Home Alone

[cornell]

The time has finally come when we have to leave puppy alone.

We have doted on him for weeks - watched his every move. Done our best with training, especially when it comes to interacting with the existing dog. Now the time that we have been dreading is approaching.

What was your first time like? What damage was done when you left your puppy alone for a full day? Is it really harder on the owners than on the pup?

(Btw Locking him in a confined area isn't our style and would cause us even more anxiety.)

[Parkeyre]

The time has finally come when we have to leave puppy alone.

We have doted on him for weeks - watched his every move. Done our best with training, especially when it comes to interacting with the existing dog. Now the time that we have been dreading is approaching.

What was your first time like? What damage was done when you left your puppy alone for a full day? Is it really harder on the owners than on the pup?

(Btw Locking him in a confined area isn't our style and would cause us even more anxiety.)

Where is he going to be kept?

There are MANY hazzords inside and out.

I see No Issue with confinement. I consider it for their own safety.

[persephone]

I hope you are at least keeping him in one or two rooms, or outdoors :D

A baby puppy left to its own devices in a house can find many dangerous things to do!

There is also a problem if the pup has been constantly with company for the most part .. it has not yet learnt to be safely alone - to occupy itself. Independence is something learnt from an early age - unfortunately humans tend to be co-dependent , which sometimes makes it very difficult for puppies :D

I am presuming pup has had periods alone ,when you've gone out ... what did you do then to ensure he was content? Did he have the other dog for company?

Edited July 18, 2010 by persephone

[cornell]

Thank you for your thoughtful replies

Our goal is to minimise the disruption of our absence. In our opinion containment would highlight our absence causing his anxiety and frustration to escalate. The idea is to keep things as normal as possible, minus one human.

So we will have to agree to disagree on the confinement issue.

We have made our house as puppy proof as can be over the past 5 weeks.

He does have a big furry well behaved sister for company. Our house is also littered with dog toys.

We also plan to distract him by hiding treats, stuff a kong, leave a puzzle ball with kibble inside of it, etc.

I was hoping that other people's experiences could alert me to any other surprises that we have not considered or at least have a giggle at the mischievous things our puppies have got up to in our absence

Edited July 18, 2010 by cornell

[persephone]

puppy proofing also includes NO access to live powercords/electrical equipment .

if both dogs are together- what is to stop the older dog accessing/being posessive of any food /treats/toys ?

Dog's behaviour will often be different in the absence of human pack leaders .

[Cosmolo]

Has your puppy spent any time away from you when you are at home- separated by a physical barrier?

[persephone]

Oh- and I meant to ask- what have you put in place to ensure he does not fail in the housetraining department ?

[Genabee]

I hope your dogs aren't anything like my little menace!!!

I was in the garden for half an hour today and left Genevieve asleep in her house on the dining room floor. I came inside to find her standing on the dining room table!!! :rolleyes: While I was cooking dinner in the kitchen, I saw her push the chairs out, jump up on the chair (I yelled at her to stop at this point)... I gather from there is how she then jumped on to the table... so, move your furniture out of their way!!!

When I leave for work, she goes in to the laundry. I have come home once to find her standing on top of her crate (lesson to be learned here was to not set the washing machine to come on while she is in there!), from which she could have jumped up on to the bench and who knows what trouble she would get herself into there! She has only done it the once and I do not put the washing machine on while I am out. I am hoping she doesn't do it again.

If you have blinds, make sure they are pulled all the way up and cords tied. Do not leave ANYTHING on the benches. Shut all closets, cupboards etc.

Shower power (for showers, not carpet, citrus scent) works really well to get urine stains out of carpet (if you get it straight away)... they also don't like the smell of it, so they tend to avoid going back to the spot if they can smell it.

I don't want to question your dog parenting (as I know how that feels myself) but, have you considered the possibility that allowing them so much space while you are not there, will create and/or contribute to any existing anxiety they may have? Dogs feel safer when 'confined' to small areas, hence the whole crate training philosophy... It might cause you anxiety to lock him in one room, but maybe you will be reducing his anxiety if you do so.

Be prepared for him to be really wound up when you come home... ignore him for the first 5 or 10 minutes otherwise he will think he is top dog, not to mention be confused as you have been out all day. I once read that we should spend no more than 10 minutes of any given hour paying attention to our dogs, as they are more likely to suffer with separation anxiety when we leave. Which I guess makes sense; they go from being at our sides constantly to nothing at all... this is emotionally taxing for a little pooch! It is healthy for them to have alone time (as it is for us!).

Good luck! I hope it works out for you.

[aussielover]

Wow, your puppy must be well behaved to consider leaving him the whole house! I wouldn't even leave mine for 10 minutes unsupervised!

I suppose if you have been letting him around the whole house previously, he will be more used to it.

Does he have access to outside though? Otherwise you might find little messes when you come home.

How old is puppy?

