New Puppy

[catandgrant]

Hello All,

We have just brought our new 8 week old Cocker Spaniel home and are having a few problems. Well, i am sure they arent problems, no doubt they are natural. But we are both new dog owners are are quite nervous about what to do.

At night he sleeps in the laundry. It is open to the rst of the house but we have a small abrrier blocking him access to the house. The last 2 nights he has woken us up 3 times with loud crying which left unattended turns into a barking yelping type sound. We have tried our best to ignore him so that he doesnt associate this behaviour with getting attention but it just gets too much after a while. We end up going and sitting with him until he goes to sleep.

We also find when we take him outside in the morning he still cries. Even if we are there. This morning he was also shaking quite a bit.

Is this normal? Is it just seperation anxiety from his family?

We are both scared as we go back to work tomorrow and are worried about how he will get along without us. He will robably bark the house down at this stage!

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

Catherine

[Clyde]

Hi Catherine if you do a search within this forum you will find many posts like yours?

It's completely normal. Your pup is scared and lonely. He has never been away from his Mum and his brothers and sisters before, new house, new smells and he no doubt just wants to be reassured and snuggle up to something warm and breathing.

You will find we all have different opinions here, but my own opinion is to pop your puppy in to bed with you and then as he gets older wean him off to the laundry. At 8weeks he is still very much a baby. You could also buy a crate (A Godsend!) and keep him in his crate next to your bed. They find it reassuring to know you're so close and barely make a whimper as they are not alone.

I'm not a fan of letting them cry for nights alone until they stop :p It's a bit soul destroying IMO.

Do you have someone coming to spend time with him during the day while you're at work? He should still be on 3-4 feeds I would have thought. A pup left alone for long periods more often than not develops boredom issues. At his age he needs a fair bit of hands on time and company to grow in to a well adjusted adult. It's a big ask to leave an 8week at home alone all day.

Welcome to DOL and puppy pics are mandatory, I love Cockers! :D

[catandgrant]

thanks for that advice. Unfortunately due to work we are unable to be here most days. I know thats not ideal but we have no way around that.

In regards to food we have found that he is not eating a lot. How much should an 8 week old pup eat really? He seems to pick at it and then go away and sometimes come back for more. Should we be taking the food away after a certain amount of time of leave it there for him to pick at.

What about perhaps leaving dry food for him during the day. Is this ok?

We are thinking of trying crate training also after reading through all the advice. Perhaps this will help with him being left alone during the day.

However the crate would still be in the laundry. The laundry is right next to our room and as it is we can hear everything he does at night.

[BobbyTheBeagle]

thanks for that advice. Unfortunately due to work we are unable to be here most days. I know thats not ideal but we have no way around that.

In regards to food we have found that he is not eating a lot. How much should an 8 week old pup eat really? He seems to pick at it and then go away and sometimes come back for more. Should we be taking the food away after a certain amount of time of leave it there for him to pick at.

What about perhaps leaving dry food for him during the day. Is this ok?

We are thinking of trying crate training also after reading through all the advice. Perhaps this will help with him being left alone during the day.

However the crate would still be in the laundry. The laundry is right next to our room and as it is we can hear everything he does at night.

I don't think it'd be good to leave food for your puppy all throughout the day, then he'll think food is always around, and it may be hard to use food as a driving force for training.

[Kavik]

I would leave food down for 15 mins maximum, pick it up after that. Then feed him the next time he is due for a feed.

[fudge]

I don't know if it helps but we'll be in the same position in a couple of weeks. What we're planning on doing is . . .

To feed her as we leave, as soon as we get home and a late supper.

We'll be crate training, plus we've bought pup a pen to go in during the day that we'll put her crate into.

I've also spent a not-so-small fortune on toys and treats for her to play with and I think I'll keep them in two lots and rotate them around a bit so she doesn't get too bored with them.

I'm going to put paper down in her pen (over a tarp) which will be inside.

I'm planning on leaving the tv on for noise/company and the fan on in case it's warm.

She'll have toys including frozen kongs with peanut butter, a treat ball filled with kibble and maybe a chicken wing or neck. Oh and of course, water!

Followed by a big play session when I get home!

