Puppies - When Left Alone

[Nushie]

Hey guys,

So we picked up our little Jager yesterday and all was going well. He slept like an angel in the car home. Played with some toys and only cried for 10minutes when we put him to bed (in his crate next to our bed).

But this morning, i gave him some breakfast in his kong while i went to have a shower and ger ready for work (only working half days) and he screamed! Screamed to the point where i thought he had hurt himself. I ignored him as best as i couldm, still wondering in and out of the room when i needed to in order to get ready. But even when i was in the room, he continued to scream.

He wouldnt eat his breakfast, wouldn't play with him toys. Just cried and screamed for the full 30 minutes it took me to get ready.

What can i do to get him to settle when i am not around? When we put him in his play pen yesterday during the day he would whimper a little but this morning was just heart breaking for me and probably a pain in the butt for the neighbours.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Edited to add: photo of very sleepy puppy

Edited May 31, 2010 by Nushie

[GoldenGirl85]

give him a warm wheat bag or similar to cuddle up with, some people say a ticking clock helps, and has he got a teddy?

You need to remember that he has been ripped away from his siblings and his mum, so his whole world has been turned upside down, he is in a strange place with strange people, and he is being expected to sleep alone, the things I mentioned above will make him feel like he still has his litter

[Stitch]

Yep, newly acquired pups can be difficult to start with and some are worse than others.

Until he becomes comfortable in his new environment it is probably easier to keep him with you as much as possible.

I know this isn't always practical or achieveable but it does make things quieter.

He will eventually settle down, especially if you start by only disappearing for a few seconds so he gets used to the idea, then go for a few minutes, then 1/4 hr, etc. and leave him with something to amuse him ie. food or toy.

No instant cure I am afraid as every one is different - he is just feeling lonely and insecure in his new environment, missing his buddies, etc. but he will adapt fairly quickly.

In the meantime if you have to go to work, get a playpen or large crate, make sure he is secure & has water etc. close the doors and go.

It is the only thing you can do if you can't get someone to mind him for you.

[Bluefairy]

Hi

I answered in the Puppy Waiting thread. Zoe cried for hours for 2-3 weeks until she finally got it. What finally got her quiet (I forgot this) I used one of my old jumpers and put it in the crate with her at night, for you do it during the day while you are at work. If you have to wash it you will have to re-wear it (sorry). So your scent gets on it again for the next time. Zoe only used it for like 3 days and thats it she stopped.

I too tried a wheat bag but it never worked. Zoe wouldn't play with her toys either, and she wouldn't even eat her treats in the crate, she would wait until she came out and bring the treat with her and eat it on her bed.

good luck.

BF

[ophnbark]

Hi

I answered in the Puppy Waiting thread. Zoe cried for hours for 2-3 weeks until she finally got it. What finally got her quiet (I forgot this) I used one of my old jumpers and put it in the crate with her at night, for you do it during the day while you are at work. If you have to wash it you will have to re-wear it (sorry). So your scent gets on it again for the next time. Zoe only used it for like 3 days and thats it she stopped.

I too tried a wheat bag but it never worked. Zoe wouldn't play with her toys either, and she wouldn't even eat her treats in the crate, she would wait until she came out and bring the treat with her and eat it on her bed.

good luck.

BF

I was going to suggest the old jumper as well. When our puppies go to their new homes it is always with a cloth with their mother and siblings scent on it, it works really well.

[Nushie]

Thanks for the suggestions. He was an angel last night, we put a hot water bottle in the crate with him and he didnt cry at all until he needed to go to the toilet at 2am. Afterwards i put him back in and he went straight back to sleep. So proud of my little guy - much improved on the previous night where he cried for about 20 minutes.

This morning he cried and screamed when i got ready for work. Not to the frenzy like yesterday morning, so that is at least a step in the right direction.

We have put a tshirt that i have worn in his crate so that he has our smell, i have also put in the hot water bottle today (only at the back of the crate so he can snuggle if he wants but can still sleep without it also).

Fingers crossed tomorrow is even better.

[ophnbark]

Hi Nushie,

Glad you are starting to see some progress, the little fellow will be fine in no time at all.

[GABBA]

I got my pup about 3 months ago (8 weeks old) and went through the same thing. I left my dog in the garage (converted to a room) and he cried for about a week. Believe it or nit they will get over it. I didn't think it would happen but it did. He's now 5 and a half months and puts himself to bed when he's tired.

[Nushie]

Just to be sure i have everything that he needs. Please tell me if i have forgotten to leave something with him during the day.

In his play pen:

Crate - Towel as bed, hot water bottle, duck that he also has in his create at night and usually an old shirt, but he pee'd on it yesterday)

Water bowl

Toilet

Toys - cardboard center of a toilet roll (he loves it) and kong with some food in it.

is there any thing else that i can put in there to entertain him.

Also what can i put in his kong that will take a little longer for him to get through?

Thanks

[Nushie]

Hi guys,

So it has been 2 weeks since Jager come home with us. And he is a lot smarter than i thought he would be. He has sit mastered. He knows that he has to sit for his dinner and to be let out of his pen. He sleeps like an angel at night. But we have had no improvement with leaving him alone in his pen. We put him in there for his meals and only let him out when he is quiet. We put him in there for random times during the day (both while we are at home and when we go out for short periods) and he cries and screams the entire time. He works himself up into a frenzy where he just walks back and forward in front of the door to the pen. If he is quiet we will approach him and either let him out or give him a pat. If we stand with him for a bit he will happily go back to chewing on his kong but as soon as we walk away (even to just sit in front of the tv - where he can see us) he cries and screams and ignores his kong again.

We have tried putting him in there for short periords, just because he cries we dont want to let him out until he is quiet. On Sunday i put him in for his breakfast, thinking i will leave for a few minutes, ended up being close to an hour because he cried the entire time.

I just dont know what else to do at this stage. I know he is young and i dont expect him to be perfect but i thought we would be at least on the road to a solution but i feel like we are still back at the first day.

Is there something that people can recommend to get him to calm down a bit? He has a hot water bottle in his bed that he cuddles up to at night, he has his kong (which is usually still half full when we get home) and a soft toy in his bed that he chews on. I have just bought a snugglepuppie online (the one with a heat pack and heart beat) in the hope that that may provide some reassurance for him. The tv is on in the background so there is some noise around him.

He is such as lovely little guy and we love him to death, I just dont want him to stress like he is it breaks my heart and it cant be doing him any good to be pacing the pen.

[corvus]

Is it possible for you to stay with him until he settles? With both of mine I would just set up on a folding chair with my laptop next to the pen and waited until they fell asleep. Then crept away and came back the moment I heard them waking. It seemed to help a lot for them to have me there when they went to sleep and right there when they woke up. They both quietened down within a few days of starting that and became more comfortable about being left alone. They would no longer panic if they couldn't see me because they were confident I wouldn't be far away.