Is it unfair to let puppy cry?

[ishare94]

Not sure if it's supposed to help or be traumatic.

If I go and do something in a different room, especially for the small pets (we have a small pet room) and cleaning can take an hour or so where I don't interact with pup. Or when I'm cooking/eating (can be an hour) puppy is never left longer than an hour but if I'm home he just cries tbf this leaving for an hour thing is more recent as before I never made him be alone but he's getting a bit older now so feel it's important but can I then just leave to cry for that hour??

My neighbours did that.

Their dog continued to panic every time they left her which turned from crying into barking and howling. And she barked non stop. All day every day when the mum returned to work almost full time after mat leave.

Drove me insane.

Nowadays the advice is crate training and a kong or something yummy to keep them occupied.

Not quite. It’s building confidence over time, not leaving them until they’ve gained that confidence then building time up slowly at a rate they can cope with. Crate training is different.

Is it cruel? Well it’s setting you up for a harder path to help them be ok on their own. They’re experiencing distress which alters neural pathways. Some dogs get over it. A lot don’t. Most people I know who leave pups to cry have a very hard time leaving them later.

Food is distraction. Ok if you’re going to be back before they finish or get bored and need a breather but they’re not learning to be alone. Just distracted.

My pup was the same so we just let him be with us, yes it’s a bit frustrating but it doesn’t last forever. We’d just take it in turns to clean the house and one of us be with him and had lower standards for a while!

By about 9 months he started to get happier and more confident being alone, now I can go out and leave him and he’s fine for 2/3 hours. If I’m in the house he will always choose to be near me but if I do pop him in his crate or the kitchen he settles easily enough too.

No. Start with much smaller periods of time and build it up. An hour is a long time to be away from you if you haven’t got him used to it.

Please don't leave your puppy to cry.

Current thinking is that if you continue to leave a dog alone when they're upset, all you're doing is reinforcing the idea that being alone is scary. They won't suddenly wake up one day and be okay with it - they'll just get worse.

If your dog can cope for 30 seconds alone, that's where you start. Then you slowly build up how much time they spend alone without sending them over their threshold. If they get upset the moment you stand up, or open the door, then that's where you need to start.

It is really tough and can be incredibly tying.

An hour is too long for a small puppy. You’re asking for separation anxiety issues down the line.