8 month old cries when has to be separate

[Twigidy]

We have baby gates and my 8 month old is crying when having to be on the other side. Is this just normal for a puppy? Or do your olderish puppies actually let you do things while being on the other side of the baby gate? I feel awful when he barks or cries. I try rewarding when he is quiet but it's still been months of that and not improving so I feel I must be missing a step and yes, I've tried doing it for just a few mins at a time etc etc

Help!! Please.

Ours would charge at them and knock them down. He was fine if we were all together but hated it otherwise. We got rid and he goes pretty much where he wants now 😂

Issue is, I can't do any cleaning at all if he's in the same room as me and next to me, he will follow me everywhere and not let me do things!!

Ours is 4 now and so a bit calmer (mostly!). He used to run away from the hoover but now just barks at it. We just had to let him follow us and accept it would take a bit longer than usual. Have you tried a new toy/chew to see if that will distract him? If ours had a new chew he’d take it into another room to play with and that gave us a few extra minutes.

I use baby gates but for different circumstances. He is behind them when we have deliveries or answering the door and he gets treats thrown into the room so he actively runs into the room when someone knocks.

For your scenario like cleaning I just let him be but he is frightened of the hoover so tends to leave the room when I get it out. You mention he doesn't let you do things but how because I just get on with chores and he is now used to that happening.

Have you tried crate training?

How do you wash the floors with a puppy in the room?im genuinely shocked you can!! The hoover he barks, bites and growls at, he is literally ruining it.

Maybe do some training to desensitise household appliances

Our dog is fine on her own I think partly it's her breed and partly we have other dogs, although they are often walked separately and she knows she gets a treat when she is on her own. She actually takes herself off into another room sometimes!

I would try the following; wait till you and dog in same room and he is settled but awake, walk into next room (he will obvs follow) and do something boring (pick up item, get glass of water etc) walk back to where you were and sit down, keep repeating at various times throughout the day. One time he won't follow , when he doesn't follow you stay in the other room for only literally 4/5 seconds and go back to him.

Slowly build up the time you stay in the other room until you can go upstairs (this may take weeks). The idea is to make it so boring for him to follow you, also so he knows that at the start when he doesn't follow you will return to him.

You can help him by sometimes toss a treat back into the room, so he is aware you are not there whilst he eats treat. Don't make a fuss of him when he doest follow you, keep everything low key and boring.

Is he biting the hoover as its a game or is he scared?

If it's a game everyone he goes to bite it, stop moving it, my dog used to chase and grab the broom and bite the pile of sweepings. Every time she went to grab it I immediately stopped moving don't make eye contact and I put my foot on the dust pile. The movement of the broom excited her, so by stopping it she knows that it's no fun anymore when she tries to bite.

I'm not sure, how do I know if it's fear or a game @primoseyellow he seems very worked up, as I say, growling, biting, really going for it, more than I ever see him going for toys, it's like he's genuinely trying to hurt it

Good question @Twigidy ! I don't know if I would know even if I saw him🤔

Maybe try bringing the hoover out and leaving it in the room, unplugged, and a few times a day move it around. See his reaction, and each time you touch it or move it throw him a treat. Then build up to it switched off and do pretend hoovering back and forth, wait until he has no reaction to this and then start turning it on.

My dog used to be scared of suitcases, she would run off when she saw it. So I kept one downstairs and wheeled it about randomly. You can now wheel it past her nose and she has zero response, doesn't even lift her head up.

It sounds like you need to some desensitisation training.

So, if you're going to shut him out while you clean (which is fine) you need to give him something to do so he's not just sitting there feeling left out - a chew toy, a kong, a lick-mat etc.

If you want him to be able to settle while you clean, then you need to desensitise him to the cleaning/appliances so they no longer bother him. @primoseyellow has some great advice on that :)

Dogs are quite hard work and they do need consistent training. I don't think this is something that your dog will grow out of or change on their own.
What about giving your dog a chewy treat when you're doing your cleaning?
I suspect that she really wants to be part of the family, they are pack animals aren't they? They want to be with you.
Mine follows me around the house all the time. Like my little familiar