separation anxiety?

[Burtons mamma]

Hi everyone! I just joined today and wanted to say hello. Also I was wondering how long everyone leaves their babies for. My puppy is 8 months old and I find that I am unable to leave him for more than 4 hours. I hate the thought of Burton home alone and to make things worse he cries when I leave. It breaks my heart! Anyone else?

[shawnzeppi]

Sure dogs don't like to be left alone (some more than others). Our Daisy has separation anxiety so that she gets very nervous when she knows you are going to leave her. She used to sometimes poop right before you left, even if you just walked her. It rarely happens now that we have 2 Yorkies, but she still does not like it when the humans have to go to work. I am sure her brother does not like it when we leave also, but he does not get as upset.

On the weekends, we try and not leave them more than 4 hours or so. But on workdays they are regularly alone for 10 hours. We keep them in a large bathroom with a pee pad in the room with the toilet and lots of toys and towels for them to sleep on in the main part, along with a water dish. We also keep them in there with a baby gate so they can look out, and we leave the talk radio on all day for them (they don’t care if its Rush or air America).

I would not call the behavior you are describing as unusual at all, and it is not necessarily separation anxiety either, just normal puppy behavior. Be sure and leave your Yorkie in a safe secure area with toys and water. We could not leave Daisy in a crate because before we got her a play mate, she would make a HUGE mess of poop smeared all over it. Good luck.

[joeyandtanksmom]

Oh, do I know about separation anxiety...Joey has severe separation anxiety, and Tank has it, but not nearly as badly. I think he mostly just cries because Joey does, and Tank has to copy big brother (they're not blood related, but they might as well be) Anyways..Just try to make everything as small a deal as possible. For me, the dogs know that if I'm in jeans and a tshirt, they're ok, but if I put on the scrubs, they're going in the bathroom for the day. They know when I put on my badge it's time to go in. Joey will cower down wherever he is and give me the saddest puppy dog eyes. Tank runs into the bathroom, cause he knows that's where he's going anyways. If I ever scold Tank, he runs to either the bathroom or his kennel, because he knows he's in big trouble. Try to just say "bye puppy" or something, but say it calmly. You could also try leaving for 10 seconds, then double it each time you do it. Don't make a fuss of coming or going, just walk out of the room and close a door to separate you from your baby. I've heard that this can help them realize you aren't leaving them forever, and it will calm them down. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked well with Joey. I think I will give it another try though. I've also heard that classical music can help. I wish you the best of luck!

[Burtons mamma]

I think its more of my separation anxiety than his. As soon as I put my shoes on he sits on my feet and cries. He has a kitchen, bathroom, and living room, so plenty of room to play and I leave the t.v. on. It still hurts my heart to have to leave his sweet face, but its always great to come home and see him get so excited!

[Teddys Mom]

Originally Posted by Burtons mamma

I think its more of my separation anxiety than his. As soon as I put my shoes on he sits on my feet and cries. He has a kitchen, bathroom, and living room, so plenty of room to play and I leave the t.v. on. It still hurts my heart to have to leave his sweet face, but its always great to come home and see him get so excited!

Haha that's how I feel! I think it hurts me more than it does him!! Teddy doesn't have anxiety really but he is very sneaky when I leave he runs out the door before I am. It kills me to make him go back inside the house! I work for about 4 hrs in the morning, get a 2 hr lunch break, then go back for 3 more hours so I am fortunate that I can go back home and take Teddy out and such!

[Lovetodream88]

I'm lucky in a way because I live with my grandparents who neither one works and due to my health problems anxiety and such I dont have a job so my baby is with someone all the time and has never been left alone. If me and my grandma want to go shopping (which we dont do often I like online shopping better) we ask my grandpa if he minds watching Callie and what he had planned and he normaly says yes he will watch her and me and my grandma go out but she still crys when she sees us getting ready to leave some times we take her and she sits in her car seat and we ride around and maybe go to some parks and petstores. Recently I took my first trip where we where separated for 6 days it was really hard and I cried but she was with my grandparents who spoil her and love her to death so I know she was in good hands and that helped a bit. Sometimes the never leaving her thing can cause a few minor probs but its worth it to me.