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speedyb · 03-01-2012, 03:43 PM

I know puppies will be puppies, I just want to make sure my 6-month old Oliver does not get into the habit of whimpering for attention.

Because I can work somewhat long hours, I take Oliver to work with me on long days. I am trying to work it so at some point, he will be able to stay home alone for 10 hours and be fine... any tips on that would be great, too!

I have had Oliver for almost 2 weeks now. The first week he was a doll -- he would play and sleep. He was alright with that. I get him to nap on my lap during meetings and he would either play with his toys or put himself in his kennel as I sat in my desk chair. We would go out for potty extremely frequently [because people would have a fit if he went to the bathroom in the office] and go out to play a few times. Everyone was amazed at how calm he was!

Recently he has gotten worse. He whimpers all the time. I know I am not supposed to give him attention when he whimpers, because it will teach him the whimpers will be rewarded with my attention. His whimpers turn into cries with turn into barks. It escalates if I ignore him -- which is really bad for a work setting. I don't know how to tell him it is not okay. It is aggravating my coworkers, and I am trying to get him out of this bad habit soon.

I also want to be able to leave him home while I am gone. I work 8-hour days, so I would be gone a little less than 10 hours given commute time. I left him home alone on one of these days, keeping him in the bathroom [with the light on... I don't have a pen to put him in yet] once during these days. I did everything I would have done with a pen... he had his bed, his toys, piddle pads... and I have no idea how long he cried. All I know is that it seems like he didn't go potty all day [or he hid it or ate it], and went right when I brought him home. I am pretty impressed by this, since we are potty training and he still has no reservations going to the bathroom on my carpet otherwise. I am just unsure if this is healthy or not.

Either way, the whimpering and crying he is doing is going to make it hard for me to be able to bring him places, or leave him home. Ideally, I would like to give him great freedom... letting him roam around the house all the time or be off leash when at work... but considering that he potties on carpets and does not come when I call him, we are still far away from that!

03-01-2012, 03:43 PM	#1
speedyb Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: San Jose, CA, USA Posts: 11	whimpering/crying? I know puppies will be puppies, I just want to make sure my 6-month old Oliver does not get into the habit of whimpering for attention. Because I can work somewhat long hours, I take Oliver to work with me on long days. I am trying to work it so at some point, he will be able to stay home alone for 10 hours and be fine... any tips on that would be great, too! I have had Oliver for almost 2 weeks now. The first week he was a doll -- he would play and sleep. He was alright with that. I get him to nap on my lap during meetings and he would either play with his toys or put himself in his kennel as I sat in my desk chair. We would go out for potty extremely frequently [because people would have a fit if he went to the bathroom in the office] and go out to play a few times. Everyone was amazed at how calm he was! Recently he has gotten worse. He whimpers all the time. I know I am not supposed to give him attention when he whimpers, because it will teach him the whimpers will be rewarded with my attention. His whimpers turn into cries with turn into barks. It escalates if I ignore him -- which is really bad for a work setting. I don't know how to tell him it is not okay. It is aggravating my coworkers, and I am trying to get him out of this bad habit soon. I also want to be able to leave him home while I am gone. I work 8-hour days, so I would be gone a little less than 10 hours given commute time. I left him home alone on one of these days, keeping him in the bathroom [with the light on... I don't have a pen to put him in yet] once during these days. I did everything I would have done with a pen... he had his bed, his toys, piddle pads... and I have no idea how long he cried. All I know is that it seems like he didn't go potty all day [or he hid it or ate it], and went right when I brought him home. I am pretty impressed by this, since we are potty training and he still has no reservations going to the bathroom on my carpet otherwise. I am just unsure if this is healthy or not. Either way, the whimpering and crying he is doing is going to make it hard for me to be able to bring him places, or leave him home. Ideally, I would like to give him great freedom... letting him roam around the house all the time or be off leash when at work... but considering that he potties on carpets and does not come when I call him, we are still far away from that!