Success stories of clingy pups who became possible to leave for a bit

[ValedictoryMessage]

Got a v clingy pup, always follows someone round, barks if left in room on her own.

11 week.

She sleeps v happily in a crate in our room at night, we’re slowly moving her downstairs.

She’ll go t9 her crate or a bed for a nap or a chew but if she’s not asleep and you leave the room, she whines then starts barking. I’ve tried leaving for 30 seconds and coming back. Does this actually work in the end??

[Somethingapoo]

Hi, I had just come onto MN to ask a similar question!

I have recently adopted a puppy from a rescue. We think she is a cockerpoo, but a lot of people have told me they think she is a cavapoo. She's definitely part poodle. She's 15 weeks now, we've had her for 2 weeks.

She is such a lovely calm pup, eager to please, very friendly, quick to learn. The only problem is with leaving her!

We have a puppy gate across the kitchen, with her crate in it, At night we make the area smaller, but during the day she has the whole kitchen. She is very happy to wander in and out of her crate, and regularly puts herself in it for naps. She's in it right now, fast asleep.

The kitchen is the hub of our house, so we are nearly always in it. I have been working in it since we got her too. But sometimes, I just need a wee. Or to pop upstairs. And she goes bananas! Even if she can still see me.

The funny thing is she is fine overnight. She'll bark for a few minutes, then be quiet until we get up in the morning. Whenever I've gone out, she is always fast asleep when I return.

We are trying to make sure that we all ignore her when she is making the racket. We give her a treat when we leave her, but she will often either ignore it, or eat it then start up making a noise.

I have spent a lot of time standing at various points of my hallway ignoring her when she barks then saying "good quiet" and rewarding her with a treat. Or hiding in the toilet and reappearing once she is quiet.

Sometimes she really gets it, and you can see how hard she us trying to be quiet. Other times she goes frantic, throwing herself at the puppy gate, yapping and howling. Last night, she went on for about half an hour while I was trying to get my daughter ready for bed. But then she didn't cry at all when we went to bed!

We're trying to be consistent, but I am worried that we are going to end up with her having separation anxiety. The small successes make me think we are doing something right, then it goes backwards again. But then she is still such a baby, and she is still new here.

So I shall be looking eagerly for tips :-)

[ValedictoryMessage]

Mine ended up in the bathroom with me this morning attacking the bathmat while I tried to shower. She wouldn't be left in her crate though. Interesting getting out of the shower while a little cockershark was leaping up at me fangs bared.

It's not sustatainable so we are really going to try on working on her being left for long enough at least that someone can have a shower.

[RedRed9]

Have you joined the Facebook Group ‘Dog Training Advice and Support’? It’s run by qualified behaviourists and is definitely worth joining, even if you have to make a Facebook account just to do so.

m.facebook.com/groups/374160792599484/

[ValedictoryMessage]

Yes, it's really good. I think I need some reassurance that it will eventually be OK!