[catandgrant]

Fudge, I'm so glad there is someone like us around!! Will your dog be outdoors as well?

We have had some problems with him crying and barking when we leave him so we are quite concerned. Hopefully the neighbours dont hate us too much!!

Will give them some warning before tomorrow i think!!

I dont think i will sleep tonight i am so worried. As it is i have already taken a sick day to collect him and spend time with him!

Fingers crossed. Good luck with yours!

[Dogsfevr]

I highly suggest telling the neighbours & i would also give them a contact number if you are able.If your on goo dterms with your neighbours they can be a good life line to keep you informed.

What state are you in?Hopefully not one affected by the heat at present.

As for food dont leave down .It can be normal for pups to be picky as they have lost there competition to eat so you now replace that comp.If not eaten within 15 mins take away.As long as your following the breeders diet all should be fine.If you have worries about feeding contact your breeder who may be able to suggest a tempter that they fine breed suitable

[wish_4_cockerspaniel]

We are in a similar situation - it's his second day home, he just wants to be with us all the time, but we're off to work tomorrow (needs must!) and want him to get used to entertaining himself... I know it just takes time but so hard to listen to him crying !

Fingers crossed it's first few days settling in, I encourage you to be brave just as I'm trying to tell myself!!! It will all be worth it tho as cockers are the coolest and will give us so much joy when we're in a routine that works for both us and them! I'm off downstairs to charm the neighbours with a pre-emptive bottle of wine!

[pmiller]

Hello All,

We have just brought our new 8 week old Cocker Spaniel home and are having a few problems. Well, i am sure they arent problems, no doubt they are natural. But we are both new dog owners are are quite nervous about what to do.

At night he sleeps in the laundry. It is open to the rst of the house but we have a small abrrier blocking him access to the house. The last 2 nights he has woken us up 3 times with loud crying which left unattended turns into a barking yelping type sound. We have tried our best to ignore him so that he doesnt associate this behaviour with getting attention but it just gets too much after a while. We end up going and sitting with him until he goes to sleep.

We also find when we take him outside in the morning he still cries. Even if we are there. This morning he was also shaking quite a bit.

Is this normal? Is it just seperation anxiety from his family?

We are both scared as we go back to work tomorrow and are worried about how he will get along without us. He will robably bark the house down at this stage!

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

Catherine

We have been so lucky with our Cav, I braced myself for what you are going through. He has had two bad nights in 2 and a half weeks, the rest of the time he has slept from 11-6. For the first week we had a ticking clock and the BBC playing. He sleeps in his crate and to get him used to it, we put him in there several times during the day for 1 hour stretches. Crate training has been brilliant, can't speak more highly of it.

On the nights where he was crying, we ignored him...pretty rough but we got through it.

In terms of feeding, we put the food down for 15 mins and then remove it. It is a morning, afternoon and supper feeding schedule. He is very hit and miss with his food, most days he eats well under the 115g recommended by Royal Canin for puppies. We are just persisting with this and resisting the temptation to add things to it. Although we worry that he is not getting his nutritional requirements, I spose we are also worried about creating a fussy eater. We'll see what the vet says when he gets his 12 week shot this weekend.

This forum is great to learn that soooo many people have the same concerns and worries about their pup...

Good luck with the cocker.

[Cockerlover]

All these NEW cocker puppy owners.

Did your breeders not give you any advise?

Firstly cockers are extremly intelligent & like to rule the roost .

they must be taught from day! ,who is the boss DONT get sucked in!!!!

Regarding feeding ,a pup of that age should be having 3 meals a day & DO NOT leavethe food down ,if not eaten in 15mins or so ,but insure there is always fresh water available.

Confining your puppy to a small area ,whilst left alone (I might add Cockers HATE being alone)will make him feel more secure .

DO NOT keep going to your pup ,when it cries ,a lesson very soon learned by our breed =cry & I get attention ,YOU are the boss!! not cute little cocky baby

come jion other cocker owners in breed sub forum ,cocker pics ,

Welcome to the wonderfull world of cockers

[VJB]

How long will you be gone throughout the day? I'm not familiar with crate training, but heard it's good. I wouldn't imagine you could leave them in there all day though, without toilet breaks etc.

