Morning folks, looking for some advice about Jura, who is now just over 5 months old (how did that happen??). She has been doing great but recently (last couple of weeks) we've had a few problems with her barking when left alone and also the barking at 5am has restarted. At the moment I've gone back to the beginning with leaving her for short periods of time during the day again and working up to longer periods, and as long as she has a kong to occupy her she is perfectly happy, but as soon as she has finished the kong, then the frantic barking starts. Previously I was able to leave her for an hour and a half/two hours without any problems and I can't think of anything that has happened/changed. I try and make sure she is (or should be) tired before I leave but it doesn't seem to make any difference. The early morning barking is something that we thought we had sorted by just letting her bark until an alarm went off at 6am then waiting for silence, then going into her. My concern this time is that when I go into her at 6am she is frantic with excitement, and throwing herself at me. Are we doing the right thing by leaving her until 6am, or should we go down when she starts barking, let her out then put her back to bed with no interaction? She is fully crated at night, but has easily gone from 11pm to 6am without needing to go out for a while. To make matters worse she is due to go into kennels in 2 weeks time which I'm now feeling really nervous about. She has had an overnight stay there before and was fine but that was before the recent problems, and this time she is going in for longer.
Sorry, I'm definitely no expert here but it's funny you mention this started around 5 months as I noticed a behaviour change in Ella at about the same time. She suddenly became very clingy and would cry if I left her. One example is her playing with myself, my parents and my husband in the back yard. I went inside to go to the toilet and came back to find her sitting by the back door crying even though the other three were outside still. Can any of the more experienced owners shed some light? Do puppies hit a point in their development where they become a little unsettled?
So glad this has come up.We have poppy 8 months. She is rescue we have had her 5 weeks. she has been fine. until this last week I leave the house or the room she starts to cry and gets her self into a bit of a state. Even though my husband is with her. the last 2 days she has had a poo on the floor after i have gone. Any Advice would be helpful. Could this be a phase?
I`ll try and answer what I can, hope it helps . Re the early barking, if a pup has previously gone from 11 - 6 with no problems , then don't pander to their demands to have you attend to them earlier otherwise you will set a president , just stick it out until 6 , the message will soon strike home . Re leaving in the day , again puppy is protesting , she was previously fine to be left . As you say, she is tired and has a kong , so this should be enough for an hour or two . Make sure that when you are about to leave , be very matter of fact about it, no stressing as she will pick up on this , in fact be quite firm as you go, no extra fuss, its just a normal thing to do, this is what you want her to understand . When you return , let her out but don't make a huge fuss , again you are aiming for this to be a normal natural thing, nothing special , so no massive praise or fuss , I know, its hard not to Re Poppy the rescue puppy , I`ve also got a rescue dog and I do think that often , they gravitate to one member of family and absolutely adore them, which seems lovely but its necessarily healthy if they exclude other members of the family ! I would totally ignore her crying , ask your husband to engage with her if she seems distressed at your absence , just be very calm about it all as again, they do pick up on our stress and anxiety . Try leaving the room for very short periods of time , just a couple of minutes, no warning, just go , and when you return do not overly fuss her . She hasn't been with you for very long really and needs time to build up trust and a bond, with both of you .
Thanks Kate, it's good to get some reassurance that it is just protesting. She was better today when I went out, quiet and calm when I got home. As for the early mornings we shall dig out the ear plugs and persevere, thank goodness we don't have any neighbours! Hope Ella and Poppy settle down soon too
