Cannot leave the house and leave puppy behind!!!

[ang7880]

We got little Lewis last Saturday, on the 4th. According to the breeder....he's been in a crate majority of his life.

The first couple of nights I put him in his crate at bedtime....and each time he would cry for 30 mins... sometimes and hour....sometimes even longer. I thought it was best to let him cry and eventually he would go to sleep. Well, after an hour and a half at the very most...I just couldn't take it anymore! I would get him out and put him in bed with us. Then he slept fine...the entire night. So, for the next few nights (after trying the crate for three nights)...I just kept him in bed with us. Keep in mind that all this time his crate was not close to me, but wasn't far away either...it was within my sight.

Still, I wanted to get him used to the crate, because every time we would leave to go somewhere we would return to poop everywhere...and him covered in it. I'm a stay at home mom...so I hardly leave the house...but we are in a bad habit of eating our several times a week...leaving only at most for an hour every other night. I would gate him off...in the kitchen, which the door to his crate open. Only to come home to the same...poop everywhere and it all over him! One night he had climbed the gate...... this is a 13 week old puppy...climbing a tall baby gate!

My brother had told me to put the crate out of sight completely...so I put it in the laundry room one night...and he cried the entire night. It broke my heart. But I thought I was doing the right thing. After that I said I would never do it again.

I thought.... well maybe he needs to be closer to me.
So I scooted a chest I have close to my side of the bed...and put his crate on top. It fit perfect. He's right at my eye level... he can see me, hear me, smell me...... I put him in his crate and laid down for bed. I talked to him and put my finger in the cage...trying to get him to stay calm. He ruffled his bedding and got comfortable and went to sleep. Tonight will be our 4th night sleeping like this! No barking.... lots of sleep and no accidents.

But earlier tonight we went out for dinner...leaving him behind a gate in the kitchen with his food, his bed...puppy pads and plenty of room. He'd just gone out to potty before leaving. Yet, after only an hour.....if that..... we came home to more poop and had to give him another bath!

Speaking of bath.............
He got Frontline today...around noon. Would giving him a bath this evening have any effect on the Frontline? Do I need to reapply? This is our first time using it.

Ah! I'm just frustrated. I need to either start turning to friends to babysit on nights we eat out....or cook more often, lol....
Anyone have any tips on how to get him used to being alone? I think he just gets anxious or nervous and has accidents.

ang

[Akhong]

Congratulations on your new fur baby!

When I was trying to decrease the separation anxiety with my pup, I started off in small time increments. In the beginning I would leave my pup alone for 10 minutes, and then slowly increased the length of time.. As far as the poop goes, I have no suggestions...but..it could be worse: your pup could be a poop eater (like mine was..is :P)!

Congratulations again!

[njoydaride]

Kingston had a seperation anxiety problem too. What we did was not give him any attention whenever he asked for it. We put him in the X-Pen with his toys for little increments during the day. At first he was mad at us and ignored us completely. We only gave him praise when he was being quiet in the xpen playing with his toys and we only played with him when we wanted to play. We always stopped and started playtime on our terms. He used to be really needy. Whenever we left him to use the bathroom, he would whine. Whenever he couldn't see us for a minute, he would whine.

We would also leave him for awhile, increasing the intervals everytime. When we came back, we ignored him again even though he was doing circles around us and trying to climb up on us. When he calmed down, we would give him all the love and praise and treats. It's the funniest thing. Now whenever he wants attention, he will sit and stay, but his tail will be wagging like crazy because I think he knows that as long as he looks calm, he will get praise.

Also for the first couple of nights, he slept in bed with us. We would move him into his crate after he was good and tired. We wouldn't close the door at first. Also, his schedule was like clockwork. He slept at around 11p at night and woke up 6:30a on the dot every morning. Now he's used to the crate and goes in on his own and doesn't mind us closing it.

Just be patient and don't expect any overnight changes.

[altigger74]

I really don't know about the separation anxiety but you also asked about the frontline. You have to wait two days after bath before you put it on and two days after you put it on to give a bath. I would ask the vet about reaplying it but as far as I know (if I remember correctly from my vet) they said not to reapply it for at least three weeks.

[ryorkies]

Originally Posted by njoydaride

Kingston had a seperation anxiety problem too. What we did was not give him any attention whenever he asked for it. We put him in the X-Pen with his toys for little increments during the day. At first he was mad at us and ignored us completely. We only gave him praise when he was being quiet in the xpen playing with his toys and we only played with him when we wanted to play. We always stopped and started playtime on our terms. He used to be really needy. Whenever we left him to use the bathroom, he would whine. Whenever he couldn't see us for a minute, he would whine.

We would also leave him for awhile, increasing the intervals everytime. When we came back, we ignored him again even though he was doing circles around us and trying to climb up on us. When he calmed down, we would give him all the love and praise and treats. It's the funniest thing. Now whenever he wants attention, he will sit and stay, but his tail will be wagging like crazy because I think he knows that as long as he looks calm, he will get praise.

Also for the first couple of nights, he slept in bed with us. We would move him into his crate after he was good and tired. We wouldn't close the door at first. Also, his schedule was like clockwork. He slept at around 11p at night and woke up 6:30a on the dot every morning. Now he's used to the crate and goes in on his own and doesn't mind us closing it.

Just be patient and don't expect any overnight changes.

I totally agree.
When we first got our Penny ( she was our first Yorkie ) she cried quite a bit and we found that the best thing for us was to keep her close by at night and to remember that we had just taken her from everything that represented comfort and security to her.
It was just like having a newborn baby in the house and during the day when she was sleeping I would tiptoe so as not to wake her.
We now have six and it became easier with each puppy we added to our family.
Good luck and just be reassured that this stage will not last forever.
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[Patti]

I got Pixie at 13 months and she was in the Breeders basement in a large run with 2 other dogs so I thought she would be fine in the playpen right next to my bed and she could see me and my other 2 dogs. Wrong, she screamed whenever she was put in the playpen. So after a few nights of this I gave in and let her sleep with me and Cali and she was fine all night. Like you I am home most of the time, but have to go out some. I would put her in the playpen and she would just scream. A couple of times, my husband or dtr were home in another room and they said she sceamed the whole time. After a few weeks she chewed her way thru the playpen so I bought a large plastic crate and she was no better. I finally just gated her in the back end of the house with the other 2 and she was fine. Now Cali who I got at 9 weeks old was fine from day one in the playpen and would run into it when I said Momm'a got to go to Nana's. So hopefully, your baby will adjust soon.

[ang7880]

I followed everyone's advice and left Lewis alone in his crate for brief periods, slowly increasing the increments..... last night we were able to leave for dinner...gone for a little over an hour and returned to a clean puppy and crate! =) I felt like we'd hit a milestone! Woohooo! I called my mom to celebrate, lol!

[robbin]

Whenever we leave Mugzy (to go to church Sunday mornings is the worst) I try to leave the TV on, pretty loudly too. I hope that it keeps him from being lonely and also helps to keep him from focusing too much on all the other empty house noises.

[katskratch]

the worst thing you can do is ignore the whining and then let him out an hour later when your patience ends. all that does is teach him that if he whines for an hour, you'll let him out.