Teaching my puppy to be alone

[Lokiel]

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

 

[Karlin]

Oh love the photos! And welcome. Is he getting on to 4 months old or so now? If so, and if you are in the room with him, I'd allow him out a lot more and structure time to go out for toiletting especially if you have an easy to clean floor area where he can be confined. I've got a going on 5 month old who'd have the occasional accident indoors but he's out all the time in the kitchen as one of us is generally working in the kitchen/TV area. And also have another large breed pup coming on 4 months and she's not crated or penned at all when I'm around. So: accidents, yes, but I don't sweat that much (se below .

I'd aim for toys that keep Mako busy and engaged -- Dunbar suggests hollow toys like Kongs and there are many similar types these days. I'd get a soft puppy Kong and put a smear or two of peanut butter on the inside where he can reach a little, but not all of it -- that will help to keep him busy. Or jam a bit of say dried fish skin treat inside so he can touch it with his tongue but probably not get it out. Also, as per Dunbar, I'd actually feed him his meals from the Kong and you can even freeze them -- block the hole with a bit of kibble then pack in his meal as a mix of wet and dry food, and freeze. It will last a good while that way and is very self-calming and satisfying.

What does he have in his pen or crate to keep busy with when you are not there now? Make sure he has some favourite safe toys in with him, especially good chew toys as he's at the age where he needs to chew, chew, chew and is also going to be having some teething pain. (softer puppy chew toys are nicer for them at this age though our current pups are also entranced with Benebones and chew on them for ages) To get him to go in the crate/pen, I'd be giving not a bit of kibble but a truly high value treat like some dehydrated liver. You want there to be a HUGE pay-off to him both for going into the crate and settling, and for doing his business outside. I'd also leave a radio on a calming station, like classical music, so there's some soothing noise for him. I leave the radio on at night for puppies until they are well settled into a night routine.

Any this age he also could be started on a hard long lasting natural chew like a pizzle stick while you are out or working, though I'd take it away and throw it out when it gets small enough to be swallowable.

If your work-from-home doesn't involve a lot of meetings and so on, I'd actually move him upstairs in a puppy playpen so he's there while you work. I't a very worthwhile investment -- I have a 6 panel metal pen about 2.5 feet tall that I bought over 15 years ago and that, and a roll of vet bed I cut to various sizes, are the best investments in dogs I have ever made. The vet bed is used every day and stands up to a decade+ of frequent washing and I use the pen as a pen, as a way to block dogs from this or that, as an impromptu door gate -- and it comes apart easily for travel so we take it along on dog holidays.

You're seeing some pretty normal behaviour for a still-young puppy so I would;dn't worry too much. Hopefully some of those techniques will help.

FWIW I am a lot more casual about housetraining these days and don't use much structured crating any longer . We always have had a lot of dogs -- currently 8, with two pups of differing ages and breeds (that wasn't the plan, but for various reasons, it happened ) and I take them out at regular intervals and don't bother too much with crating or pens except at night and when no one can watch them/we're out. I used to be far more structured. But I've found they all get there in the end anyway. Being alone for long stretches is really hard on puppies so if at all possible I'd aim to keep him around during the work stretches when you can. If a crate is freely available and comfy and attractive to go into, most of our dogs have always chosen to sleep in a crate (door open) and therefore are all quite well crate trained for travel, too! But none have need a major routine of being confined much of the day (and at any rate I'd not confine just to the crate but to the pen with open crate .

Hope that helps and gives some varied ways of thinking about the issue!

 

[Karlin]

Oh and I'm so sorry you are unwell -- I hope you feel better very soon!

 

[Rosieposie❤️]

Your little friend is lovely … there’s so much to do with pups at this early stage

Like humans (babies), they thrive on secure attachment to thier caregiver … I agree with Karlin I’d set up a spot near your office

It’s sounds as if your puppy is getting upset and frustrated at being in the pen … perhaps it’s time to look at enrichment and sensory games for your pup … he’s developing at such a quite rate physically and neurologically

I will attach some links for you

I will also send link to podcast by Julie Naismith who does seperation anxiety training (so far it appears from what you’ve described he might have FOMO - fear of missing out) & possibly not seperation anxiety

One little tip I used for training micro absences (running out to washing line and returning or popping to answer door, even open it yourself and return - all little jobs that can take 10 to 20 secs and build up duration slowly, what I would do
is get a kong and put a shoe lace through it and tie around secure object like the leg of a table, something he cannot pick up & runaway with or use a sticky licki mat you could fix to floor… I’d stuff it with delicious smelly food (cheese, chicken sausage) and just leave it there … I would draw any attention to it … just naturally when puppy investigates pop out for seconds and return … no big fuss on return just a soft “good boy”. I’d carefully supervise him whilst using kong with lace and remove when finished

Ensure you don’t use this when popping up to your office (as this could become a pre departure cue). Use it when your pottering around the house

I will pop links below

Best of luck … he’s just figuring it all out, secure attachment predictability and routine along with some enrichment might help him adapt

 

[Rosieposie❤️]

This is on Spotify if you have access to it

 

[Rosieposie❤️]

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/8AcWCGsWaegThXcL/?mibextid=UalRPS

Hope this video worked this can be a fun toy for your dog also


2 websites below with some great tips