Separation Anxiety in puppy

50Twuncle

GwylimT wrote: »

Hows pup doing?

She's exactly the same
no improvement at all
She has scared off one of the cats and is causing us sleepless nights
When will things improve ?

Person_one

50Twuncle wrote: »

She's exactly the same
no improvement at all
She has scared off one of the cats and is causing us sleepless nights
When will things improve ?

Are you following any of the advice you've been given?

She's still, what, about 10 weeks old. Still very very young, you need to have realistic expectations of how exhausting and difficult having a puppy can be at times. Have you read any of the books or info people have linked to for you?

GwylimT

50Twuncle wrote: »

She's exactly the same
no improvement at all
She has scared off one of the cats and is causing us sleepless nights
When will things improve ?

Its to be exptected at that age, so I'm not surprised about the slow progress.

What training etc have you been doing each day? How much time is spent training each day?

How long are you now keeping her out after the first toileting?

You really shouldn't be allowing her to behave innapropriately around other animals. You need to get the cat back and keep him/her in a safe room if you're not taking charge of pup.

We find improvements start at around 12-14 weeks, when we have a new pup we do around two hours of training a day (not including things like toilet training), two puppy classes a week and when old enough social walks with other dogs. Its the basics that can easily be neglected, eg not giving praise each and everytime you enter the room after leaving to do anything eg make a cup of tea.

Some things take longer for different pups, our current pup was fantastic at commands, but struggled with anything related to self control, so night times without howling and crying took about eight weeks to crack. Where as our last pup slept through from night one and never messed the house, but took a long time to learn good manners.

missbiggles1

GwylimT wrote: »

Its to be exptected at that age, so I'm not surprised about the slow progress.

What training etc have you been doing each day? How much time is spent training each day?

How long are you now keeping her out after the first toileting?

You really shouldn't be allowing her to behave innapropriately around other animals. You need to get the cat back and keep him/her in a safe room if you're not taking charge of pup.

We find improvements start at around 12-14 weeks, when we have a new pup we do around two hours of training a day (not including things like toilet training), two puppy classes a week and when old enough social walks with other dogs. Its the basics that can easily be neglected, eg not giving praise each and everytime you enter the room after leaving to do anything eg make a cup of tea.

Some things take longer for different pups, our current pup was fantastic at commands, but struggled with anything related to self control, so night times without howling and crying took about eight weeks to crack. Where as our last pup slept through from night one and never messed the house, but took a long time to learn good manners.

I'm sure you're absolutely right but your post makes me so happy that I adopt adult (usually quite old) dogs.:)

GwylimT

Go over to

Petforums.co.uk to supplement the advice you're getting from training classes.

krlyr

Kikopup on YouTube has some fantastic training videos, and several specifically for puppies. She does a video on teaching a pup/dog to be left on its own, too

http://www.youtube.com/kikopup

You have the doggy equivelant of a toddler right now. You wouldn't expect a toddler to have impeccable manners - they cry when mummy leaves them, they pull other kids' hair, they will drive you nuts..but they need to be taught how to behave, just like a puppy. Consistancy, management (i.e. if pup can't be left without stressing, don't leave them at all. If they chase the cats, don't give them the opportunity - use babygates, leads and crates if necessary) and good training, and pup will come good in time.

NewShadow

I'm finding this absolutely fascinating.

We always had dogs when I was a kid. When I moved to uni, and since, I switched to cats as they suit me/my lifestyle a little more.

IIRC, all of our puppies (5 over 30 years as we staggered animals and had on average 3 at a time) came toilet, or at least paper, trained.

Is this not normal?

Ben was a lurcher, Bryn a whippet/lurcher cross, and Taz, Tali, and Herbie were Pomeranians.

I'm at the stage now where I'm more settled and considering a dog - I'm considering a Brittany or Pinscher as I've heard good things, but could well end up with a generic mid-sized 'mutt' from the shelter.

I know it's a tad selfish, but I think I'd want pup to be >6months if they were a rescue.

I'm not planning on it for about 6 months to a year (need to move out of rented) but I wonder if anyone might be willing to give me some advice on preparing for a new companion?

Person_one

NewShadow wrote: »

I'm finding this absolutely fascinating.

We always had dogs when I was a kid. When I moved to uni, and since, I switched to cats as they suit me/my lifestyle a little more.

IIRC, all of our puppies (5 over 30 years as we staggered animals and had on average 3 at a time) came toilet, or at least paper, trained.

Is this not normal?

Ben was a lurcher, Bryn a whippet/lurcher cross, and Taz, Tali, and Herbie were Pomeranians.

I'm at the stage now where I'm more settled and considering a dog - I'm considering a Brittany or Pinscher as I've heard good things, but could well end up with a generic mid-sized 'mutt' from the shelter.

I know it's a tad selfish, but I think I'd want pup to be >6months if they were a rescue.

I'm not planning on it for about 6 months to a year (need to move out of rented) but I wonder if anyone might be willing to give me some advice on preparing for a new companion?

I would recommending starting a new thread.

owlet

I can't add any useful tips, they have been covered but I just wanted to tell you not to despair.

I had my new pup Feb last year at 10 weeks pld. I was expecting the tirst few months to be busy with her but I was still wiped out (I should say also that I have a couple of chronic illnesses , so was expecting the fatigue).

Pup was great but needed immediate training. She was trained to do her business on wee mats & soon got used to where they were. Toileting outside took a bit longer whilst she got used to new house, new routine & settled in. It's an intense time for little babies & us owners also go through learning curves too.

We bought our pup a lot of toys, which we played with her and rotated about every ten days to prevent boredom. I still do this now.
When she was about 4 months old, I also bought a few interactive puzzle games where she had to work out how to get the treats out. She loves working things out and getting the reward. It also tires her. That's thoughts for the future though.

It takes times and patience all round & it sounds as if your little one may have benefitted from having a bit longer with her Mum - but she is with you now & it WILL settle down.

Could your pup sleep in her bed next to your bed? I know some people don't like doing this but mine settled well once she knew we were right by her. I had already made up ky mind that she was going to sleep there anyway. I never thought it was fair to leave her on her own at night being so young. I know, I know, I'm a big softie but it works well for us and her!!

Keep us updated x

Laconic

I feel for you a bit. Puppies are a different bag. You need a crate, someplace where she can be when not playing or otherwise directly interacting with you. Even if you're in the room, if she learns that she can relax in her own place, her anxiety will go down. The key is you let her out when she is calm, not when she's agitating to get out... And you can ask her to remain in the crate even with the door open -- it's a place to chill, not a cage. Dogs tend to like the den like environment so it's often not much of a struggle but it's so important to build up slowly. For longer periods, a bathroom with a puppy gate would be ideal.

Crates are also great for housebreaking. As she won't want to go where she sleeps, crating her for 15 minutes after she eats then taking her straight out creates a very strong association between wanting to eliminate and going outside. Don't leave water ad libitum while housebreaking. Give her water about half an hour before you take her out. Puppy bladders are small and you set her up to fail if she always needs to pee. Needless to say, all this is not forever. You can and should relax the regimen as she gets bigger and succeeds better.

I probably don't need to tell you about the importance of eliminating smell fro where she has eliminated in the past. It's worth triple cleaning any flooring ir furniture that's becoming a habit to soil.

Finally, don't take it personally. She's not doing any of this at you. If you're calm and matter-of-fact about it, it will soon pass.