[woojiebear]

*ssiiiiggghhh*
ok so how long do you guys think you should wait before "leaving your dog alone"???
Snoopy is almost 11 weeks old and this is my day 4 with her. She has not been left alone once since i got her as my mom looks after her during the day while my husband and i are at work. She will not be able to always do this (nor would i expect her to) as she travels.
I'm starting to get VERY concerned and stressed because whenever Snoopy is in her crate or tethered with her leash and someone is not in sight she FREAKS out and starts to SCREAM!! and she also starts to bite the bars on her cage which i am very scared of since she got her jaw stuck - i am so scared of that happening when i'm not around /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif
the biggest drain on me is her crying constantly - is this behavior normal for her age??? what can i do to help her anxiety??? i can't stand her whining it breaks my heart ugh... this is hard /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif i really appreciate any advice.. this is my biggest hurdle i believe
thanks so much!

 

[bender29]

I do not have my beagle pup yet, but my parents did recently get a jack russel. He's about 12 weeks old now.

He has the exact same problems you're describing. He goes completely nuts and looks as if he has rabies. He literally screams for 4+ hours at night while he's in the crate. They have tried putting all his toys and a dirty shirt they wore in the crate, this helps some but still doesn't completely do away with the problem.

They are going to ask the vet about other methods to calm him down on his next appointment...

Good luck to you.

 

[Electric]

Well Timber is still a little whiny, but not too bad and she is 12 weeks and I think she is ok because we are not with her constantly. If you are with snoopy all the time then she will "need" you all the time and depend on you, I know she's only young but timber is great fun and can be stunborn but she sleeps the whole night through and we give her plenty of walks and play time in the garden every day, so i would suggest just slowly drop the amount of time you are with snoopy.

 

[Murphys Dad]

OK. You should basically start getting her used to being alone as early as possible. Meaning - now.
Since she is still very very young, she can't hold it too long. I would start getting her used to her being left alone in the crate (use BeagleBabe's "manual" on how she trained Abby: How I crate trained Abby successfully in a weekend ). Then, leave her for 2-3 hours (not more). As she grows, you can leave her for longer periods of time. General rule of thumb is: Age in months + 1 hour.

 

[woojiebear]

ughhh ya i know i need to leave her alone i just feel so guilty. i think its so sad that we need to "break" our dogs and get them used to lonliness... poor things.
also i live in an 800 square foot apartment (that isn't too sound proof) but i guess alone in a room is a better start than nothing.
this is going to be sooo hard /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif
i will read that article thanks!

 

[Murphys Dad]

I hate to be the voice of doom and gloom but ... please remember that you are the human, she is the puppy! She can't set rules or limitations on herself -- you have to do that for her or you will be in big, big trouble before you know it. Yes, you'll feel guilty at first but keep telling yourself that you are doing what is necessary to give Snoopy a happy, stress-free life!

 

[PFR]

I'm with Judy on this one.

Don't feel guilty, My two love there cages and they know that is there time to go to sleep. They have a few toys in there just in case they do get bored during the day, but most of the time they sleep. Then they are ready to play when we come home.

It will take a little time for her to get use to it, but that is expected.

Good Luck!

 

[Jennifer]

I agree with everyone. You should really have started already to leave her alone for short periods. The longer you leave it the harder it will be and she will become more and more dependent on your company. All dogs even puppies need time alone even if they don't realise it yet lol

 

[woojiebear]

ok here's my progress - please tell me if it IS actually progress hahaha.

yesterday she was in her crate with the door closed.. i came home from work, put her in the house and then left to park the car. when i came back she was crying but not biting the cage and just kinda whimpering - but she had also just woken up from a nap.

today she was settling in for a nap in her crate - door open and she was not tethered. She watched me leave the room. i came back a minute later and she was asleep.
i also left for about 5 minutes while she was chewing her bone NOT in her crate and not tethered...she didn't follow or cry and was still chewing when i came back.

PROGRESS???????? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif
hahaha

 

[Murphys Dad]

Progress indeed. But don't think you're safe.... still needs work.

Good Job, though /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup2.gif

 

[Jennifer]

Yay definately progress /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif

 

[Joe Johnston]

Progress indeed. Its tough when they wimper though but you have establish those boundries now when its easier.

We have all dealt with it in some form so there is alot of empathy for you. Both of you will be happier in the long run.

Hang in there. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif

 

[woojiebear]

thanks so much!!!! this is for sure the HARDEST part of the puppy phase.. they're just so sweet its sooooo hard!!!
while at grandma's doggy day care today she was kept in the bathroom for about 20 minutes if not longer by herself... and cried herself to sleep...
but its for sure gradual! she just needs to learn that we will come back! haha.
thanks for all the emotional support... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif

 

[MyKale]

i can tell you from experience that it is very hard if you dont start now.

when i got diesel at 6 weeks my mom had just had surgery and she was at home everyday for a month. now there was nothing i could do to prevent him from being home all day with my mom since she couldnt leave either. so now he cries when alone in a room

but he did get used to his kennel after about a week i didnt hear a peep out of him when i left. but what i had to do was leave the house cause i felt bad too. so i went on a walk or some where away from his crying. and i would let your neighbors know (since your in an appartment) that you are doing this so they dont get frustrated.

but just start now and it will all owrk out soon

 

[Murphys Dad]

You've definitely made progress. Keep working with her though. There's still a long way to go. Keep doing what you've been doing. Leave Snoopy alone for a few minutes at a time so she builds up a tolerance to being away from you. It shouldn't take her long to learn that Mom comes back and there's no reason to cry. I did everything wrong when it came to Jersey's separation anxiety and I'm paying the price for it now. I would definitely suggest talking with your neighbors so they understand. The neighbors I had when I got Jersey were JERKS and now I can't even get one more complaint on Jersey or else she has to go. So she's never home alone, ever. Today we wanted to go to the Yankees/Devil Rays game but without anyone to watch Jersey, at home I sit. It's a lot harder to break Jersey's problems now than it would have been if I had worked on her issues when she was a puppy. Keep up the good work!

 

[woojiebear]

awesome! i think we had some progress just now...
she looked pretty sleepy from playing and i had to do some chores so i took her to her crate....
and she fell asleep!!!
she cried pretty bad for about 5 minutes but i resisted!!!
i'm actually proud of myself hahaha
and now she's sleeping /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif yayyyy

thanks for the emotional encouragement! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif

 

[Murphys Dad]

You're welcome! Keep up the good work /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup2.gif

 

[Darcey Pitt]

Been putting Darcey in her kennel everyday since we bought her home ( 2wks ago), she cries for about 20 minutes then settles down, its so hard to ignore the crying but i dont go to her. She usually stays there for about 2 hours unless shes disturbed. I think putting them in their kennels from day one really helps, little and often, gradually increasing the time.
I give her a treat each time so that she knows shes not being punished, shes also got a radio so that shes not listening out for us. I do worry about our neighbours though especially when shes crying, shes so loud!

 

[woojiebear]

haha wow ya they ARE loud - snoopy just started AROOO ing today! its so hard living in an apartment because some ppl just don't understand.
i wonder how long it usually takes for them to get completely used to their crates???
today i did a BIG test... I locked snoopy in her crate with her Kong toy filled with Almond Butter (haha), turned on some relaxing music and went grocery shopping!!i told my neighbours and left a note on my door apologizing if there was noise.
i was sooooo stressed the whole time !!!
when i got back she was very calm but had peed the bed :S
i guess its a start! haha

 

[Murphys Dad]

It is a start, will take time, but she'll get the point that you are coming back!