Puppy barking when left - out of of ideas!

[Pringle89]

So, we have a lovely 5 month old
Puppy, we’ve got through the worst stages of toilet training and no sleep but I’m still really struggling to leave him alone.

My DH works from home and I only work 12 hours a week but there are times when DH has to go out before I’m back from work or the school run so he’s left max 45 mins-1 hour.

Our dog trainer told us to give him a kong/lickimat when we leave which is fine until it runs out! Obviously try to walk him before etc to tire him out but he just barks the whole time (watched on a camera).

I’ve tried going out for a minute coming back etc and building it up, the first time I tried I did the school run for 20 mins and no barking, thought I had cracked it!! Next day back to barking again 😭

I feel so anxious when I need to leave him and worried that neighbours will start complaining.

I love him
And don’t want him to be upset when we are out but also I can’t stop my life and it’s not realistic that he’s never going to be left for short periods!

Someone please help, tips, advice, anything!!!

I Just need to know there’s light at the end of the tunnel because right now it’s hard to see how!! 😔

Our boy is 4 months, at first I couldn't leave the room without him crying and barking. There was a few times in the early days that I had to just let him cry. I'd give him his Kong filled with chicken, put the radio on and practically run to school and back.

Now I take him for a ten minute walk, put him in his crate with a treat, put the radio on and leave. Like the pp I don't let him out straight away when I get back but he's usually asleep anyway.

We have left him for about an hour but we can only really do that after lunch when he's had a big walk, offlead run, football time. He then just sleeps the whole time we're gone.

I've just been to puppy training and she said that she felt the best time to leave a dog was after a meal, or when there was part of the meal in the crate (ie kong filled) and that exercise was best before the meal, not after as it created wind and stress digestion. Just a thought, in case you can rejig meal/nap times to suit when you are out/in.

So for example, breakfast should be after exercise.