I would try to leave some interactive toys such as stuffed kongs, treat balls and some chews or something. And hopefully his older sister will be stop any naughtiness (and not join in :rolleyes:)

Good Luck

[sas]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha why in earth would you let a puppy have free reine of your house whilst you're not there!!!! Crazy talk! LOL

Not only could the puppy destroy all sorts of things the puppy could hurt itself and swallow something it chewed especially something like a battery or power cable.

I think you need to remind yourself this is a puppy....a dog....not your friend or your child and that little puppy likes to explore things with its' mouth.

Confinement can mean a backyard or an area in the house.

Having toys scattered everywhere isn't the best idea either, you would be better off having 3 toys out and rotating them so they stay special to the dog.

Have you done any seperation training with this puppy? By the time you're ready to go back to work the puppy should have already been well used to the area it is going to be left in and you have left it many times already. For example for those who leave their puppy in the yard they would have already been putting puppy out there for a couple of hours a day with a bone/toys.

In addition you are doing yourself no favors when it comes to toilet training by letting a puppy just wander around the home without someone there to provide guidence.

(Btw Locking him in a confined area isn't our style and would cause us even more anxiety.)

That right there speaks volumes....please do what is right for the dog not just what is right for your emotions.

We also plan to distract him by hiding treats, stuff a kong, leave a puzzle ball with kibble inside of it, etc.

And how do the dogs deal with this situation without you around? Fights can occur.

I was hoping that other people's experiences could alert me to any other surprises that we have not considered or at least have a giggle at the mischievous things our puppies have got up to in our absence

LOL Yeah but you don't want to hear it....you're not going to find many people who reccomend leaving your puppy unsupervised in a house.

Edited July 19, 2010 by sas

[mumsy]

I too made the mistake of thinking my angelic little pup would sleep beautifully on the couch when I went out for 1 ( yes that's one!) hour.

See for yourselves

He is no known as the white terror. That is 8 kg of kitty litter. It only took 5 hours to clean up.

Needless to say, we have now crate trained and he happily goes in with a couple of treats.

Edited July 19, 2010 by mumsy

[Bubitty]

Dont fret! I left my puppy home alone a yr ago when she was a wee puplet and she was just fine! I left mine alone in the yard with an open laundry room lined with some fleece and towels for her to sleep on. Yard was well fenced and didn’t have anything which stood out as dangerous! Just the usual, grass, trees, bushes.

I left out a lot of toys, treats, contraptions and a nice big neck bone. She was fine. Didn’t cry, didn’t bark, didn’t destroy anything. Once my best dress feel onto the porch next to her and it was untouched when I got home. I frequently leave washing hanging at nose height, she has never touched any of this.

What I would recommend is a few training sessions and games before you leave. This way puppy is exhausted and will use time away from you as rest time.

Don’t be too worried! Not all puppies are menacing!

[BCPuppy]

I sympathise with you, we went through the same thing. When we first got Marlin we had several weeks where one of us was allways home as my OH works shifts. I was a wreck thinking of her being on her own for a full day , we too too did not confine her other than restricting access to certain rooms, and she has a doggie door, and garden was well puppy proofed.

We did 'practice' by leaving her alone for a couple of hours at a time, with toys, kong and treats. I recon like all puppies she slept most of the time anyway :D

We have been incredibly lucky as she was independant from the start and would take herself off for time out in her fav places, a chair outside, her shell in summer, or just lounging on the grass watching the birds. She has destroyed very little, a pair of shoes that I was silly enough to leave out, the odd hole in the garden. I regularly leave a treat inside a cardboard box which she is allowed to tear apart and that seems to satisfy the urge to rip things up, allthough lately it has become a box inside a box to slow things up, and she has sussed out all the treat hiding places and checks them out even before I leave! Always left things she was allowed to chew, and I also used to leave a t shirt (worn) in her bed.

Is there any way you can check on her through the day or get a friend/neighbor to do it? I used to miss my lunch to drive home to spend 10 minutes with her have a play, then leave her lunch and change toys around, but now have no qualms in occasionally leaving her all day.

Well I lie really, she makes me feel so guilty standing at the gate watching me leave for work! But then this morning I left her happily chewing on a bone, no way she was going to leave that to see me off! Allways great excitement when I get home, used to pee herself, but now just demands tummy rubs accompanied by little squeels of excitement. Roll on retirement when I can spend all day at home

Only you know your dog, trust your instinct, good luck and dont feel guilty!

[cornell]

Thanks guys you make me feel like I have a golden pup:D

Just for the record we decided to take on your advice. We have a laundry joining a massive outdoor cattery that was built for a cat that has sadly passed on. The other dog was kept in the house. Hubby came home at lunch to see if there were any problems. All seemed to be well when we returned at the end of the day but we have not heard from our neighbour who does shift work and sleeps during the day about the noise level just yet

Sas after having a puppy in the house for 5 weeks there are definitely no batteries or power cords that have not been put away or blocked off even with our supervision. The "us" I was referring to was the dog as well as me = "us". I am surprised that you recommend the back yard if you don't think that a puppy proofed house is safe. What about all of the hazardous sticks, bark and rocks?

