"crying" When Left At Home

[Pretty Miss Emma]

I was talking to my neighbour today and he mentioned that Hamish has been "crying" when I go out and he's home alone. So, Hamish is now about 11.5 months old. As a baby he was brilliant at home on his own, not a peep from him and happy as larry! But this has started up sometime in the last few months. Apparently the "crying" is not that annoying, he more feels sorry for Hamish. From what I gather it's a whimpery sook, not howling or barking or anything like that.

Hamish is a lucky duck and gets to come to work with me a couple of days a week. His usual routine is Monday home alone, Tuesday at work with me, Wednesday at home with Kenzie, Thursday home alone, Friday at work with me. If he's home with Kenz apparently he doesn't sook at all.

When he's home alone he gets - variety of toys, 2 kongs with his breakfast, treat ball/plastic bottle with dry food, something chewy. At least one of the cats is also usually out with him (and they do tend to spend a bit of time together). He does a bit of digging in the garden (don't care if he does if it keeps him happy).

Ideally I'd prefer to not always leave him with access to the house, but he is quieter when he has this as I think he just sits at the front window and waits for me. I'm wondering if anyone has some other ideas for me to try??? I think if we were a three dog family it would probably be ok because he'd have another dog with, but that is not going to happen for a while - until I'm ready for another dog and he's a bit more grown up and trained.

So, any ideas welcome!!!!!

[The Spotted Devil]

I love being able to take one dog out and leave one at home. How tired is Hamish before you leave in the morning? At a young age particularly I like them to be mentally and physically active....so a combination of training and play. I try to have a young pup/dog up and about 2 hours prior to leaving the house - as they get older they just get used to being grateful that I've left the house so they can get some sleep! Can you just give him access to one room eg the laundry? Has he got a nice cosy kennel near the back door?

[Weasels]

Can you set up a video or webcam to see when it is/how constant it is/ how bad it is? We did this after we first got Chess and it was hard to watch but helped our trainer assess the situation :/

[Pretty Miss Emma]

He's probably not tired when I leave because I just can't do anymore than I do with him in the morning as it is. I leave for work at around 7am or just after and getting up any earlier is just not a possibility (I'm sttarting to wonder if I have sleeping issues as I can't get to sleep at night!). I'd love to be able to walk him in the morning, but as it is I struggle to function and be ready for work.

At the moment I can't give him access to one room, when I move I'm hoping that this will be a possibility. But that is in the future. And yes he has his kennel, his trampoline bed (well 2 of them!), an undercover verandah, a garden.

I'd like to set up a video/webcam - there could be some technical issues with that, ie. me!!! But that is an option I will investigate if I can find someone who can help me and who has a camera I can borrow.

It's just a bit of a mystery to me. I do wonder if it is because he has come to work with me since being a baby and he just prefers that over being on his own. Kenz is great at home on her own not a sound (mostly), so I hope that Hamish can eventually be as good as her!

[BC Crazy]

I can so understand your struggles with being able to function PME if you aren't sleeping very well as I have the very same issues & usually 'wake' up more tired than when I went to bed. It makes it very difficult

to be at your most productive & in turn things that you normally would be doing are just not achievable atm.

Hamish probably is wide awake first thing in the morning & ready for a big walk/play or to be taken with you & next thing he is being left at home be him self & is just a bit lonely...2nd the video cam if possible.

I have made a HUGE mistake with my girl & haven't left her nor have I taken her out much on her own since a puppy as she has/does scream the place down when Sonny is not near her .I am kicking myself for it. In my naivety I

thought it would help her be more confident, but all I have done is allow her to rely on Sonny for emotional support & in turn she has become more 'needy' & she was very 'needy' to begin with.

So now at 2 years of age I have a huge task ahead of me as I very gradually have to start taking Stella out on her own. So far she is going really well when she is being taken out for 5 to 10 mins at a time. Perfect on lead but

nervous which is to be expected I guess. Not so good when being left alone though Time will tell. The guilt of this is killing me & I feel like a complete idiot as I was unaware until now that I have only exacerbated her

insecurities. So we have a bit of a long road ahead of us. It is very difficult also as we don't have very friendly neighbours & they won't think twice about reporting a whingy girl at the slightest noise

Good luck with your boy PME. I'm sure he will settle down very soon & hope you can get some quality sleep as it helps make everything a lot easier :)

Sorry am not very much help to you. Certainly not meaning to take over your thread

Will be watching this thread to hopefully learn how to 'suck it up' & not be so soft, feeling sorry about leaving one of my guys at home while I spend quality one on one time with the other & vise versa.

