Beagle cant be left alone

Question
My 4 months old female Beagle does not like to be left alone. She is not spay, but I plan to spay her when she is 6 months old. She cries very loud when she is left alone in the yard or in the house. I put her favorite blanket and toys by her, and I give her some treats before leaving the house, but still she cries. Is there a way I can train her not to cry?

Answer
This can be difficult, especially if she was never left alone before 12 weeks old.  Get her a crate.  It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home, other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work. Start out just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at feeding time for more than one dog.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition to destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a "safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving itself.

You might try leaving the door open at first until she gets used to it.  Fill a small Kong with peanut butter, freeze it, and give it to her when you leave.   

I never leave a dog outside when I am not around.  I also bring them in as soon as they want.  Some dogs are happy to quietly spend hours outside by themselves, and some take care of their business and are ready come back in.  The crate solves any problems of them being in the house by themselves as long as you don't leave them more than 4-5 hours.  If you can't give her a mid day break, find a neighbor or professional dog walker that can.