crying!

Question
I have an 8 week old puppy that I got at 6 weeks. He sleeps very well through the night but cries all day long while I'm at work. So much to the point that my landlord has had it. I come home on lunch and right after work( 4 hr intervals) and he has been so good at holding it until I come home to let him out. But the crying is a MAJOR problem. I relize he is young but if I cant find a solution, I may have to give him up. I bought a spray collar but he is 5 1/2 pounds and as I said, just making 8 weeks. Is it safe to use on him? for 4 hr intervals?

Answer

Hi Selena,

At 8 weeks old, your puppy is just a tiny baby. There's no use in using the spray collar on him, it will only traumatize him. He's simply too young for that training method to be effective. Spray collars shouldn't be used on a puppy under 6 months of age.

Your puppy can be taught to remain quiet when he's left alone, but that will take time. Until you can train your puppy, can you take him to work with you?  Can you take him to a "dog day care" while you work with him to teach him how to remain quiet? If you can't do the doggy day-care, is there a friend or family member who can take the puppy during the day?

Make sure your puppy is getting enough daily exercise based on its size and energy level. Puppies need a half-hour brisk walk every day and several play sessions with toys or romping about a yard in order to get tired enough to sleep at times when they have to be alone. Do this just before you leave the house. Dogs become stressed when they are not active enough, and this will start them crying. It also might be helpful to leave on the TV or radio when you leave.

Puppies who have a problem crying when no one is home need special training. This is called separation anxiety. When you're at home, start with short breaks in a different room while you are somewhere in the house. Start with 5 minute sessions (less if he gets worried) and do these as often as possible throughout the day. Gradually build these up, never going faster than he can cope with. Once you can leave him for one hour easily, begin to leave him alone in the house, but go back to just 5 minutes sessions again, building up very slowly. Pretend to go to work. Go through all of the routines you usually do before leaving the house,  and then come back to the home in a couple of minutes. Open the door and if the puppy is crying, clap your hands loudly (to get his attention) and say, "NO!" in a low stern voice. Step out and shut the door. If the puppy is still quiet one minute later, open the door and give praise and a food reward.

Read  more about training your puppy to be quiet here:

http://dogtime.com/puppy-training-home-alone-dunbar.html

Giving the puppy up might be necessary.  Puppies have an instinct to never be alone. In the wild, a lone puppy usually winds up being a dead puppy very quickly, so they cry in order to attract the attention of the pack. This is a very strong instinct to try and suppress for puppies living in homes.

Best of luck,
Patti