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Hello all, I need some advice. Sage my 16 week old puppy is having some issues. It is nothing dangerous. He has just become rather clingy to me and anxious when I leave. Earlier this month I had to take a trip to see my grandmother. I could not take him with me and had to leave him home with my hubby who works graveyard shift. I could not take him with me since she recently had surgery and is allergic to dogs. Since I have returned he has become rather clingy to me, including “slithering’ into my lap at any opportunity. Though when I go to leave the house he begins to bark and whine/scream as soon as I head out to our enclosed porch. I have tried working with him about not barking or screaming when I leave the house, but he is only lasting a few seconds each time before he starts the behavior again. I have tried waiting till he calms down and quiets before I come in and treat him for being quiet. If I put him outside to go potty he has no problems with me staying inside. If I go outside with him and head out of the front gate he whines, barks, or in general throws a fit, if unable to fallow me. I ignore him and only give him praise or treats when he is quiet.

 

I know that this will take time and a lot of patience to get through, but I am wondering if any of you can help me with ideas and suggestions for how to get through this with him. Any and all ideas welcome!!

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I would start by increasing her confidence and independance while you are home with her. Do little things like crating her when you are home for a bit. Give her a favorite toy or one of those "interactive" toys in her crate and ignore her. I also would not make a big deal when you let her out of the crate or when you come into the same room or come home. Make it all matter of fact. Let her outside do to her thing or whatever your routine is. I would not greet her or oohh and ahh over her for at least 5 min then keep it calm. I would also tie her maybe to the kitchen table leg while you are in there. Teach her you like her company but she can lay down and be calm, she doesn't have to be touching you. I would also crate her in your bedroom at night if you are not. Feed her in her crate. THis way she learns her crate is ok, she can relax and will not be thinking you will disappear.

 

She is young and needs lots of play time, keep 'training' sessions brief. This is the time you are shaping how she sees the world and how she interacts with people. She can rise to meet high standards if asked. A tired dog is a good dog and usually less concerned and anxious.

 

Once she is acting more confident with you home then go outside and work on that

 

Denice

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It makes sence that it could be a fear period for him. He loves his crate, often taking his filled squirrel in there to have at the kibble I have put inside. I will definatly try moving his crate to my side of the bed at night, right now it is at the foot of the bed. Thanks for all your ideas. I will let you know how we progress as time goes on.

 

After I had started this thread earlier I tried just letting him be loose in the house while I walked down to the mail box. My hubby said he just sat next to the door the entire time I was gone (5 to 10 minutes) and was quiet.

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..... He loves his crate, often taking his filled squirrel in there to have at the kibble I have put inside. I will definatly try moving his crate to my side of the bed at night, right now it is at the foot of the bed.

 

I would gradually move his crate further away from your bed and you (rather than closer) to increase his tolerance for separation.

 

Jovi

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Ok so slowly move him away from the bed instead of closer.

 

How I have been waiting for him to be calm before coming back in is I stay outside where he cannot see me till I do not hear him even whine/whimper before I go to open the door. We have a window right next to the door that I can hear him out of. I do this up to 50 times a day depending on how many times I need to go outside besides the 3-4 times an hour that I am working with him. It does not seem to matter how many times I am doing this he is still throwing a fit every time I leave. He could care less if either my husband or my kids go in or out. It is only when I leave. He seems to only last a few seconds (seriousely net even 30 seconds on my watch) before he starts, and it lasts till after I have gotten to the door and waited about 2-3 minutes before he quiets down and I open the door and come in.

 

I have done what others suggest about totaly ignoring him for 5 minutes before I give him a pat on the head and give him a treat for being quiet and good (no jumping). I then ask if he will get his rope for "tug" which consists of me holding onto the end and him tugging on it. I have also stepped up how much he is getting in his walks, about 20-30 minutes a few times a day, with a lot of fetch games with him in the yard. I have the boys play the fetch games with him so he interacts with them more as well. Hubby also takes him for a walk in the morning after he gets home from work.

 

Am I still doing something wrong? Is there more I could be doing? I feel a little out of my depth with this pup.

