6 Month Old Puppy Doesn't Like Being Alone

faceman

I recently took in a 6 month old male puppy from a family who couldn't keep him. He is almost fully house trained but he seems to have major issues with being alone no matter how short the duration.

When left in a room on his own, he freaks out big time. Screeching, scratching barking, the works. (There is no history or abuse or anything like that.)

Looking for people's opinions on how to get him used to spending time on his own.

Thanks!

The Cool

I would try using a treat or something - Kongs are great for lasting a good while of chewing - so that the puppy associates you leaving as being a good thing. Anything I watch or read about training dogs seems to be all about rewarding and making a pattern of things, so giving him a treat when you leave and then repeating the process will slowly but surely make him associate your absence with being a good thing.

Also, don't make a big deal out of leaving or anything. Distract him with something and then leave.

ferretone

I'm afraid you are going to have to start with extremely short durations! When you say, "no matter how short the duration", have you tried say, 30 seconds? You leave the room calmly, go out, wait 30 seconds, come back in, and then carry on as if nothing has happened (after all, it hasn't, has it?) Repeat this at irregular intervals, and then when he can endure this calmly, increase to a minute, and repeat the procedure.

You can do this at gradually longer periods, for as long as it takes, but any time he gets too freaked out, you will need to backtrap a step, and give it a little more time before progressing. I know what it's like, it does take ages: I have a 6-month-old pup whom I got like that almost 3 months ago, and I still haven't got to where I can leave her alone overnight! Although I can leave her alone in the house for a couple of hours, which at one point seemed way beyond possible.

I just don't stress it; I know she's turning into a much more confident, and also more well-bonded dog than if I had just abandoned her to learn to deal with it on her own. We'll get there in the end, and so will you if you have the patience to allow his independence to develop naturally, as an extension of his feeling that he can depend on the people around him, rather than trying to teach it by enforcing it.

I wish you all the best with it: it's a long, uphill struggle, but it is worth it in the end, when you have a happy, confident dog, who worships the ground you walk on!

Edited to add: of course, if even 30 seconds is too long right now, then you'll need to start with 10, or 5, or 1 - whatever he can handle to begin with. Whatever that is, it can always be added to. Even if it's only getting up from your chair, doing nothing, and then sitting down again. You just start with whatever he can handle, and build from there. A thundershirt, and/or an Adaptil plug-in may also be helpful at this stage. I do realise it can be much more difficult with an older pup like yours, for whom the problem has never been addressed, than starting with a much younger one, like we did.