[bender29]

Hey everyone,

I have a couple questions concerning Banjo. First, he seems to have absolutely terrible separation anxiety. I crate him at night and he cries for around 20 minutes which is understandable, but during the day he goes nuts if he is ever alone. Whether in the crate or just in my room. He howls and cries constantly until I come back. Any ideas on how to control this or calm him down a bit? This isn't a big deal now, but will be when I move into an apartment in August.

Secondly, how much should I be feeding Banjo? He is almost 9 weeks. I would feed him as much as he wants, but he seems like he'll literally eat himself until he pops. He already looks a bit overweight as it is. I'm feeding Merrick Turducken.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance!

 

[Murphys Dad]

okay, first of all, don't worry. He is only 9 weeks old, you can manage it!
Crating - do it gradually. Feed him in the crate, put his toys in it, play with him in the crate a little. When he goes there willingly and without being asked, treat and praise. Than tell him go to bed (or something) and put him in it, treat and praise. a few times like that. then close the gate for a second, open, treat and praise. You get the point. This is desensitization (sp?). You should repeat each step many times, until you are sure Banjo is comfortable with it, and move to the next step.
He'll get there.

The food. I just followed the weight on the bag. Check the age and weight of the puppy chart. This would be the portion for a day. At Banjo's age - it should be split 3 times for the 3 meals.

 

[patama1004]

Eleanor has a very good advice for you there. I didn't have that much of a problem when Boeing was young because my mom was usually home with him.

As for feeding, I fed Boeing three times a day from seven weeks to around six months. Then it was down to two times a day, with healthy snacks in between.

 

[Pegasus]

He is only 9 weeks, so you expect to have some of this, but you are doing the right thing by crate training now, you will be so glad you did it!!

Elanor gave you awesome advice about desensitization, I always give treats to Marbles and he walks right in, takes his treat, and then lies down...it is great!!

Good luck, keep it up, it will pay off.

amanda

 

[bender29]

Thank you for the help everyone! I'm definitely going to try those crate ideas. It's not only the crate though. If Banjo is left alone anywhere in the house, he goes crazy. Is the only way for him to get over this is to leave him alone more often?

Also as far as the food goes... Currently I'm feeding him about a cup and half split 3x a day. The chart on the back of the bag says 2 1/2 - 4 cups daily for a medium sized dog puppy. That seems like a lot, which is why I haven't followed it yet.

 

[Genie]

It's been a long time since Shiloh was as young as Banjo, but seems to me that 9 weeks he is still a baby, and is bound to be upset when you leave. Eleanor had good advice about getting him used to the crate, and as he learns to enjoy the crate, he'll think of it as his den and will be happy in there when you leave. Just give him a little more time.

 

[woojiebear]

i was so scared snoopy would have horrible separation anxiety too. its taken her almost 3 weeks but she has calmed down a bit now! everytime i was not in sight she would SCREAM!
i started very slow as was suggested - even leaving her for a few minutes at a time. you CAN'T let him out of his crate if he's crying but the second he stope... good boy and a treat gradually i did it longer and longer and today she did a full 2 hrs on her own and was fine

it s a gradual process - he just has to learn that YES you WILL come back!
snoopy still cries but at least there's progress.

in regards to food i was feeding snoopy three small meals a day but then my vet suggested an open bowl policy.
he said that this actually prevents obesity because they don't BINGE!
I would have NEVER done this before because i thought dogs just ate till they puked haha.. but i've been trying it and she doesn't. her food dish has food in it all the time and at first she ate more because she realized it was there.. but now.. she has a few kibbles and is done. when we're eating dinner.. she goes and has a bit of food but she really doesn't overeat which surprises me. and she's never STARVING so she doesn't eat like a horse haha. up to you but you might wanna give this a try

best of luck to you and your adorable little Banjo !

 

[bender29]

Thank you for the advice. We worked a bit on his crate desensitization today. He didn't do all that bad.

Woojiebear, I'd love to use that open bowl policy, but Banjo would end up exploding. He's a non-stop eating machine.

 

[Joe Johnston]

An open bowl feeding for a Beagle simply means the bowl will be open or empty 30 seconds after it is put down. Sounds like vet man does not have much experience with Beagles.

All 9 week old pups have their moments, after all they are adjusting to a new lifestyle without mom and siblings around.

It will be Ok though. You are the mom now. Banjo will adjust to you. He is also learning to communicate with you. It will take some time for the two of you to understand each other.

 

[woojiebear]

hahaha no worries i thought it was a strange idea myself but snoopy eats very little so i guess every beagle is a lil different. if she starts to snort it all up by all means i'll change it

good luck!