Please help me train puppy not to cry at baby gate!

[sleepdeprivedrus]

We brought our 8 week old puppy home at the weekend and he is in the utility room which connects to the open plan kitchen/living room. We have a baby safety gate between the kitchen and utility room to keep him in the utility room. We keep the door between the kitchen and utility room open, and spend most of the daytime in the kitchen/living room area, so he can see and hear us. However he cries and yelps continuously when he is in the utility room alone, even if someone stands right beside him on the kitchen side of the safety gate. As soon as someone goes into the utility room side, he is calm and is happy to entertain himself with toys or to sit quietly, so I don't think he is crying because he wants attention but because he doesn't want to be alone in the room. If I'm in the utility room washing at the sink and he's playing and then I go through the gate into the kitchen, he immediately starts crying. How do I train him to be okay in the utility room without causing some sort of separation anxiety disaster?

I don’t think the OP will come back because I don’t think they were anticipating the responses they’ve had here - so have probably quietly disappeared from the thread. Hopefully to let the poor puppy out of the utility room!

We got a puppy three weeks ago, and we’ve got a stair gate on the door to the back of the house (that leads to dining room, playroom and kitchen) and she has free roam in those rooms unless we shut a door for a particular reason (Lego on the floor etc) I haven’t sat on a sofa since we got her, I’ve either been on the dining room chairs keeping an eye on her, or in the garden as she potters about. Puppies do not like being by themselves. It is like having a tiny bitey shadow 🤣

I really hope I misunderstood the OPs post and she wasn't actually asking how to train her 8 week old puppy to stay quiet when he's constantly locked behind a gate in the utility room.

Because that would be really, really cruel. And really, really stupid.

I do wish people would do some proper fucking research before getting dogs

@LimitIsUp

I think you need to come back and clarify a few points OP because it rather sounds like pup is left to his own devices in the utility room every day - which if so - is unkind and inappropriate

I suspect she won't come back as she didn't expect these responses.

Poor little sausage 😥
I have a six month old rescue puppy, had her for 5 weeks and only now is she beginning to be happy to let me out of her sight.
She came from a Romanian kill shelter, never been socialisation, in a house, house trained etc. I treated her like a very young puppy and she’s learned so fast.
How do you expect your little puppy to learn anything if he’s behind a barrier for what sounds like long periods of time?
Mine followed me like a shadow, everywhere for the first 3 or 4 weeks. Even now if I get up to get a cuppa and she’s asleep, more often than not she’ll follow me. That’s normal behaviour.

I hope the OP doesn't disappear - we need her to engage so that we can guide her going forward

Op - come back, we won't be too harsh if you accept that things need to change

Hi everyone, thanks for the responses. Just to clarify that our puppy is not left alone in the utility room all day, and he is not our first dog. Our previous very much loved dog died earlier this year, and he was healthy and happy throughout the 10 years he was with us. However, this is the first dog I've been responsible for in the puppy stage, and so I am probably putting a lot of pressure on myself not to mess it up. Therefore it has been reassuring to hear that what we are doing the right thing with him - namely, playing with him and his toys whenever he's awake, stroking him and having him fall asleep on my lap, taking him outside and letting him sniff and explore the garden (supervised of course!). I was simply concerned that we could be coddling him too much in the early formative puppy stage and that this could lead to an anxious dog who could not be left alone in later years. Thanks again for the responses, what a relief to hear that for now we can continue cuddling him as much as humanly possible!

Therefore it has been reassuring to hear that what we are doing the right thing with him - namely, playing with him and his toys whenever he's awake, stroking him and having him fall asleep on my lap, taking him outside and letting him sniff and explore the garden (supervised of course!). I was simply concerned that we could be coddling him too much in the early formative puppy stage and that this could lead to an anxious dog who could not be left alone in later years.

This doesn’t match at all to what you’ve written in your OP!

You could train him to be happy in his area similarly to how you would if he had a crate or pen, or you could get a pen so he’s close but can have time alone but near you. My pup had a pen he slept in, your pup should sleep for 18/20 hours a day so having a safe quiet place to sleep isn’t a bad thing. Teach presence doesn’t mean access so when he’s there be quiet and speak calmly and quietly. Praise him for being a good boy only when he’s quiet/treat him - I use kibble/food allowance. If you ignore the crying/barking as that’ll get louder and more persistent as he gets older he isn’t getting attention for e
Negative behaviours it’s hard work. I’ve got a bit of a barker he’s quite hard work!!. Praise the calm.

@sleepdeprivedrus

Hi everyone, thanks for the responses. Just to clarify that our puppy is not left alone in the utility room all day, and he is not our first dog. Our previous very much loved dog died earlier this year, and he was healthy and happy throughout the 10 years he was with us. However, this is the first dog I've been responsible for in the puppy stage, and so I am probably putting a lot of pressure on myself not to mess it up. Therefore it has been reassuring to hear that what we are doing the right thing with him - namely, playing with him and his toys whenever he's awake, stroking him and having him fall asleep on my lap, taking him outside and letting him sniff and explore the garden (supervised of course!). I was simply concerned that we could be coddling him too much in the early formative puppy stage and that this could lead to an anxious dog who could not be left alone in later years. Thanks again for the responses, what a relief to hear that for now we can continue cuddling him as much as humanly possible!

So, given all this, why do you need to train him not to cry at the baby gate since it now seems that he is never behind it?! In fact, the utility room mysteriously hardly features at all in your second post and suddenly you've moved from barely interacting with him to fearing that you're coddling him? If you are playing with him and his toys whenever he's awake, how come he's crying at the baby gate at all? Does he do that in his sleep?

Don't give yourself whiplash with your change of direction, will you?

Wow this is such a weird question, the pup is 8 weeks!!! no need to be behind any gates or shut away, that's for later ffs