Separation anxiety in puppy

[Otismakessix]

We have a 9 week old Tibetan Terrier. We have had him for a week and he yelps and screams whenever we leave the room.

We have a baby gate between the front room and kitchen so he can hear us. We return every few minutes to reassure him and have offered a stuffed Kong (moistened puppy complete food) but this doesn't distract him at all.

He is placed in a crate in my son's room at night and sleeps from around 10 til 6 am.

I know he is still very little, and that this is to expected and we haven't had him long, but I just wondered if anyone had any tips we haven't tried? I'm a big softie and am determined not to spoil him and make his separation anxiety worse!

Forgot to say that he isn't left at home on his at all and he goes everywhere with us.

He will do. What would you do if you were removed from your litter mates and mother a week ago.

It is not yet separation anxiety.

But you have to train him, slowly. So one minute the other side of the baby gate, release when quiet/ settled. Build it up slowly.

You can't just expect him to be ok not being able to see anyone or be near anyone.You are expecting far too much far too quickly

Arbrighton's right, he's a tiny baby. He's been used to cuddling up to his mum and the rest of his litter.

You won't spoil him by being with him, but you will end up with a dog with separation anxiety if you don't take getting him used to being on his own very slowly.

Thank you for replying.

I don't expect him to learn to settle himself for months yet. Just wondered if anyone had any other ideas, or really if that's all I needed to keep doing. He gets lots of cuddles and reassurance, and praise when he's settled.

I'm quite nervous because I want to 'get it right' ( pretending to be supremely confident in front of pup though). I've had cats all my life so dogs are new to me.

Someone is usually in the house and will very rarely need to leave him on his own; even then I have a puppy sitter lined up.

I guess I just keep doing what I'm doing then and take my queues from him .

I mean cues!!!!!

Take a look at the puppy survival threads (we are on part 2) on here to get some hints and tips.

You keep mentioning that you will very rarely leave him on his own but I think it is still important to get them slowly accustomed to being left alone as you cannot guarantee someone will be about at all times for the many years of their life (appointments run late, people are ill, family emergencies, home life and work setup changes).

But what we're saying is you need to stop leaving him the other side of the baby gate for now, he's too little

Right now, on his own means not right next to a person. Not in the whole house on his own.

The goal with teaching a puppy to be comfortable being left on their own is that they're never left long enough for them to get upset.

This means starting really, really small and very gradually working up to longer periods, always making sure your puppy is not getting to the point where they're crying or barking. If they are then you're moving too fast and need to take a step back to where they're comfortable.

This guide is specifically about crate training but it also covers leaving your puppy and the methods used can be applied exactly the same however you're choosing to leave your pup when you're not there. It sounds like a very long winded process but it's actually not, they do catch on very quickly and the end result will be a puppy who is perfectly comfortable with being left.

Thank you for the link, and I will look at the puppy survival thread.

The difficulty we have is we have four cats and they tend to hang out the kitchen. We put the gate up because they are terrified of the pup! It's a balancing act at the moment, and I am sure that as the cats get more confident we can get rid of the gate.

I will take on board that we need to go super slowly. He is adorable and we are really lucky to have him.

Can you organize your home gates and crate so your puppy can see you? So puppy slowly gets used to you moving around. And quickly popping in and out of sight.
It's early days, he is still a tiny baby.

P.S.: Tibetans are great but they are attached (by the heel) to their owner! Your puppy and adult dog will follow you everywhere! He will wait outside any door you close in his face and is only truly happy when he can see you.

My (now 6 year old) dog used to do this. He yelped and whined through the stair gate even if one of us was just the other side of it. We stumbled across our solution by accident when we saw him go over to a pile of dirty laundry waiting by the washing machine and flop down, burying his nose in it. Instant cure: we left him with an article of clothing each time he was on his own.

An article of clothing that smelled of us, I mean.

Fantastic idea about the clothing. It reminded me of my late GF's dog who would steal his socks and take them to bed with her. Will try with an old (worn) jumper.

We have also purchased a large puppy play pen today so that the cats can get used to him and we don't need the gate. We remembered that the breeder used one for the litter. He really does want to be friends with them but they aren't so keen at the moment. It's early days for all of them.

Thanks for the ideas. I feel a bit more content that we are on the right track with him now.

My dog's item of choice was an old dressing gown. To this day, he has one in his bed!

The advice now is that you can't spoil them at this age, if they are left to cry, that is thought to possibly influence the development of separation anxiety.

Are you on FB? There is a group on there with lots of advice and puppy files.

I have a 15 week old and we are doing ten minutes at a time.

www.facebook.com/groups/374160792599484/