leny333 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Hi Everyone, I have a twelve week old whippet puppy. He's lovely and he seems to be picking up training really quickly, almost no accidents with toilet training already and he sleeps from around 9:30 at night till 8am with no problems aside from occasionally needing to go to the toilet at about 1am. The problem is that he hates being separated from people. I am a teacher so I'm on holidays at the moment which I thought would be a good thing when getting a puppy but it seems that he's spent too much time around people over Christmas and now hates to be by himself. We have set up the laundry for him with his crate and play with him in there and feed him in there. He also has pee pads which he goes on when we can't take him outside. He's happy to be in there normally but if we leave him in there with the door closed for any period he howls and scratches at the walls and even jumps up onto the washing machine. We left him for two hours one day and he whined but was otherwise ok. Then we left him for about 4 hours and when we came home his back toenails on one foot were bleeding and he'd thrown up. I read the tutorial download from greatdanerescue.com on separation anxiety and we have been applying the NILF principles day to day and two days ago we started trying their 'reprogramming' method. I'm not sure if we're doing the right thing though. This is what we do: We hang around in the laundry ignoring him until he lies down or starts playing with a toy. Then we leave and close the laundry door, then exit through the front door and wait for 30 seconds. We then come back in and wait till he lies down or is preoccupied again and then leave again. This time we leave for a minute, we vary the time that we're gone between 30 seconds and 4 minutes and we keep going in and leaving every few minutes for an hour. We've done this for two days now and every time we go to leave he rushes for the door to try to get out before us. Sometimes he howls, sometimes he sits in his crate, and sometimes he scratches the door till he bleeds. Every time we come back in he runs straight out the laundry door. He also seems very stressed and anxious during this whole process and afterwards he paces around and does silly things he wouldn't normally do. We're both going to be going back to work in a few weeks and we'll have to leave him for 6-8 hours during the days. I don't want to go from being at home all the time to that and I don't want him to hurt himself while we're gone. Are we doing the right thing and need to just keep at it? Or is there something else we should try? Is this normal for a puppy? (We've never had a dog before.) Thanks for your help. Ellene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) We do things alot differently . Our pups have access with us all the time BUT the door is open & they are allowed to go outside & be independent & if the weather is right door is shut & off the go .We find even though they love us dearly they soon learn outside or vegeing out on there own is just as fun & the do it themselves. Our breed is very people orientated but they don't need to be trained to be a velcro dog . As you have found out being at home can actually create alot more issues & something we encourage our puppy owners not to do & that is take time off & we get alot of teachers like yourself who think its a good idea but it often goes pear shaped due to the at home all the time & then suddenly there routine is changed dramactically & they don't get it When raising our pups we never make a big deal of what a routine is but they now what is expected & accept providing it suits both parties ,that doesn't mean the pups get what they want but it also must be interesting for them aswell. Personally the laundry can be a very enclosed room & you need to decide where the pup will be hanging out when you go to work & work on that. Will it be in the laundry or is the plan for it be elsewhere?? I would be putting the crate in the family area & allowing it to use it on its own accord . Edited December 31, 2013 by showdog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) I'd suggest you follow the advice given to you in your other thread and get the pup OUT of the laundry and into a routine with inside/outside access. A laundry is a completely inadequate place to leave a pup for 6-8 hours. if the only time he's ever in the laundry is when you leave then you've made it a very unhappy place for him to be. You might benefit from an in home visit from a decent dog trainer. You have to start accustoming this pup to time alone in the place where he will spend his time as an adult. The more you fuss about leaving him, the worse it will get. One more thing. If he's wearing a collar when you leave him, TAKE IT OFF. If he is going to be jumping at that door to get out or climbing whereever you leave him, you have a real risk he is going to hang himself. I do know of a Whippet pup that got caught by a back leg in a laundry and hurt itself quite badly. It really is not the place to be leaving a dog. Edited December 31, 2013 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosetta Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Google "kikopup" - she had a good training video on how to train pup to be left alone using an indoor pen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) Wherever you leave puppy should be a nice place, where he is comfortable..has things to do, things to watch.... A laundry doesn't really fit that description . Why can't you leave him outside when you are home /not home? You may want to look at something like THE ONE HERE with a kennel inside you will find these threads of interest .... CLICK HERE , and CLICK HERE Edited December 31, 2013 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leny333 Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 I'd suggest you follow the advice given to you in your other thread