jamo Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Hi all, My first post. I was just hoping to get a bit of input on my puppy housebreaking / training schedule as this is all very new to me. Ive been reading the before/after you get a puppy books for guidance. Also looking at some web pages which have seriously confused the hell out of me (particularly with respect to how long dogs should be left alone). The pup is an 11 week old Whippet which we have had for about 2 weeks now. Small backyard, high fences and covered area. Dog is currently kept inside except when supervised. On weekdays her schedule is as follows: -Sleeps in a crate from 11pm till 6am. -6am to 8am food and exercise. -8am till 6pm long term confinement in a pen with food, chew toys, toilet etc. At this stage someone is dropping in for an hour every day to break up this period however in the long run we would like to phase this out. -6pm to 11pm food, exercise, crate, exercise etc. On weekends we keep things similar but obviously spend a bit more time playing/training etc. I'm quite concerned about the period of time we are leaving her during the day as she gets separation anxiety - yelping / barking / chewing bars. There's no issue keeping up the midday visit for the next month or so but I cant keep doing it indefinitely. At some stage she will need to be left alone for 10 hours. Any input / guidance would be appreciated! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I'm not sure the behaviour is separation anxiety as such, much more likely to be attention seeking (understandably) and boredom (understandably). IMO separation anxiety gets blamed a lot... Is it possible to change the position of the playpen every day, so she is seeing different things during her alone time? Also change the time of day the person comes in. Is it possible for the person to come in twice a day say two times a week and once a day three times a week? Just change things around to stop her getting bored. Change the toys she is left with every day + the person coming to see her gives her new toys. Why crate time during the 6pm-11pm time? Personally I would not be 'encouraging' her to have crate time, this should be her 'with people' time. If she wants to snooze in her crate that's fine, but definitely not 'encouraged' to. During weekends our dogs are out all the time if we are home, I don't believe it is necessary to make them stick to the week day schedule at weekends. Always done this with pups too. JMHO For when she's older have you considered doggy daycare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Di* Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Hi all, My first post. I was just hoping to get a bit of input on my puppy housebreaking / training schedule as this is all very new to me. Ive been reading the before/after you get a puppy books for guidance. Also looking at some web pages which have seriously confused the hell out of me (particularly with respect to how long dogs should be left alone). The pup is an 11 week old Whippet which we have had for about 2 weeks now. Small backyard, high fences and covered area. Dog is currently kept inside except when supervised. On weekdays her schedule is as follows: -Sleeps in a crate from 11pm till 6am. -6am to 8am food and exercise. -8am till 6pm long term confinement in a pen with food, chew toys, toilet etc. At this stage someone is dropping in for an hour every day to break up this period however in the long run we would like to phase this out. -6pm to 11pm food, exercise, crate, exercise etc. On weekends we keep things similar but obviously spend a bit more time playing/training etc. I'm quite concerned about the period of time we are leaving her during the day as she gets separation anxiety - yelping / barking / chewing bars. There's no issue keeping up the midday visit for the next month or so but I cant keep doing it indefinitely. At some stage she will need to be left alone for 10 hours. Any input / guidance would be appreciated! Cheers How big's the pen? And why is she kept penned up? Seems like a lot of hours either penned up or crated. Di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendall Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Is there any way you can block off doorways so she isn't crated for so long? She is effectively confined for 17 hours!! We have an open plan living area and put a baby gate in each hallway opening so Amber had a big area with lino flooring - we put newspaper on the floor near the door and she would use this (or wait til we got home and go outside). I did have a puppy pen that she was kept in at night until she got older. She was/is occassionally crated. I would definitely make your pup's area bigger and more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamo Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 Hi all, My first post. I was just hoping to get a bit of input on my puppy housebreaking / training schedule as this is all very new to me. Ive been reading the before/after you get a puppy books for guidance. Also looking at some web pages which have seriously confused the hell out of me (particularly with respect to how long dogs should be left alone). The pup is an 11 week old Whippet which we have had for about 2 weeks now. Small backyard, high fences and covered area. Dog is currently kept inside except when supervised. On weekdays her schedule is as follows: -Sleeps in a crate from 11pm till 6am. -6am to 8am food and exercise. -8am till 6pm long term confinement in a pen with food, chew toys, toilet etc. At this stage someone is dropping in for an hour every day to break up this period however in the long run we would like to phase this out. -6pm to 11pm food, exercise, crate, exercise etc. On weekends we keep things similar but obviously spend a bit more time playing/training etc. I'm quite concerned about the period of time we are leaving her during the day as she gets separation anxiety - yelping / barking / chewing bars. There's no issue keeping up the midday visit for the next month or so but I cant keep doing it indefinitely. At some stage she will need to be left alone for 10 hours. Any input / guidance would be appreciated! Cheers How big's the pen? And why is she kept penned up? Seems like a lot of hours either penned up or crated. Di The pen is about 6m square. The longest she is in it at the moment is 5 hours. She currently gets exercised for at least half an hour during the day. In the morning and night she is basically exercised until she decides to settle down herself. The reason for confining her is primarily for toilet training, minimize damage and for her own safety. I was of the understanding that puppies sleep 16 to 20 hours a day. We certainly keep her on her toes when she isn't confined. Most of what I have read suggests that if you intend to leave a dog alone for a working day when it is an adult, you should start this routine as soon as possible. