How did you get your new puppy used to being alone....

[angray]

We picked up our boxer puppy last week (Wed) and he is wonderful!! We are so happy with him. I don't even mind getting up in the middle of the night to let him outside. Right now things with him are wonderful. He is cuddly, gentle, very friendly, playful, etc. My concern is for when I got back to work next week. I'm off from school (I'm a teacher) for 2 weeks for the holidays so I've been home with him a lot this past week. Today I put him in his crate and went to run arrands. I was gone for about 2 hours. He cried when I left, and was still crying when I got home. Then he wouldn't eat his lunch, and was really whiny and whimpering. My husband and I both work - we both have to. My husband is home everyday at 2pm, which means that the puppy will be alone from 7am-2pm. I am concerned with how he is going to react. He was really upset today when I left for 2 hours. I'm thinking of leaving for a while everyday to get him used to being alone in his crate. Did anyone else have any difficulty with this? I read that the crate is the safest for them when you are gone, and that you should give them a treat when you put them in their crate. Is there anything else I should be doing? He doesn't mind the crate when the door is off, and he usually goes to lay in there to sleep throughout the course of the day, but so far we haven't locked him in there until today. I'm worried that he'll have separation anxiety or that I'm doing something wrong. Any advice will be helpful. I also try not to make a big productin of my leaving or returning (the book I read suggested that.) I guess I'm just concerned about whether this is a normal way for puppies to react when they are first left alone.

[KazzMan]

It will take some time. We went through the same process as I was able to take some time off when we first brought Jackson home. You could hear him whining when you pull up in the driveway. We would practice with him put him in his crate and act like we were leaving for 20 min and gradually increase the time. The whining dwindled down eventually to randomly whining and eventually he cut it out altogether. So you may want to practice with your puppy, but I am sure he will stop with some maturity.

[lmyhand]

I was lucky enought to be in law school at the time so I had flexibility in my schedule. I came home a lot and spent a lot of time with him over my Winter holiday. But-eventually we got another boxer to remedy the problem. Two is better than one!!!!

[Jan]

You need to gradually get your puppy used to being in the crate with the door shut. Start with only shutting the door for very short times, like a few minutes and gradually increase the time. Never open the door if he is fussing. Give him extra yummy treats when you put him in the crate. Kongs stuffed with yummy stuff works well and will keep him occupied.

To help prevent separation anxiety, make sure that your coming and going are non-events. Just encourage him into the crate with a treat and just leave. Don't make a fuss over him. The same thing when you come home. Just casually open the door and and let him out. While house training you will need to immediately take him outside. Just pick him up and take him to his potty spot as you don't want him to have any accidents on the way to the door.

Do a search on Kongs, crate training and separation anxiety and you will find out lots of information. Just click on the gray search button at the top.

Good luck with your puppy.

[Tulsa-Dan]

First try putting him in the crate, then without any fanfare or words or anything, go out the door. IMMEDIATELY return (as if you forgot something) and again, without any fanfare, open the crate door and let the dog out. Don't coddle or coo with him or anything. Just make like it is the same as him going in on his own.

Leave ample water for the dog but not enough room for him to pee in the corners and still have room to sleep and not sleep in the mess. Also remove his collar and tags while in the crate alone and unsupervised so as to avoid an possibility of getting them caught and the dog choking.

Put some toys (safe toys, not chew bones or rawhide which needs supervision) in the crate, a shirt that smells like you in there (one you can live without), and you can leave on the tv or radio softly as well. This helps relieve anxiety.

Do this a few times, then lengthen the time you are outside the door. As you lengthen the time, make sure you do NOT go back inside if the dog is crying/whining. Wait until he is quiet and then go back inside and let him out of the crate.

As he gets used to it he will then not cry and whine since he learns that only being quiet will get you to come back home - not whining and crying.

When he's quiet as you leave and remains so while you stand outside listening, you can then begin to leave the doorway for short trips (get in the car, get out and come in again if the dog is quiet), then gradually get in the car, go out of the drive way, and back, then work up to around the block, etc., extending the time that you are gone.

Another key to successful crate training is to make SURE the dog is well exercised and tired before leaving. If that means getting up 30 minutes earlier to go exercise the dog and wear it out, then so be it. But the old addage sure is true in that a tired dog is a well behaved dog.

Good luck.

You can also do a search here at BW using the search engine and terms such as "crate training" and see the puppy pages here at BW and click on the links on the left side of the page for more information on crate training.

[adeinert]

I tried the above method and it worked wonderfully for the boxer I raised from a pup. He learned to sleep in the crate right beside my bed from the start as a seven pound handraised pup. Then I started putting him in awake, coming right back and working up to ten minutes the first week. After a few weeks, I would put him in for 30 minutes, etc. I guess when he was around 4 months and old enough to be left for 2-4 hours, I could run out and crate him.
Two hours is definitely too much at first and I wouldn't leave a pup from 7-2, I had someone watch mine. If it's too long for him to hold it, then that's not fair to make him wet his crate. In your searches you will find recommendations for how long dogs of various ages can go inbetween potty breaks. You may be able to find a dog walker, neighbor, or daycare to help out. I fostered another boxer this summer from 7 weeks through almost 16 weeks and had to take her to summer school versus leaving her for four hours at that age.

Crating is a process. Crating is training, and it is something you must build up to. Done properly, a dog will feel safe and enjoy his/her crate. Mine are often found in a crate taking a nap or enjoying some quiet time. Also, none of mine ever showed the least amount of unhappiness with the crate from the first try. So, done right, your pup will be happy and content when you are away.

Ashlie

[sashaberry]

I guess we have been very lucky with Sasha, we too have to both work and she is in the crate during the day. When we first got her I was able to go home at lunch and let her out. She is now 6 months and has never had any accidents while in crate. We bought a sound machine that we turn on when we leave her in the morning.

She also has her favorite "Fred" he is one of those sheepskin squeaky bear things that she has to have with her when she is in crate. WE also used peanut butter in her kong, this occupies her like you would not believe

Covering the crate seems to help, we bought one of those crate covers and she seems more content when that is on.

Good luck

[kjames7148]

3 words..................get another puppy!!

Hee hee.

Karen