Help with leaving my puppy during the day

My husband and I just got our 10-week old Cocker Spaniel/Poodle mix a few days ago. She is fine when we crate her at night because her crate is next to our bed and she sees us before we turn off the lights so she knows we're there. However, when we leave during the day, it's a different story entirely. She cries, howls, and barks. Today, when I left for 20 minutes, she had every single dog in our apartment building going. I need some advice on how to get her to stop the crying.

She's only a baby. Personally, I wouldn't be leaving her for more than 10 minutes at this stage.

How long do you want to leave her for?

The main mistake we make is to leave pups for a long period (to them) straight away. What is needed is to slowly build up and also teach them being alone is great.

So, give stuffed kongs and safe chews and pop behind a child gate, or into crate or other safe area. Do this at first wh ilst washing up, etc so pup can see you but not reach you. Pup should settle to chew which in itself is stress relieving.

Release pup before barking begins. Ideally pup is only there for a few moments to start with.

Repeat often so it becomes a habit pup is familiar with

In time you can leave the room and later the house.

Very short periods of time. If pup barks, or cries, wait for a small lull in the noise - this may only be a couple of seconds.

Mark this immediately with a word, so the pup stops and understands (because it hears you coming) - say "good pup, quiet, good pup" and go to pup immediately. Never leave pup to cry or bark as this will set up patterns, as iin their mind, you will be returning because of the barking, no matter how long it takes.

So, understanding the basics of setting good habits, chewing for calmness etc is important. Give good foundations. build up from a few seconds to a few minutes to 5 minutes to 10, to 15, to half an hour and then vary it a little so you may be a bit earlier or later than half an hour ... eventually you should be able to build it up to an hour and then usually after that, dogs are fine for about 4 hours or so.

Remember very young pups can't always control their bladder/bowel either!

Hth a bit!

Wys
x

if you think about it, a puppy would never be alone in Nature- she would have her littermates or mother with her. She is in a very un-natural state by being alone. Nature is telling her that it is dangerous to be alone.
You could train her out of it in time but I wouldn`t be leaving a puppy this age alone. I`d wait till she was older and reached the natural stage of wanting to explore the world and become independent.

Our main problem is the fact that I'm always home with her because I don't have a job while my husband is working during the day and he plays with her at night which isn't a problem because I go to choir practice on Thursday nights when he will be home with her. So she knows me the best because I'm at home with her all the time. When I left for choir practice last night, Justin said she cried for about 10 minutes after I left before she settled down. This Sunday, I have to be at church by 9am to sing in the choir and Justin goes with me. So she would be by herself for about an hour and a half. That's what I'm worried about.

She is staying with my parents next weekend because Justin and I are going to a wedding and I'm worried about that too because she will be by herself in her crate while they are at church.

I've read articles that say to place an old-tshirt of mine with her in the crate and to possibly play music so it sounds like something is on. I normally watch tv during the day so she's used to hearing the tv. But I need advice on what to do about Sunday.

Hi,

Do you have anyone who may be able to sit with her whilst you're out?This way she's not alone, not in danger andd will settle more quickly than if left by herself.

Alternatively, could yourself and your husband not take it in turns to attend church for a while? if not then you need to find someone you can trust to spend time with her whilst you're out of the house, at least until you've trained her to be left aloneproeprly for a few hours.

Laura xx

What I do with a new puppy at night might work for you. I have found lying down in front of the crate like you were going to sleep and speaking softly to it, or singing, until it settles down and goes to sleep works very well. Follow the pattern, a period of active play, outside to eliminate, and then into the crate.

We never have had problems leaving 7 week old puppies 4-5 hours. Of course, the older the puppy, the less likely to accept new experiences such as being left alone.

Try a Kong filled with peanut butter. Freezing it makes it last longer.

Be careful what you leave in a crate with a puppy. Many of them will shred anything and perhaps choke or have a blockage from the shreds.

For the same reason, don't cover it with a blanket. Covering it may help, but not something it can pull in.