With crate training, I would do lots of reading and research so that you can set up a good routine for yourself and pup.

[Paganman]

How long will you be gone throughout the day? I'm not familiar with crate training, but heard it's good. I wouldn't imagine you could leave them in there all day though, without toilet breaks etc.

Yeah thats what I was thinking vjb you couldnt leave the puppy in a crate all day

[VJB]

How long will you be gone throughout the day? I'm not familiar with crate training, but heard it's good. I wouldn't imagine you could leave them in there all day though, without toilet breaks etc.

Yeah thats what I was thinking vjb you couldnt leave the puppy in a crate all day

And the crying at night may also be due to the need to go to the toilet. It takes a while for their bladder to mature enough to hold on. Toilet training is best established from day one, so it would be best

if someone could help out if pup is going to be alone for long periods..... or it can take a lot longer to toilet train. There are heaps of people who work full time, but young pup's are quite dependent and

require lots of human interaction to help ease them into there new environment. I'm really glad you've taken a positive step and joined this forum. You'll learn more than you ever expected and hopefully

we can all help out somehow. So many people that get a pup are in a state of shock initially, cause they didn't expect it to be as full-on as it is. One thing I always remember reading somewhere is that

"You have your whole life as well as your pup, but you are your pup's whole life".

[BigBen]

I wouldn't worry too much about the neighbours at this stage... Worry about the puppy, who has NO idea what's happening... He was secure with his mum and litter mates, and then gets taken away, put in a cold laundry, with no contacts of anything, like warmth from other bodies, heart beats, snoring, sighing, fluffing etc. etc.

You have had the 8 week old puppy for 2 days. He's crying in the laundry, and you go and sit with him... you have just reinforced the crying ..

You're both going back to work tomorrow, and plan to leave the puppy in the laundry for the day, and the working days here after? Later you're going to leave him outside... Will he have a secure place, like a run, kennel etc? How old will he be, when you want to leave him outside?

[bozthepup]

Hi Catherine

Congrats on your new pup !! We were in a similar position with our lab boy - we'd both had dogs as kids/teenagers but didn't really know what to expect (Mum did all the work back then, plus there wasn't so much information around about puppy behaviour )

Boz is 14 weeks today and is sure to present plenty more challenges as he heads towards adolescence but I've bullet pointed some of our stuff below. One thing I have learned from this great site and other literature is that there seems to be alot of good guidelines around, but not everything suits every pup.

- we put him in the laundry, door closed. We got him at 6 wks (too early, we know that now ) He cried alot, we ignored him totally (I really would recommend this on any behaviour you want to eliminate) .... he would woke up very early, and toileted on the floor of the laundry during the night.

- we took him to the front door of the neighbours' houses, introduced him (and ourselves to the neighbours on one side) and explained we had a pup and apologised in advance for any extra noise. I'm sure your little one is cute enough to help smooth things over with your neighbours and most people are pretty reasonable when they know the extra noise isn't going to last forever (hopefully!).

- at about 9 weeks, we moved him to the crate (and had been crate training during the day), and put it outside our bedroom with the door open so he could see us. He barely cried, and we got/get up twice in the night to let him toilet. We tend to take him out at around 1am then again at 5am. This stops him from waking us at 5.30am ! He knows exactly what to do now.

- we will start graduating him back to the laundry now that he can hold his toilet a bit better, and will let him out once during the night.

- I still use the crate when I want to know where he is (eg instead of running round the house) -and also when he goes to stay elsewhere, plus of course in the car. He doesn't LOVE the crate but he goes in it. I also use it to calm him a bit if he goes loopy in the house.

- he's a lab, so no eating issues

- we've had ALOT of issues with him play biting us, but hard. It got really frustrating and quite upsetting at times; he's a retriever so they tend to be 'mouthy' dogs. However - touch wood - we seem to be in a much better place now. He just finished 4 weeks at pup school, and also 10 days with a friend who has a 15 wk old labbie and they played together all day. I think he learned HEAPS about bite inhibition and also has just gotten a little more mature.

I hope this helps a little bit because there are bound to be other issues that come up; but they are overridden by the joy of owning a pup. Anyway, you can see plenty of great info from the other posts with people more experienced than me.

