Hey all, I have a feeling I know the answer, but just want to run it by everyone and see if they have any different ideas or thoughts. Koda has been great so far the one thing I seem to have neglected when training koda early on has been being able to entertain herself and be alone. If left out on the deck while I'm in the kitchen which has an adjoining screen door she will sit by the door and just wait for a few minutes than bark repeatedly (usually with in 5 minutes or so of me leaving) until I cave in and go out to quite her. (she has kongs, toys, treats, food, and mind games for her out there). Is this wrong or should I let her "bark it out". I also have contemplated after a minute going out and treating her or playing with her but this usually just results in her then lasting even shorter times when i subsequently try to leave her on the deck. We have the same issue when I try to tether her outside and do yard work. If I leave her tether range and she can't get to me she will bark until I react to her. In this scenario i am in her sight instead of out of her line of vision in the previous example. So I have been working on leaving her in a pen or gated room and then treating her for not barking, with the idea of working up to longer times. The only problem is that she will only last about 10 seconds and that the entire ten seconds she sits by the gate door waiting for me. Should i still treat for this behavior even though she isn't playing by herself? I don't want anyone to interpret this wrong, I love spending all my time with her and she is like my little shadow. I'm not trying to have an independent or neglected dog that is left alone all the time, but as of now the only place she is comfortable and quiet when she isn't stuck to me is in her crate. If this normal for labs and puppies thats completely fine just want to make sure I'm not setting her up to have separation anxiety issues down the road.
If she is hsppy in her crate to be left alone I don't see a problem - just leave her in her crate. Where you do have a potential problem is if she is a 'velcro' dog who follows you around all day from room to room. Every dog neds to learn to be alone for short periods so you can leave the room to get a drink, pop to the bathroom etc.
Thanks for the reply Jojo. I think I would describe her as a velcro dog. I live alone, so I expected her to be attached to me to a greater degree because there isn't much else going on in the house. She does follow me from room to room, sits near me when I sit down, and moves when I move. If I go into a room and close the door she will sit and wait by it. I don't mind this but am worried I could be setting her up for potential problems with being too attached, if thats even a thing. However she is fine being in a separate room if I hide some treats for her to look for or give her a kong and then walk away (she will stay in that room until she finds them all then come running back to me). At my parents house which she isn't allowed in due to allergies ( we keep her on the deck and hangout with her) she will pay special attention to where I am, but has no problem ignoring me to play with my siblings or parents. So i'm not sure how much of it is actually her being a velcro dog compared to me being the only interesting thing in the house for her to follow and interact with. But do you have any suggestions for how to go about teaching her to be alone for short periods of time. Any help or input would be greatly appreciated.
Hi @AJ it dies sound as uf she has sone 'velcro' tendencies but can survive seperation without going into a meltdown - so all is not lost. There is a lovely little booklet by Patricia B MCConnell called 'I'll be home soon' which deals with seperation problems and has lots of good advice for building confidence in dogs for time alone and has a great step by step guide at the end for building time alone. I recommend this booklet to clients as it is a little gem.
