Hi, I have a 4 year old lab and a 3 month old lab puppy. Training is going well with the puppy and he is happy to be left for an hour or two with the older dog during the day. The problem is when I take the older dog out on her own. I take them both to the park but because the puppy can't do too much exercise I then take him home and do a short (15 - 30 mins) extra walk with the older dog. Sometimes the puppy seems fine when I come home but more often than not he is barking. A kong worked one day but not the next. Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere but I couldn't find anything to help. I saw the post on separation anxiety on the main website but it didn't offer much advice, just "start with tiny short periods of time and gradually build up". Any help is appreciated, I want to be able to give the older dog enough exercise without upsetting the puppy.
For separation anxiety from humans, I dealt with this with my dog by never leaving him alone, then 2 or 3 times a day I'd practice leaving him. To begin with, about 5-10 times in a row I'd put him in his bed, put on my shoes and coat, go to the door, open it, and then just come back in. Then the next day, go outside the door, close it, then open it right away and come back in. Then gradually increasing the time standing outside the door up to about 30 seconds, then moving away from the door, etc. It took a very long time. I also didn't leave him with a kong, because after videoing him I discovered that the kong was just a distraction, and as soon as he finished eating it, he started to panic and ran around the house barking. But for some dogs this is helpful. But, you need to actually take your adult dog for walks. Sometimes, what makes them anxious isn't being alone, but the trigger is actually just seeing the person/dog leave. So, do you have someone who could help you? In the short term, I would try having someone take the puppy out for you. Then you can take the adult dog out without the puppy seeing it. Once the adult dog is out of the house you can take the puppy back in. Maybe it will work! In the long term, either the puppy will just get used to it, or you'll have to go through the above steps of gradually increasing time away. The idea is that the dog learns it's not a big deal when they are left alone, because the person/dog always comes back, and they get exposed to the trigger of being left over and over again in the early stages.
Just a thought but you could try walking the puppy first then settling him and taking your older dog for their walk. Seperation, in whatever circumstances, needs to be built up slowly for most chance of success. Is the puppy used to being left alone without your older dog?