This was / is just our personal experience.

[poodle proud]

Hello All,

We have just brought our new 8 week old Cocker Spaniel home and are having a few problems. Well, i am sure they arent problems, no doubt they are natural. But we are both new dog owners are are quite nervous about what to do.

At night he sleeps in the laundry. It is open to the rst of the house but we have a small abrrier blocking him access to the house. The last 2 nights he has woken us up 3 times with loud crying which left unattended turns into a barking yelping type sound. We have tried our best to ignore him so that he doesnt associate this behaviour with getting attention but it just gets too much after a while. We end up going and sitting with him until he goes to sleep.

We also find when we take him outside in the morning he still cries. Even if we are there. This morning he was also shaking quite a bit.

Is this normal? Is it just seperation anxiety from his family?

We are both scared as we go back to work tomorrow and are worried about how he will get along without us. He will robably bark the house down at this stage!

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

Catherine

Hi Catherine.

We have a ten week old poodle. I had read it is a good idea to get a companion toy that they can cuddle up to when alone.

I know pet shops and and other major retailers sell them but they are over $20. A waste of money IMO. I just bought our girl a soft toy dog for $5 that looked a bit like her (she is black and the the toy is mostly black). Its really soft and floppy. She cuddled up to it the first night and has done so ever since. she might cry for 10 seconds each night when we leave but thats it.

We often find her lying on it or next to it wherever she is in her pen.

I dont know if this will help you but for us it was one of the best decisions we made.

I also have read somewhere along the lines that a ticking clock can simulate a heartbeat and comfort them. And during the day leaving the radio on might help.

Good luck!!

[fudge]

Will your dog be outdoors as well?

No. To start off with her pen will be indoors. When she gets a bit older and knows how to use the doggy door, we can lock the back door open enough for her to use it so she can choose where she wants to be.

Also, she won't be crated during the day - we'll pop her crate inside her pen so she can go in it but she's able to walk around and play whilst still being contained and not be able to toilet all over the house!

Good luck!

[catandgrant]

Hi Catherine

Congrats on your new pup !! We were in a similar position with our lab boy - we'd both had dogs as kids/teenagers but didn't really know what to expect (Mum did all the work back then, plus there wasn't so much information around about puppy behaviour )

Boz is 14 weeks today and is sure to present plenty more challenges as he heads towards adolescence but I've bullet pointed some of our stuff below. One thing I have learned from this great site and other literature is that there seems to be alot of good guidelines around, but not everything suits every pup.

- we put him in the laundry, door closed. We got him at 6 wks (too early, we know that now ) He cried alot, we ignored him totally (I really would recommend this on any behaviour you want to eliminate) .... he would woke up very early, and toileted on the floor of the laundry during the night.

- we took him to the front door of the neighbours' houses, introduced him (and ourselves to the neighbours on one side) and explained we had a pup and apologised in advance for any extra noise. I'm sure your little one is cute enough to help smooth things over with your neighbours and most people are pretty reasonable when they know the extra noise isn't going to last forever (hopefully!).

- at about 9 weeks, we moved him to the crate (and had been crate training during the day), and put it outside our bedroom with the door open so he could see us. He barely cried, and we got/get up twice in the night to let him toilet. We tend to take him out at around 1am then again at 5am. This stops him from waking us at 5.30am ! He knows exactly what to do now.

- we will start graduating him back to the laundry now that he can hold his toilet a bit better, and will let him out once during the night.

- I still use the crate when I want to know where he is (eg instead of running round the house) -and also when he goes to stay elsewhere, plus of course in the car. He doesn't LOVE the crate but he goes in it. I also use it to calm him a bit if he goes loopy in the house.

- he's a lab, so no eating issues

- we've had ALOT of issues with him play biting us, but hard. It got really frustrating and quite upsetting at times; he's a retriever so they tend to be 'mouthy' dogs. However - touch wood - we seem to be in a much better place now. He just finished 4 weeks at pup school, and also 10 days with a friend who has a 15 wk old labbie and they played together all day. I think he learned HEAPS about bite inhibition and also has just gotten a little more mature.

I hope this helps a little bit because there are bound to be other issues that come up; but they are overridden by the joy of owning a pup. Anyway, you can see plenty of great info from the other posts with people more experienced than me.

