. I went home at lunchtime to check on him and was extremely relieved to see that he was completely fine...I've been in a bit of a state about it ever since we got him - I'm a worrier! It was lovely to read all of the advice offered and to hear from other lab owners who leave their dogs at home while they are working. Nobody jumped in with the "maybe you shouldn't have a dog if you're not a home during the day" comment which I found so positive. My partner and I are aware that both of us working isn't ideal for Ollie (9 weeks, black) but we're commited to making his life as happy as possible and believe we can offer him a safe, loving home where he can live life to the full. He's been absolutely brilliant so far and I know we've got a long way to go but I'm hoping our luck will continue. After the last week solely revolving around him it was nice to get back to our normal routine and see that he can fit into that. I found the last week quite difficult as I couldn't stand the thought of him being unhappy in any way and was convinced that he would be while we were away, but when I peeped in the window before going in earlier he was flat out and I left him happily playing with his toys. Thank you everyone, wish me luck for next week when work starts again for us both. I'm hoping that the constant worry will start to ease soon as it's exhausting!! Katie x
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hello and welcome Katie! Love to see some pictures of your pup when you get chance. Lots of people work and own healthy and happy labradors. Sometimes it can be a juggle of rushing home, dog walkers, and friends and family helping out, but it's perfectly do-able with a bit of forward planning.
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own I definately say get your pup used to being left alone from the day you bring them home, even if you don't need to do it just yet. I had three days at home with my pup when we first got her, then four half days and then back to work full time (though I popped home at lunch for an hour). We only had issues with Penny crying at night. We did absolutely everything imaginable for when she was left alone - ticking clock (to simulate mothers heartbeat), hot water bottle, large soft toy, clothing smelling of us, covering the crate, classical music left on. In the end the best thing we did was just to let her cry it out. It was heartbreaking but after 5 days she was fine and we now have no issues with her being left at all. I would highly recommend crate training, it's been a lifesaver for us and Penny now knows that when she's in her crate she has to be quiet and go to sleep - if we left her to roam the house while we were out she would whine and cry like anything.
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hi Katie and Ollie. The crate is an essential for us working mums, and most dogs love it as a bit of a haven - though I am sure you will find some folks on the forum who have struggled a bit with it, but sometimes their pups were a bit older. We only stopped using it when Lilly turned 3 (needed the space). I was "lucky" enough to have the kids at home when Lilly was a pup, for the first 6 weeks. And I hadn't yet discovered this forum. Definitely think our issues now, which are mostly to do with recall, stem from the early few months when we didn't really know what we were doing. Hey Ho! Lilly is a pretty calm and well adjusted girl - not too many complaints Glad to have some more working Mums and Dads on here! Jac
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Hi everyone, thanks for your replies, it's lovely to hear from other owners and to know that I'm not alone! Jacqui - I love the phrase "working mums"! Hadn't thought to use that but I definitely will from now on...power to the working mums! Thanks Penny+Me and JulieT too, your support and experiences really reassured me. It may seem a bit silly but sometimes you just need someone to say that what you're doing is ok and when that person has experience of what you're doing then it's even better. Yesterday was Ollie's second day at home alone in the morning, my partner and I then were back for half days. On Monday and yesterday he seemed a lot quieter than normal, a little less hyper. He also was crying in the night when (apart from two nights when he first arrived) he's been sleeping right through. I was also commenting to my other half that he was looking a bit tubby and perhaps we were feeding him too much - unrelated to the behavioural issues but it will make sense in a minute. We've generally been lucky with him so far so it could just be him settling down and getting used to the place and us, but I was a little bit concerned in case his behaviour was related to him being on his own. However I think the mystery might be solved now. Yesterday evening we wormed him (the two week mark) and last night he was very noisy. Not his usual cries for attention but as if something was really wrong. At first I thought it was the NYE fireworks but he seemed unfazed by those. Went down to him once he stopped crying to see if he was ok and several poos with worms This morning he seems a lot perkier and his tummy is noticeably slimmed down. So I'm hoping the last day or two have been due to him feeling yucky from the worms. Poor little lad. Does this all sound about right to you other mums and dads? Katie x
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Poor Ollie. We haven't had problems with worms ourselves but this does sound a likely explanation having heard others with worm problems in pups. Fingers crossed he settles better now x
Re: Help with leaving puppy on his own Sounds like the effect of the worms. A swollen tummy is definitely a sign of worms. Great to hear that he seems to be improving
