# Viv hates to be left alone...help!!!



## Vivienne-the-Vizzy (Jan 16, 2014)

Hi All,

We are really struggling trying to get Viv used to being left alone. When we shower in the mornings or leave the house for 30 minutes she doesn't stop crying/whining/howling. 

Viv is very happy in her crate overnight, will walk in and out of her crate during the day for a sleep and is very relaxed inside it. 

We have tried giving Viv a special chew toy when we leave the house to try and distract her, tried different toys but nothing seems to work.

We leave Siggy (Miniature Dachshund) in the same room so they can both see each other but it doesn't a make a difference. 

I have read numerous separation anxiety posts and different books but I don't know what else I can do?

Has anyone else experienced this? Any tips would be very welcomed. 

Kelly


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

Hi,

At her age, I think it will just take time, patience, and reinforcement. It is heartbreaking and frustrating when they cry and carry on. 

Good luck!


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## Canadian Expy (Feb 27, 2013)

I'm sure lots of us have experienced this - oh the fun of puppyhood. 

When we first brought our guy home we spent a couple of days just getting him used to his crate (which he fortunately took to quite easily) and then spent the next few days trying to get him accustomed to us leaving the house and coming back to him. We did this by putting him in his crate and then leaving the room for a short period of time and returning, each time increasing the length of time you are gone. We then advanced to us going to a different floor of the house and once successful there we tried leaving the house (go outside and standing on the porch listening) and returning. Each time we would return to the crate only when the pup was quiet. 

Don't get me wrong, in the beginning there was initially crying and howling (and boy can they howl!) but we were consistent in our approach and the howling and fussing only lasted a few days, then he got used to the routine. At the time we lived in a semi-attached house and we were very worried for the sanity of our attached neighbors, but they confirmed that it was a short lived phase (we brought them a bottle of wine and a card as an apology in advance of bringing him home!). 

Of course our dogs want to be with us ALL the time, but for us it helped to teach that though you will leave them alone for short periods of time, you always return (to an extremely excited bouncy V). 

Best of luck to you and Viv


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## SuperV (Oct 18, 2011)

Similar to Canadian Expy said...

Try fun training drills with the pup...
1. tell her to go into her crate
2. treat/reward,
3. give the command to come out of the crate (my preference, but the pup isn't allowed to leave the crate until commanded - i don't like a dog busting out of the crate as soon as the door opens...) 
4. Treat/Reward 


Once the pup is OK with that step, 

1. Send the pup to the crate,
2. shut the door for a second or two or three
3. open the door 
4. release the pup
5. Treat and Reward

You can then start repeating this process and gradually leaving the crate door shut longer and longer, and eventually move to walking away starting with 1 step increments until you are left the room. You are just teaching the dog, you'll be back if she waits. The dog will also dictate how fast you can move through these steps...just don't rush it and always end on a good note - so don't push your luck.

Also keep in mind, as horrible and painful the cries and whinning of the pup, the pup will eventually quiet down (just like a crying baby), so be ready for that second or two the pup stops to jump in and let her out when she stops. She should learn the being quiet is what opens the door, and not the crying. Also - the pup isn't any danger or harm crying in a crate - so tough it out...

Good luck!
Nate


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## Vivienne-the-Vizzy (Jan 16, 2014)

Thank you all for the advice.

We will give the fun training drills a try and keep at it.

Hopefully Viv will settle into her crate soon.

Thanks again. 

Kelly


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Besides exercise/ short crate durations to start/ not letting puppy out if crying etc etc, other little things that helped were a ticking clock, frozen peanut butter kong ( only given in crate), dog TV, music, and covering crate. 

Stay strong! It's worth the effort!


