oh my dog Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Hi, We have just taken on a lovely 5 month old puppy from a family whose child was allergic to him. We've had him for nearly 3 weeks. He is a mongral but I hope that I can get some general advice from the collective wisdom at this site to help with this situation...? In the first week we had him I was able to take a lot of time off work to help him settle in a bit and he seemd ok. He is inside in the day and sleeps outside at night (which is what he did in his last home), and he settles into his bed and is quiet through the night. Our neighbour has let us know that after the last person in our household leaves in the morning, he whines, scratches at the back door and barks intermittently for about an hour.... I'm really concerned about him and also the neighbours. I closed him outside well before I left this morning so I could watch what he does and he was ok but perhaps he could still hear me. The neighbour said it seems to be when the car pulls away that he starts. He has lots of toys including two types of kongs which he loves. Do you think it would help him to settle if we put him outside, drove away, parked up the street and then came home again to help break tha association with the car going? I have seen the mention of Patricia's COnnell's book on separation anxiety and will order that. Perhaps someone has some insight into the car departure? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest june.andnovas Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 can't really help but with my pup i plan on teaching her to enjoy her own time and that it's ok to be on her own. maybe try to leave him alone for 5 minutes (leave the house, drive around the block) and then slowly be away from him for longer periods. i've seen this work before. just getting it into the pups head that he will be ok when you leave! best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin-Genie Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 can't really help but with my pup i plan on teaching her to enjoy her own time and that it's ok to be on her own. maybe try to leave him alone for 5 minutes (leave the house, drive around the block) and then slowly be away from him for longer periods. i've seen this work before. just getting it into the pups head that he will be ok when you leave! best of luck. That's exactly what Odin's trainer suggested when we brought him home as a puppy. We would leave him alone for about 10-20 minutes, come back, give him loads of pats and cuddles. Once he was used to this (within a few days), it was ok to leave him alone for a few hours. After about 10 days of this (we got him during the Christmas holidays) he was ok to be on his own when we went to work. We checked with the neighbours if he was barking, and they said 'no'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest june.andnovas Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 that was my concern with getting a pup and then having to go back to work. then i was told that you can train the puppy to like his own company! you can trains dogs to do anything pretty much. also if you have time off when you bring puppy home .. MAKE sure you practice your work routine WHILE you're still at home. then the pup won't be thrown off when it's time to go back to school/work. though it is difficult not to be spending your pups every moment awake awwing at how cute he is and smelling his sweet breath hehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VJB Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Desensitizing them to your departure is another suggestion with anxiety issues. Pick up your keys, lock the doors, but don't actually go anywhere every time. Close the windows, put your shoes on etc,,,, all the signs that you are possibly going to leave. Do this lots, at different times throughout the day. They are such creatures of habit, and can pick up on all these signals, but by doing all of the above, you take away the "wondering if she's going"...." I better get myself worked up into an anxious state" mentality. Some say this helps, good luck, I know what your going thru, sometimes unfortunately your pet just doesn't get it. It's early days for you though, so fingers crossed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 That's exactly what Odin's trainer suggested when we brought him home as a puppy. We would leave him alone for about 10-20 minutes, come back, give him loads of pats and cuddles. This is not the best approach. When you come back inside you need to ignore the dog completely until he is calm, loses interest etc - you then call the dog to you and then give attention. The other way - the pats/ cuddles - teaches the dog to associate your return with attention/ excitement and therefore - they spend the time you are away anxious for that moment where they get that attention. I would suggest posting your question in the training topic as many of the experienced hands in there do not necessarily come into this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oh my dog Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 Thank you all for your suggestions (and well wishes). There is some interesting stuff to work with there and I'll also act on the suggestion to post on the training thread. Thanks again :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Walk him before you go to work. Get another dog for him. Does he have lots of toys outside to keep him busy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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