Edited March 20, 2013 by BC Crazy

[megan_]

How long is he crying for? If it isn't for too long I wouldn't try to do anything more and just give him time to get used to being left alone and settling.

[minimax]

I'd probably be trying to leave him home alone more often to get him used to it - teaching him alone time as you would a new puppy (in small increments, with special treats or toys he only gets when you go out, long term treats like frozen kongs or frozen ice-buckets etc)

[corvus]

Kivi was fine being left alone all day every day of the working week until one day when he was about 10 months old he suddenly started barking and barked all day. I left him in the yard the next day as well and I believe he barked all that day as well. Panicky, distressed barking. After that he went inside during the days and the problem was solved. 4 years down the track he is still fine indoors while we are not home and he still panics if I ever shut him in the backyard where he used to spend most of his time. Fine if I'm there with him, but even with Erik for company he freaks out. No idea what happened to him, but when he stays with friends and family he's quite happy spending his days outdoors, so I guess something probably happened. Robert Holmes gave an interesting talk about this kind of thing at the recent RSPCA scientific seminar. The take-home message was dogs don't want to be left in backyards on their own. They want to be with their owner, and if they can't, the next best thing is being somewhere that smells strongly of their owner. He said he has many cases of separation distress that are solved by letting the dog stay indoors while the people are out. He also said in an ideal world they would have free access to the yard and the house including the owner's bedroom. I work from home and know of several dogs that distress bark during the day. Poor things.

[Pretty Miss Emma]

Kivi sounds a bit like Hamish, in that it seems to have been a fairly sudden on set. At least it's not distress barking, and interestingly when I get home he is always calm, happy, quiet. But I don't like to think he's upset, or annoying the neighbours (not that it sounds like he is, but I'm conscious of it). He is very much a mummy's boy!

Will have to see if I can find a way to determine length and type of cry.

[Brookestar]

Having the smell of the owner really helps them, which is why giving them access to the house helps. To a dog 70% of us is our smell and so the house smells of us. The noise of the owner or reminders of the noise of the owner of humans in general also helps. If you have music you normally listen to leave a radio on near an open window to the back yard, or a small radio up high in the backyard. That will provide some noise, and does help. If not simply put on a radio to ABC classical radio - that is what shelters and kennels do, as research has shown that dogs are calmed by classical music.

Make sure you ignore the dog for a good 10 minutes before you leave and again on arrival. Put them outside, at least five minutes before you leave, not as you are leaving. Ignore them before you put them out and don't make any fuss when you do, just do it very matter of factly. Dogs are not children and do not understand you saying I will be back later. The ignoring makes it no big deal and that is how it needs to be. If you can leave an old shirt or jumper in the kennel it will them something to curl up and sleep with if they want to be near you. When you get home, open the door to allow the dog to come inside, but ignore the dog totally, do not make eye contact and go and get changed or have a drink or something. Then after a few minutes, call the dog, pat them, play with them, and the like. You coming and going is your right and not something they have to worry about. If you are greeting them on arrival you are paying homage to them and it does not help them. It may not be a problem, but it could well make the problem worse.

In terms of you sleeping. Need to make sure the bedroom is used for nothing except for sleeping. Make sure it is not too hot or too cold. Make sure it is not noisy and is dark. Your body needs to be given time to adjust to a morning get up. If you allow yourself to sleep in on the weekends the body gets out of routine and does not need to sleep earlier in the evenings. Don't have any caffine in the evening, if anything cut it out full stop or as early in the day as possible. That includes chocolate. Diet can play a large role in sleeping. Create a routine for sleeping and stick to it ALL the time, weekends, included. If necessary, allow yourself an extra hour or so of sleep on the weekends temporarily, but dont' allow yourself to sleep in to midnight. TV or computers late into the evening can also keep you awake. Reading is great. If your mind wanders at night, keep a notepad next to the bed to write down anything, so you can then go straight back to sleep.

If the dogs are keeping you awake and they sleep in your room, you may need to consider moving them to another room. If dogs being on your bed cause a problem, get them there own beds and enforce the rule of them sleeping in there own beds.

[CellarDoor]

Ok, so first off, I don't know how much help I'll be, but we'll see! Have you considered mentally tiring him out as you can't physically tire him out? I've seen dog bowls that require the dog to work out how to get the food out-if you know what I mean :p hiding treats around the yard? Etc. Um, make the yard a 'happy place' where he stays even when you're home? :) a few funky special toys just when he's outside?

Never had this problem (as you may be able to tell!), so this is just what I can think of atm :)