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Wait, you "work with" him 3-4 times per hour, he goes on several 20-30 minute walks per day, you're playing fetch daily, AND you're going in and out without him 2-3 times per hour?! :huh:

 

I'm no expert, but even if that activity level is exaggerated it's way too much, imo. Personally, I would stop working with him so much. Once a day, for a few minutes is more than enough at his age. I'd wean down his walks to one per day, two if you absolutely cannot give him free exercise/play time. And if you really have to go in and out that much each day I'd move his crate to a quiet room away from the house's main entrance and work on having him rest in his crate during the day so he's not being stressed by your coming and going until he readjusts. Honestly, for a dog who is being stimulated as much as you're stimulating him I don't think 2-3 minutes of crying when left alone is too bad. It sounds like his only down time is when you're leaving him alone, and then you're popping back in as soon as he does quiet down so he never learns to quiet and stay that way. I'm an adult human and I'd be exhausted from that kind of schedule every day, I'd imagine he's quite over stimulated.

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Thank you Olivehill for your honest opinions. I greatly appreciate your help in every way.

 

His crate is in our room still. Not out in the main living areas. I honestly thought that 3 walks a day was a good thing for him. I went from only doing about a 15 min walk a few times to 20-30 minutes at each walk. He does play fetch with the boys daily, but it is only about 10 mintues before he is tired and wants to go lay down. His crate is open to him most of the time, is ever only closed when we have to leave or at night when it is time to sleep.

 

Most of the time when I leave the house to do little things he fallows me. I will definatly cut back on working with the door. I also will cut back on his walks to just one a day, two if he isn't able to go out to play.

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I admire your consistency in working with your boy. I think you will work through this. Olivehill has some good points - the more you work with him, the more he wants. I remember a story from someone who had another high energy breed (Weimeraner) who was frustrated that her dog never wanted to relax, even though she was running with him for 5-8 miles PER DAY. She received advice that the more she ran, the stronger her dog got, and thus the 5-8 miles were no longer tiring him. Not an exact anology to your predicament, but somewhat similar.

 

I don't think that you have to move your dog's crate totally out of the bedroom, but just don't have it right next to your bed.

 

Have you tried giving your dog a frozen, stuffed Kong or similar treat when you leave? When my pup was growing up, I would give him some treats or a Kong (or similar) every time I put him in his crate before I left. I like to think that he was more focused on his treats (he is very food-motivated) than on my leaving.

 

Good Luck,

Jovi

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I have not tried giving him a frozen one, just ones filled with kibble with a treat stuffed all the way inside it that he has to work at to get. I will try a frozen one. I have thought about giving him a fresh frozen beef bone but have not as of yet since I am not sure if it would hurt his teeth. Thank you Jovi.

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My input would be to fill the kong with something way better than kibble. Something he does not normally get like a piece of hot dog topped with peanut butter, cooked beef liver, or just smelly moist dog treats he doesn't normally get. I stuff mine with canned dog food and top with peanut butter then freeze. For your purpose though I would make it very very smelly. Drop it on the ground and walk out the door. Come back in before he finishes it, start off with something quick like a minute or 2. Just get back in before he loses interest (this is why you want to make it really smelly and don't bother freezing yet since you'll be coming back inside in a minute). You want to go out and back in before he even gets a chance to whine. I like this method better than walking out and 'waiting him out' method since I have seen dogs who can whine and bark for hours on end. Then just keep increasing the time. I agree with the others that walking out the door 50 times a day is a lot. Just work on it a few times a day. When you feel comfortable you can start giving him raw meaty bones when you work on this since most dogs go nuts for them, especially if they don't get them on a normal basis.

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Smelly,yummy kong + quick trip only a few times a day. Get back in before he looses interest. Got it! and will try to keep it short and sweet with any and all training till he is older. Only 1 walk a day unless unable to go out to play, then a max of 2 walks. Bones are a very rare treat. Though I was told that frozen beef bones are great for chewers when teething.

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Bones are a very rare treat. Though I was told that frozen beef bones are great for chewers when teething.

I don't think bones need to be a rare treat. A lot of people feed raw and a lot of people are not comfortable feeding bones too often so everyone has a differing opinion. I say do what you are comfortable with and what your dog is okay with.

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Well I tried the stuffed smelly, yummy kong for the first time. I HAD to go get dog food and check the mail. It worked!! He so could have cared less that I was leaving and was still going after it once I got back. As a matter of fact he just got the last of the goodies out of it and is tossing it around hoping to get more I think. I guess I should get more kongs now.

 

Thanks again for the ideas all.

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Glad to hear the good progress report!!

