Puppy help

[tv_on_mute]

Hello, everyone. I have a 10 week old mini doxie puppy, George and I'm having some issues with him being alone. I realize he is still a baby and not used to being by himself (I've only had him a week), but I really need some advice. George will cry and cry if he is in his pen/crate and I am out of sight. What's worse is I live in an apartment,

Comments

[silverblaidd]

This is one of those things about getting a puppy. They require a lot of time, especially for the first few months, and crate training especially takes time if it's going to be done right. At ten weeks old, six hours in a crate is too much time during the day. Every minute that the dog spends in the crate crying and panicking and experiencing that emotional state is reinforcing to them that the crate is an unhappy place to be, which means that any crate training you might be doing is being undone.

A few people have mentioned a weekend type plan for crate training, like this one, but to be honest, I have never seen it work. The outline is good, though, and that link goes over how much time is too much time to be spending in a crate.

This is more or less how crate training should be done, and it can take up to several weeks to get to the point of leaving the dog home alone in the crate for extended periods of time. At this age, it's not just about teaching the dog to become accustomed to the crate, it's also about teaching the dog to be alone and be comfortable with that. It just can't happen in a short period of time.

[tv_on_mute]

Thank you for these links! One thing though, I don't leave him in his crate while at work, I have an exercise pen with his water toys food and crate in it. I realize this is all a gradual process but I don't really have an option for leaving him. Mind you this is only 3 times a week. The other four days someone is at the apartment at all times. Anyway thanks again.

[silverblaidd]

That's actually really good, this prevents him from associating the crate with bad things.

If that's the case, it's probably good to use the basic crate training steps set up to also help teach him that being alone isn't as horrible as he currently believes it is. You don't actually have to use the crate for this, but the steps would be similar. Start out slow, with tiny steps, and work your way up, and as much as possible try to avoid letting him reach the point that he starts to cry.

[tv_on_mute]

I do that, thank you! :)

[tv_on_mute]

*will do that

lol