This was / is just our personal experience.

Thanks for the great advice!!!

When you had him in the laundry did you take him out to the toilet when he cried or did you set an alarm to get him up. WE cant decide what to do! At the moment when he cries we go to him and take him straight outside to wee and wait till he has done his business then bring him straight back in and to bed. Its only when we put him down again that he doesnt wnat to sleep and cries for quite a while afterwards. Last night one session went for 30 mins. Pretty much tearing our hair out by that stage!!!

Hopefully soon we will stop feeling like zombies and maybe get a bit more sleep. Fingers crossed.

All good traing for when we have children i guess!!

[lucylotto]

Hi Catherine

Congrats on your new pup !! We were in a similar position with our lab boy - we'd both had dogs as kids/teenagers but didn't really know what to expect (Mum did all the work back then, plus there wasn't so much information around about puppy behaviour )

Boz is 14 weeks today and is sure to present plenty more challenges as he heads towards adolescence but I've bullet pointed some of our stuff below. One thing I have learned from this great site and other literature is that there seems to be alot of good guidelines around, but not everything suits every pup.

- we put him in the laundry, door closed. We got him at 6 wks (too early, we know that now ) He cried alot, we ignored him totally (I really would recommend this on any behaviour you want to eliminate) .... he would woke up very early, and toileted on the floor of the laundry during the night.

- we took him to the front door of the neighbours' houses, introduced him (and ourselves to the neighbours on one side) and explained we had a pup and apologised in advance for any extra noise. I'm sure your little one is cute enough to help smooth things over with your neighbours and most people are pretty reasonable when they know the extra noise isn't going to last forever (hopefully!).

- at about 9 weeks, we moved him to the crate (and had been crate training during the day), and put it outside our bedroom with the door open so he could see us. He barely cried, and we got/get up twice in the night to let him toilet. We tend to take him out at around 1am then again at 5am. This stops him from waking us at 5.30am ! He knows exactly what to do now.

- we will start graduating him back to the laundry now that he can hold his toilet a bit better, and will let him out once during the night.

- I still use the crate when I want to know where he is (eg instead of running round the house) -and also when he goes to stay elsewhere, plus of course in the car. He doesn't LOVE the crate but he goes in it. I also use it to calm him a bit if he goes loopy in the house.

- he's a lab, so no eating issues

- we've had ALOT of issues with him play biting us, but hard. It got really frustrating and quite upsetting at times; he's a retriever so they tend to be 'mouthy' dogs. However - touch wood - we seem to be in a much better place now. He just finished 4 weeks at pup school, and also 10 days with a friend who has a 15 wk old labbie and they played together all day. I think he learned HEAPS about bite inhibition and also has just gotten a little more mature.

I hope this helps a little bit because there are bound to be other issues that come up; but they are overridden by the joy of owning a pup. Anyway, you can see plenty of great info from the other posts with people more experienced than me.

This was / is just our personal experience.

Thanks for the great advice!!!

When you had him in the laundry did you take him out to the toilet when he cried or did you set an alarm to get him up. WE cant decide what to do! At the moment when he cries we go to him and take him straight outside to wee and wait till he has done his business then bring him straight back in and to bed. Its only when we put him down again that he doesnt wnat to sleep and cries for quite a while afterwards. Last night one session went for 30 mins. Pretty much tearing our hair out by that stage!!!

Hopefully soon we will stop feeling like zombies and maybe get a bit more sleep. Fingers crossed.

All good traing for when we have children i guess!!

Hi, we have just been thru all this too with two pups. I kept pup in bed/crate beside me and found I did hear when pup stated moving in the nite like he was awake and used that as a cue to take him out to loo. I made sure I didn't speak or interact except to take him out and put on grass, he wee d and I brought back to his bed all without a word except to say 'wee' and 'good boy' when he did it. I then became worried I wouldn't hear him so set alarm in case I didn't wake with him....I set it later and later as the days went on to train his growing bladder to bigger capacity as he grew and now he can go thru the night. Second pup we got from rescue later and had to retrain her so I went back to basics with the crate beside me and now she too is OK overnite. Good luck with it all