Leaving puppy for first time

[Imdoingitnow]

We have to leave our 13 week Labrador puppy on his own today for an hour as both of us have appointments. He's been with us constantly since we got him 2 weeks ago. What's the best we can do for him?

He goes in his crate and snoozes with the door open during the day and we've left him for short periods of time while we are upstairs. We're trying to get him to spend time playing on his own

We have a Kong and a lickmat. I'm just so nervous that he'll howl and cry. What has worked for you?

I would’ve said leave him gradually but as you’ve got to be out today it’s only an hour id play with him make sure he’s tired, taken out before you leave and left to sleep. I use my alexa show to check in on my boy to see if he’s upset but always asleep, he’s 11 months now though. If you never leave them they will struggle when you do so it’s not a bad thing to go out 5 mins come back in then each time longer but if he gets upset you can come back sooner. They need to know you’re coming back. I wouldn’t leave a kong or a licky mat but a long lasting chew as chewing has a similar calming effect. Nyla bone do a keys chew for puppies needs to be something safe and I didn’t leave kongs without supervision.

Little things that might help are keeping the radio on, having a t shirt in his bed that smells like you, shutting the blinds if you have lots of people walking past your house etc.

We have a camera with sound so we can see what he's up to.

Honestly though, our boy couldn't be left until he was older and more confident but every dog is different.

@Girlintheframe I forgot we leave the radio on too, my pup likes radio 2, clothing with your smell is a good idea too. We have privacy film up on window to stop him getting distracted by things outside. Once you’ve left him this time I would work on building his confidence and leaving for short amounts of time that way he’s used to it if you ever have a similar scenario- or research doggy daycares they can be invaluable.

Film him on your phone while you're gone so you can see what he does. Have a good play with him before you leave and try not to let him see you picking up the car keys etc. It's great that he settles while you're upstairs so try and make it seem like that's what's happening.

Don't worry though, he'll be fine. Even if he does howl it won't hurt him.

On the rare occasions we left ours, we left the radio on and with a piece of our clothing (they're buggers for stealing my nighties off the bed). Something to chew, and they should be fine! But I'd leave in the crate so they're not going to put themselves in danger.

When I left mine first few times I propped the iPad up on some books and FaceTimed myself so I could check she wasn't barking or howling! I leave the radio on and she's in kitchen which is stair gated and safe, so she has the choice of going in her bed or on the cool floor, can get her water, plenty of toys and usually some kibble in a snuffle mat or some paste in a kong to keep her busy. I make sure she's had a walk/play before and been out for toilet and is basically ready to sleep. She is generally pretty good and maybe whines a little when she's realised we've gone but then lays down and chills.

You’ve probably already gone out now but we just make sure he’s tired, get him to go in his crate and put sleep music on so he can have a good nap in peace. Try to start leaving him more often so that he gets used to it, we find it’s actually better to leave him for about 2 hours at the weekend so that he can get a really good nap or he gets cranky!

Thanks for your responses. We did it!! As far as we can tell, he didn't cry or howl - I'll have to check the neighbours to be sure. DH got home and dd had been snoozing in his crate. He's still now working away at his Kong trying to get the last of the filling out.

This is a bit of a turning point for us and dpuppy as it's made us realise that we should start to us his crate more during the day for calming him and giving us and him some space.

That's excellent. Definitely keep working on this. All through lockdown I kept up the routine of leaving our young dog to settle alone as if we were out of the house. It's such an important skill.