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 There is routine & there is too structured Our puppies are allowed to do way more & have no issues with toilet training.Training is all about allowing & watching.Pups must be allowed to investigate,explore that is how they learn. Weekends shouldnt be spent in the pen,there is no need to unless its a convince for you but the weekend should be the time pup gets to be with the family & your time to teach her to go outside toilets & not rely on the pen.Weekends is about teaching her right from wrong. Over use can lead to a false sense of achievement & lead to disappointment when the results expected arent there. The pen may minimise damage but if she is there 7 days a week she isnt learning right from wrong. Pups will chew things that is part of life,some never stop & do it all through adult life BUT providing your place is puppy proof the damage risk should be very low & the pup wil hurt themselves some worse than others but being out & about teaches them what areas are risky. I also agree that to many dogs are presumed to have sep anxiety when often its just normal behaiour that they grow out off but sometimes its more a case of the routine is so boring they grave for other attention. Like someone said,move the pen around,change the toys.Make it more mentally stimulating >remember it is avery boring sitting there so you need to create an environment that isnt the same everyday. The other thing is your pup will soon learn to either climb out or jump if it gets really bored so depending on how high the pen is be prepared to come home to puppy lose one day Your weekends should be allowing pup to stay outside for long periods or just be able to come in/out as it pleases & training to use the doggy door if you have one or training it to tell you when it needs to go out not confined Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamo Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 There is routine & there is too structuredOur puppies are allowed to do way more & have no issues with toilet training.Training is all about allowing & watching.Pups must be allowed to investigate,explore that is how they learn. Weekends shouldnt be spent in the pen,there is no need to unless its a convince for you but the weekend should be the time pup gets to be with the family & your time to teach her to go outside toilets & not rely on the pen.Weekends is about teaching her right from wrong. Over use can lead to a false sense of achievement & lead to disappointment when the results expected arent there. The pen may minimise damage but if she is there 7 days a week she isnt learning right from wrong. Pups will chew things that is part of life,some never stop & do it all through adult life BUT providing your place is puppy proof the damage risk should be very low & the pup wil hurt themselves some worse than others but being out & about teaches them what areas are risky. I also agree that to many dogs are presumed to have sep anxiety when often its just normal behaiour that they grow out off but sometimes its more a case of the routine is so boring they grave for other attention. Like someone said,move the pen around,change the toys.Make it more mentally stimulating >remember it is avery boring sitting there so you need to create an environment that isnt the same everyday. The other thing is your pup will soon learn to either climb out or jump if it gets really bored so depending on how high the pen is be prepared to come home to puppy lose one day Your weekends should be allowing pup to stay outside for long periods or just be able to come in/out as it pleases & training to use the doggy door if you have one or training it to tell you when it needs to go out not confined Thanks for the input. I guess its one thing to read all this stuff and another to apply it. Unfortunately your comments are really telling what I already know but don't want to hear - that I'm really leaving her alone too long and that its probably not a great situation moving forward. Realistically she is going to get left for 10 or 11 hours a day some time in the near future. I think we have a difficult decision to make while she is still young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 As I said above - have you considered doggy daycare when she is older (fully vaccinated)? A lot of people have puppies and work full time. No it's not perfect, but if I could stay home all day with the dogs I'd be a very happy person - just the bank manager would be a touch upset :-) Don't beat yourself up about "leaving her alone too much" - there are a lot of things that can be done to make her alone time more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 When I got my second pup I took 2 weeks off work to settle her in. She was 8 weeks old at the time. She slept ALL day....I needn't have been there at all, she wouldn't have missed me, that's for sure. When she was 10 weeks old I went back to work and left her in a puppy run in the backyard, with our older dog on the other side of a mesh fence for company. Within weeks she was in the yard with him. I don't think 10 hours is too long to leave a puppy, she will sleep for a good part of it. Maybe leave a radio on or sometrhing for company, some toys and chew things to amuse her and a couple of different places for her to sleep. She might like something soft to spread out on, and something hollow and dark to burrow into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 (edited) Thanks for the input. I guess its one thing to read all this stuff and another to apply it. Unfortunately your comments are really telling what I already know but don't want to hear - that I'm really leaving her alone too long and that its probably not a great situation moving forward. Realistically she is going to get left for 10 or 11 hours a day some time in the near future. I think we have a difficult decision to make while she is still young. We have all worked & the greater population do & dogs survive very well ,your dog will cope well BUT you need to make sure at home time isnt part of her weekly schedule except for sleep time in crate. Your pup needs to learn to be part of the household without her crate so when your home this is your time to teach,touch & chill out. Whippets are very easy going ,i do believe whippets do thrive in pairs BUT at present you need to work with your current scenario. The key with crates/pens is do over use when it isnt required.They are a brilliant tool but can sometimes become to easy to use Edited February 23, 2009 by settrlvr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 . Realistically she is going to get left for 10 or 11 hours a day some time in the near future. Personally I think that is too long for any dog of any age, however especially a puppy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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