Hi everyone,
I got baby Mako back in September. He’s a happy little boy and training is going quite well except for 1 thing. Mako is very whiny and anxious when he doesn’t see me. I’ve set up a crate linked to a small pen (see picture) and I've been following my version of Ian Dunbar’s schedule:
7am Wake up,Training, playing, feeding, occasional walk if I still have time before work starts at 8am
8-11am Crate+pen
11am-2pm Free time, food in pen, a bit of play during my lunch break (10mins max)
2pm-5pm Crate+pen
5pm Walk, play, free time, food in pen
9pm Crate for the night
He does quite well with the crate from 8-10am and at 9pm for bedtime even though I need to coax him a little with kibble to get in. Any other time is hard on him and he will cry and whine and climb on the gate door for about 10mins before he goes to sleep for 10 mins only to get up and start all over again until I release him. Most of my meetings are in the afternoon so there’s no escaping crate time then. And the whining increases in intensity when I leave for a quick errand.
He’s very young so I’m not expecting miracles but I think the issue is compounded by the fact that I work from home (upstairs) 4 days a week and he goes to doggie daycare on the day I need to be in the office. So he's never really alone.
I’ll also be at home for the next 2 weeks due to pneumonia so I think all the progress we had made with crate training will fall apart as I allow him to roam in the open living room+ kitchen space while I stay on the couch. It just didn’t feel right to leave him alone in his crate+pen when I could fall asleep and not to get him out. Incidentally he brings his toys by the couch and plays quietly with them and he sleeps more than usual due to boredom I would assume.
Anyone here has any experience teaching solitude to your cavaliers even when staying at home? He’s still a 4-month old puppy so I don’t expect him to be alone anytime soon. I just want him to be confortable in his own skin whether I’m here or not and to be able to handle my outings without a meltdown if I can't bring him.
I think a fresh start is the way to go once I’m back on my feet and I'm open to all feedback!
Also here are some pictures because I do want to brag about my little gem
I got baby Mako back in September. He’s a happy little boy and training is going quite well except for 1 thing. Mako is very whiny and anxious when he doesn’t see me. I’ve set up a crate linked to a small pen (see picture) and I've been following my version of Ian Dunbar’s schedule:
7am Wake up,Training, playing, feeding, occasional walk if I still have time before work starts at 8am
8-11am Crate+pen
11am-2pm Free time, food in pen, a bit of play during my lunch break (10mins max)
2pm-5pm Crate+pen
5pm Walk, play, free time, food in pen
9pm Crate for the night
He does quite well with the crate from 8-10am and at 9pm for bedtime even though I need to coax him a little with kibble to get in. Any other time is hard on him and he will cry and whine and climb on the gate door for about 10mins before he goes to sleep for 10 mins only to get up and start all over again until I release him. Most of my meetings are in the afternoon so there’s no escaping crate time then. And the whining increases in intensity when I leave for a quick errand.
He’s very young so I’m not expecting miracles but I think the issue is compounded by the fact that I work from home (upstairs) 4 days a week and he goes to doggie daycare on the day I need to be in the office. So he's never really alone.
I’ll also be at home for the next 2 weeks due to pneumonia so I think all the progress we had made with crate training will fall apart as I allow him to roam in the open living room+ kitchen space while I stay on the couch. It just didn’t feel right to leave him alone in his crate+pen when I could fall asleep and not to get him out. Incidentally he brings his toys by the couch and plays quietly with them and he sleeps more than usual due to boredom I would assume.
Anyone here has any experience teaching solitude to your cavaliers even when staying at home? He’s still a 4-month old puppy so I don’t expect him to be alone anytime soon. I just want him to be confortable in his own skin whether I’m here or not and to be able to handle my outings without a meltdown if I can't bring him.
I think a fresh start is the way to go once I’m back on my feet and I'm open to all feedback!
Also here are some pictures because I do want to brag about my little gem
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