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## wbavos (Oct 18, 2013)

Daisy is 15 weeks now & still does not like her crate. She will not even go in it (other than to drag her toys & blanket out of there), so you guys are ahead of us! I've really not tried to help with it as she does settle eventually (when we leave) but if anyone is on the house she will carry on forever until she gets get out! She would even try to climb her crate walls when she was a smaller pup. I don't feed her in it, though b/c it's on a carpeted area. But maybe I need to try that.  She doesn't get treats yet of any kind b/c then she gets really runny poo. I have pure canned pumpkin to put on her food in that case but have yet to try that. She loves praise & that has worked for us. Probably not a good thing but we just avoid putting her in the crate if anyone is home. ;-)


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## SuperV (Oct 18, 2011)

MilesMom said:


> Besides exercise/ short crate durations to start/ not letting puppy out if crying etc etc, other little things that helped were a ticking clock, frozen peanut butter kong ( only given in crate), dog TV, music, and covering crate.
> 
> Stay strong! It's worth the effort!


Good Call - we have always covered the crate so its a cave and played a radio...not sure if the works or not since we did that from day one, but we didn't have an issue either.... We also had an inventory of kongs in the freezer filled with frozen peanut butter or yogurt mixed with kibble to give the pup when they were in the crate....


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## Vivienne-the-Vizzy (Jan 16, 2014)

We tried the Kong with frozen yogurt Viv wasn't very interested. Maybe she'll like peanut butter?? Most definitely worth a try. 

I like the idea of covering the crate, Will give it a go.

Unfortunately we don't have the dog TV channel in the UK. 

Thanks for the tips


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## pippylongstocking (May 21, 2012)

You've won half the battle if she is already settled at night time! There is light at the end of the tunnel. Honestly! Ester used to make one **** of a racket, whatever time of day or night, when she was in her crate, and would never settle. I lost a lot of sleep in the first few months after we had her. It's the one thing that she took ages to learn. We did everything we could to make it cosy. Covering the crate is a good idea. That's what we do. We also leave the radio on in the day, if we go anywhere. In fact, as soon as we get ready to go out, and switch the radio on, Ester gets straight in her cage. Agree with SuperV, kongs are great! Remember just to leave for short periods of time initially, then gradually build up. You probably think she'll never get it, but she will, and the noise will stop. Most of us have been there! Good luck!


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Ah, I don't miss those days!! Dexter hated crate training too. Everyone else has mentioned some things that worked for us, but one other thing we tried was to leave a stuffed animal in his crate that was roughly the size of a litter mate. I was nervous that he would chew it up, but he actually would snuggle right up to it and to this day it's the one toy he won't rip apart. For our next pup I want to try the Snuggle Puppie toy (google it) as I've heard good things!

Kongs are great too but it took awhile for Dexter to realize he liked peanut butter, so don't give up on those just yet. Dex still doesn't really like frozen ones so I'll freeze it halfway full and then plug it up with fresh stuff.

Another thing we did was practice leaving the room for short periods of time, I think Ian Dunbar talks about it. We'd leave the room and shut the door... Dexter would cry and scratch at the door... and the minute he quit we'd come out. Don't make a big fuss that you're returning though, you should treat it like it's not a big deal. We gradually increased the time that we stayed out of sight and his crying time decreased as well. I think this helped him to realize it wasn't the end of the world if we were out of sight and that we would always come back.

We also found that he was most upset if he was crated but could see us. The whole leave-the-crate-by-your-bed technique did not work at for us. Even now that he likes his crate, if we crate him while we are home we have to stay out of sight. You're already way ahead of where we were if she sleeps well in her crate at night!

It does get better! Don't give up  (<-- so glad everyone else kept telling me this at the time, that's what got us through it!)


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## pippylongstocking (May 21, 2012)

Dextersmom
Ester is the same. We tend to pop her in her crate to dry off, if she has had a wash down after a muddy walk (everyday at the mo)! She hates this, and will not settle. If we leave her, she tends to start pulling her cover off her crate, and making a lot of noise. This happens when we are in, when she can see us, and sometimes even when she can't! ;D


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

I should note with the whole leaving the room thing - we started this with Dex NOT in the crate. We knew he was staying out of trouble even though unsupervised because we could hear him crying and scratching at the door. He had such an aversion to his crate that it was a lot easier to practice this first and then work up to the crate.

@Pippylongstocking - They are so silly! Just within the past couple of months can I finally take a shower without having to crate (and hide from) Dex - of course, he's now locked in the bathroom with me. At least he's not climbing the tub wall and screaming because he can't get in anymore though  He's quite happy to play with a toy or try and find where I've hid the toilet paper roll from him...


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