Wizzle, thankfully he has not been able to master jumping up on furniture just yet but it definitely won't be long.

We left our current dog (then puppy) with the older dog and the house and never had a significant issue.

Awh Mumsy it looks like he had the best time!! Thanks for the photos! It must have created a lot of work for you though. Did he suffer any ill effects?

Thanks Wizzle, Aussie lover, Bub, Mumsy and BC puppy for taking the time to post your helpful and kind replies:D

[all that glitters]

puppy proofing also includes NO access to live powercords/electrical equipment .

if both dogs are together- what is to stop the older dog accessing/being posessive of any food /treats/toys ?

Dog's behaviour will often be different in the absence of human pack leaders .

Have to agree with this! Just take it slow

-----

Also I started my girl in one half of the house (lino flooring) for a year and only just given her full house access because she has proved herself to know the house rules for months now. Take baby steps, don't jump into things Puppies love to chew, and if yours doesn't chew now... they can get into new habits as they grow!

[sas]

Thanks guys you make me feel like I have a golden pup:D

Just for the record we decided to take on your advice. We have a laundry joining a massive outdoor cattery that was built for a cat that has sadly passed on. The other dog was kept in the house. Hubby came home at lunch to see if there were any problems. All seemed to be well when we returned at the end of the day but we have not heard from our neighbour who does shift work and sleeps during the day about the noise level just yet

Sas after having a puppy in the house for 5 weeks there are definitely no batteries or power cords that have not been put away or blocked off even with our supervision. The "us" I was referring to was the dog as well as me = "us". I am surprised that you recommend the back yard if you don't think that a puppy proofed house is safe. What about all of the hazardous sticks, bark and rocks?

Wizzle, thankfully he has not been able to master jumping up on furniture just yet but it definitely won't be long.

We left our current dog (then puppy) with the older dog and the house and never had a significant issue.

Awh Mumsy it looks like he had the best time!! Thanks for the photos! It must have created a lot of work for you though. Did he suffer any ill effects?

Thanks Wizzle, Aussie lover, Bub, Mumsy and BC puppy for taking the time to post your helpful and kind replies:D

Why would you be suprised I reccomended a backyard? You have a dog that's where dogs go....just remove anything that could be dangerous for a puppy....not a big deal.

A house has a lot more in it to destroy and swallow than a backyard.

You're worried about sticks, barks and rocks? Are you being serious?

[PuggaWuggles]

You will be pleasently surprised at how well,and how much your pup enjoys being outside,the sun,dirt,grass,noises and smells.We had the same worry,but after 1 or 2 days,you can confidently say your pup loves being outside,and the other dog will help the situation.

Hope all goes well.

[aussielover]

Why would you be suprised I reccomended a backyard? You have a dog that's where dogs go....just remove anything that could be dangerous for a puppy....not a big deal.

A house has a lot more in it to destroy and swallow than a backyard.

You're worried about sticks, barks and rocks? Are you being serious?

The OP has a GR which along with the lab is the breed of dog most likely to pick up sticks, bark and rocks and swallow them. So I understand the concern there. My own lab puppy will rip up shrubs and pull leaves off trees, even when left with an assortment of interactive toys! She also puts sticks and rocks in her mouth and I do worry about her swallowing them or them getting stuck in her mouth, I have seen dogs at the vet who have swallowed these items and required surgery to remove them.

Anyway, Cornell, you sound like you have found an ideal arrangement at the moment- good on you

[cornell]

Thanks Aussie lover.

Bark was mentioned by the vet as one of the most dangerous things a pup can chew on due to the chemical treatments and also the obvious splintering issue.

[2staffys]

All I can say is that there are good days and bad days with a puppy inside.....today was a bad day!!!

Oh dear. Went home at lunch time as I do every day during the week. Today I discovered that Buster has chewed our new floor mat that we purchased 2 days ago. Luckily only a small spot visible on the top, unfortnately not so small on the underside.

We have 1 staffy who is 3 and half years and not a problem inside at all. Buster our new puppy is 4 and a half months and has been left inside with Indy during the day. We initially started him on his own confined to his crate with the door open onto our ensuite, a place to sleep and a place to poo. Buster has been bad with separation anxiety and we soon learnt that he was more comfortable when around Indy, they sleep crated together and being around her during the day settles him from being away from me.

There have been several problems before, lost a few pairs of shoes and socks after forgetting to remove them from the area they are allowed in and last week got home to discover they had been playing tug of war with a lovely rug that was left on the couch.

To their defence it was my fault for not providing them (or rather Buster) with enough things to keep him occupied during the day. My hubby and I have been discussing leaving the 2 of them outside but still have a gate to sort out before the property is secure. Let me tell you that this will be done this evening when I get home!!

It's hard to decide what to do and whether it's the right time to do it but I think each dog is different and you really have to assess your dog by it's behaivour (or lack of it).

Good luck with it all, I hope you don't lose too many valuable items but it's all worth it in the end.