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Old February 29th, 2008, 10:09 AM
cwong198 cwong198 is offline
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Location: Toronto, ON
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Crying/whining when I leave

I'm a new owner of a Cockapoo puppy named Dumpling, who has just turned 11 weeks old. I have been crate training him and he seems to be doing fine - he will go in at night and not cry at all when I leave him to sleep. I'll let him out to play when I'm home, but I also have him stay in his crate sometimes while I am there so he doesn't associate being in his crate with me leaving. He will whine a bit when he is in the crate and I am at home, but i will sit beside it and tell him he is a good boy and give him a treat if he stays quiet for about 5 mins.

However, I've noticed that he will cry/whine whenever I leave the house (I leave in the morning at 9, am back by 12 and leave at 1, and I have a dog walker come at 4pm and am back home by 6 - so no more then 3 hrs in a crate or by himself at a time). I have stood outside my door and can hear him howl, although I haven't had a chance to actually stay and time how long he will cry for. I have practiced leaving the room (he will whine a bit) and only coming back in when he stops to see if it will help, and I also leave the radio on while I'm away.

I assume this is normal puppy behaviour and he is just sad to be seperated from human contact and am just wondering until what age will this go on? It breaks my heart to hear him cry that way and I'm sure my neighbours are not appreciating it either!

Any advice would be much appreciated!
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Old February 29th, 2008, 04:04 PM
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chico's mommy chico's mommy is offline
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Location: Jacksonville, FL
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Wink

I feel your pain on the how you feel about the crying. I have a new puppy who I'm crate training and the people here have been so helpful with that. I've never had a puppy myself so I need all the help I can get. Chico only goes in his crate when I leave the apartment and I think he has associated it with that now. Some of the advice I have been given that seems to help is #1 wrap a ticking clock up in a blanket and set it in the crate and the puppy will associate it with it's mother's heartbeat. And #2 put something in the crate that smells like you so even when you are gone they will get the feeling that you are still there. When I first started crate training Chico he cried the minute I put him in it and sometimes he cried from just seeing it. He doesn't do that as much anymore. When I put him in he will cry every now and then for a few seconds and I just give a light tap on top of the crate and say no and he calms down. When he calms down I give him a treat and tell him that I will be back soon. I am lucky because I work at the apartment complex where I live so I walk home for lunch and he is never left in his crate for long periods of time. I also put the cartoon network on for him and he seems to enjoy that ... especially Tom and Jerry ... lol.

Also, and this may be just me, but because Chico is such a small puppy it is hard for me sometimes to keep an eye on him when I'm home and trying to do simple tasks like laundry, making dinner or cleaning so I went and bought a baby play pen from Walmart. I put him in that when I have to do something around my apartment and I don't want him to be on the floor (since he isn't fully pooty trained) and as long as he can see me he is okay. He has his toys in there and a nice fluffy blanket he lays on and he plays in there.

I hope some of this is helpful for you. Good luck and keep us posted. Also pictures please!!!

Last edited by chico's mommy; February 29th, 2008 at 04:07 PM.
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Old February 29th, 2008, 04:15 PM
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luckypenny luckypenny is offline
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I just posted this link in another thread. I'm hoping you'll find it useful as well.

http://www.sfspca.org/behavior/dog_l...ep_anxiety.pdf
http://www.sfspca.org/behavior/dog_library/crating.pdf

Welcome to pets.ca cwong198 .
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