and get the pup OUT of the laundry and into a routine with inside/outside access. A laundry is a completely inadequate place to leave a pup for 6-8 hours. if the only time he's ever in the laundry is when you leave then you've made it a very unhappy place for him to be. You might benefit from an in home visit from a decent dog trainer. You have to start accustoming this pup to time alone in the place where he will spend his time as an adult. The more you fuss about leaving him, the worse it will get. One more thing. If he's wearing a collar when you leave him, TAKE IT OFF. If he is going to be jumping at that door to get out or climbing whereever you leave him, you have a real risk he is going to hang himself. I do know of a Whippet pup that got caught by a back leg in a laundry and hurt itself quite badly. It really is not the place to be leaving a dog. Thank you, I wasn't ignoring your advice however different people have different circumstances that are limiting on their ability to do things a certain way. We were in the process of building a fence in our backyard when the puppy arrived and didn't realise that we'd need it to be finished so quickly as pretty much all the professional advice I've been given says that you should confine them to a pen, laundry or very small area of the house until they are toilet trained and a bit older. Now the people next door have sold their house and our landlord wants us to wait to finish the fence as they might pay for half of it. Not much we can do about that. I'd be happy to leave him somewhere else in the house but as you seem to think that the laundry is a dangerous enough place I feel that giving him more of the house will mean more potential dangers. Also, as stated in my previous post, he isn't only in the laundry when we leave, he's in there all the time playing with us and eating etc. We are considering trying to puppy proof the living area as much as possible because he seems to like it most in there but I fear there are just too many dangers. Wherever you leave puppy should be a nice place, where he is comfortable..has things to do, things to watch....A laundry doesn't really fit that description . Why can't you leave him outside when you are home /not home? You may want to look at something like THE ONE HERE with a kennel inside you will find these threads of interest .... CLICK HERE , and CLICK HERE Thank you for those links. They were very helpful. Unfortunately he arrived in the christmas holidays so we can't do much about being with him so much now. We just need to find a safe place for him where he'll be comfortable when we're gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) .. We just need to find a safe place for him where he'll be comfortable when we're gone. yes..however , the idea is that pup has his OWN space ..indoors or out , where he is fed ..where he can have access to his favourite toys/treat dispensers/bones , when you ARE home . That results in a dog who is secure , knowing his family are not far away, even when he is physically separated . puppies need to learn some independence from an early age ..and having a dog oriented enclosed space teaches EVERYONE in the house about being together but apart ... ;) Remember, dogs see the world MUCH differently to us ..their instinctual rules are not ours ..and being your first , and a whippy , you have lots of learning to do :) Edited January 1, 2014 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 pretty much all the professional advice I've been given says that you should confine them to a pen, laundry or very small area of the house until they are toilet trained and a bit older That may work when you are home to give the dog toilet breaks outside. If you're leaving the pup alone for longer periods, its really not suitable. They can't really play, or get any meaningful exercise or stimulation in a small pen. Any pen the pup can climb out or over creates a risk that the pup will get hung up on it. A fenced run would be the safest option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph M Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 What about setting up a temporary run? Bunnings have some really good wire panels (compost panels) lots of people on here use for puppy pens. If you got enough of them I'm imagining you could fashion a run and pen from laundry to yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) There are plenty of strong runs/aviaries/pens available on gumtree/ebay/freecycle :) , and which can be tailored to suit :) problem is ..with no fence- what can get IN to the back yard???? A run would need to suit a strong adult dog .... it doesn't need to be huge ..but secure :) Edited January 1, 2014 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 What about setting up a temporary run? Bunnings have some really good wire panels (compost panels) lots of people on here use for puppy pens. If you got enough of them I'm imagining you could fashion a run and pen from laundry to yard. Entirely inappropriate to leave a Whippet pup in unsupervised. My 10 week old pup got out of such a pen within 5 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 If He's in the laundry when you go out, as well as when you're playing with him He's probably bored shitless of the same environment and would love some new scenery. Plus the rest area and play area are the same place. Why not supervised play in the yard, at least? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I have never heard of confining a pup to a small area "at all times" as a method of toilet training. Everyone I have ever heard of using confinement only uses it when they can't actively supervise. I second third and fourth getting the pup out of solitary confinement and in to being a part of your family. Somehow you must be able to make an area outside so the pup can be a pup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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