 

I know how annoying and frustrating a whiny, barking dog can be. I have an ~ 16 year old Sheltie mix that I adopted from a shelter when she was 3.5 years old. I have NEVER been able to train her out of the barking behavior - if she comes with me in the car (and she begs to go for rides), the second I get out of the car, she starts barking without stopping. I get some very funny looks from other people in the parking lot so I park away from the other cars, and run in and out of the store as fast as I can so she will stop. She can go non-stop for over 45 minutes. Needless to say, she doesn't go for many rides if I have to stop and shop. Since she is not treat-motivated, I could leave a tasty steak in front of her when I leave the car, and it would be there when I got back. I did a lot of the click and treat for calm, non-barking behavior, but it never stuck - although I know that I was not as consistent as I could have been. She is fine when I leave the house (no separation barking) so it has just been easier for me to limit her outings.

 

Jovi

 

Jovi

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Well it has been a few days of using the filled smelly kong with Sage and it is working quiet well. Cheese and peanutbutter being his preffered fillings. I can now step out and back in within 3-4 minutes with him happily licking out all the goodies from the kong. Progress is being made.

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I would test it out now with adding some time between finishing kong and you coming back, 10 seconds to start. Maybe use a Kong with less filling or something else for a keep busy treat that takes less time to get through. You need to test to see if the minute he finishes that Kong he reverts back into seperation mode or not. Hopefully he doesnt, or its a minor 'where'd she go'

 

I have an almost 4 year old with extreme seperation anxiety his whole life. I wanst proactive enough when he was a pup, I didn't have the knowledge or skills to handle the problem and I never really realised how extreme it was until I started agility, and then throw that in with reactivity issues (leash and motion) I had a dog that couldn't be calmed down waiting his turn and I couldn't walk away from leaving him crate, it sucked. I started agility when he was 2, so its been 2 years and very slow but progress has been made. My dog was like yours waiting it out didn't work, doing crate training wasn't the only part of the answer either. Seperation anxiety in a bonded dog is a huge struggle, and I'm so happy your tackling it now as it will only get worst if you don't. Like your dog other people could be home, but I wasn't, and I am his person.

 

I think the biggest thing is having a routine. When leaving the house I crate or put Jude in a room, he lies down, I give him a kiss on the head say 'i gotta go to school' (school turned into the I'm leaving for awhile cue) and then that is that, ignore him till I get home. When I get home he gets a soft 'hey buddy', I go to crate he dances around lalalala, I wait for a sit and calm behaviour, open the crate door, eye contact the release.

 

Away from the house, when he is crated in a strange place, I throw a handful of treats around the crate, tell him "be right back!" In a singsong voice and walk away.

 

I can tell you right now to start crating practice anywhere and everywhere, it will save you later on. Once you have a routine started at home bring it on the road.

 

A lot of people say crate train, play crate games, wait it out till he doesn't bark etc etc, but thats just one part of the problem. Your dog can love their crate, go in on their own, eat all meals in there, but you not being there overides it.

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Thanks for both the advice and your experience ChantalB. We (being my hubby and I) will try that once he gets back home from work in the morning. Since it doesn't matter if he is home or not I can have him give me a clue when I get back inside if he has begun the "sky is falling" or not. He is getting better about not trying to crawl into my lap at every opertunity as well. Maybe it was the backing off of all the training/interaction that has allowed him to calm down a bit inside the house as well.

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I know it has been a while since I have written anything about our progress. Good news is that we HAVE progress. I have been changing up when he gets his kongs, so there is no "key" that will let him know I am leaving. I have also started having both my boys and my hubby give him his kong as well. Again so he can't key in that I am leaving. The wanting to climb into my lap at every opertunity has finaly stopped, unless I ask him too of course. The whining/crying/screaming that I am leaving has lessend to almost non-existant as long as he has his kong to occupy him when I am first leaving. He is staying quiet the entire time I am gone and only whines a little when I get back and do not let him out of his kennel right away. I wait till he is quiet and it has been 5 minutes after I get home. Has to meet both requirements first! I can also make quick trips out the door to the porch where the kitty box and food dishes are to take care of them without his antics about me leaving.

 

All in all, I see this as progress. Thank you all again for your suggestions and comments. It has helped me to realise that... well... he is a pup, and nothing is going to change that besides maturity. He is no different then almost any other dog I have had the pleasure of bing around. The one exception is my mothers little jack russel / toy poodle mix that is a neurotic mess, and she loves him anyway.

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