# New puppy! Potential separation anxiety?



## dridur (Dec 9, 2014)

We just got our new puppy on Saturday! His name is Muthu (which means pearl). It's been a dream in a lot of ways. He's 12 weeks old and basically came pee-pad trained. We aren't taking him out yet because we live in an apartment with no enclosed space and he just got his second set of shots. He's slept through the night 3 nights in a row (7-8 hours). He's learned 4 new commands in less than a few days and is a total cuddle bug! 

The only issue we have so far is the incessant barking when my S/O and I leave the room/apartment. We were making some progress with this. However, after a visit to the vet yesterday, he has become totally skittish! He even started barking when we leave to take bathroom breaks. We usually leave him in his ex-pen with the crate door open in the living room. Since he's reliable with the pee pad we figured it would be nice to give him a bit more space because he hasn't taken well to his crate. We've been doing the in and out of the room a few times within the hour so he sees that we come back immediately, and it doesn't seem to work, because he begins to bark the second we leave. I've been using the crate games method with him and he's definitely taken to his crate a bit more, but only when we're actually in the room. I'm not sure if I should just let him bark his way through this. When we're actually in the room, he seems to be ok being in his ex-pen by himself (after a little whining).

I'm wondering if this is because we don't spend enough time with him (or maybe spend too much time with him?). Our schedule looks like this:
Wake up at 6:45.
Feed at 7
Play/train until 7:45
expen time until 9
play/train until 9:45
expen until 11:30
play/train until 12
lunch at 12
play/train until 12:45
ex pen until 2
play/train until 2:30
expen until 4
play train until 4:30
expen until 6
play/train until 7
dinner at 7
expen until 9
play between 9-10
Bedtime at 10

Any thoughts?


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## dridur (Dec 9, 2014)

What I find the weirdest is that he trusts us to come back when it's bed time and he's alone for so long! just not during the day!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

With separation anxiety , puppies are more susceptable when there is a drastic change in attention. Initially many people make the mistake of constantly fussing with and paying attention to the new arrival. And this can go on for weeks. Then suddenly they are forced to be separated in an abrupt manner. It is essential to leave them alone for brief and frequent times at this early age. Leave them after a good workout ,walk and tire them out. Leave them with a yummy kong. But slowly add the time duration. 
S.A. is workable . The treatment depends on how severe it is. True S. A. is generally deemed to be when they have panic attacks , elimination , chewing on furniture etc, and constant vocalization. If the dog has these sort of episodes, it might be best to get a professional in. This is when a formal program of desensitizaion is done. At this point most dogs become stressed well before you leave. They have learned all the signs that indicate that you are about to leave. They know you are leaving before you know you're leaving, LOL. The dog will start to display certain anxious signs ,eg, panting, pacing, drooling or whining. And here is where a professional will slowly desensitize the dog to these triggers. He will repeat these trigger events by making the dog comfortable by not taking the next step in the departure routine. Gradually the dog is taken one step further in departure process . Eventually real departures are incorporated. It's a slow process but it is quite often succesful. 
Some dogs are just more anxious than others. Separation anxiety is quite often brought on by our constant attention to them. We have bred dogs to be social and this has come along with the ride. It is sad when we leave, Molly's face tell's the whole story. She just sits at the top of the steps well before we actually leave. She knows. Dogs are watching us all the time. It's hard not to suck them up.


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## dridur (Dec 9, 2014)

Thanks for the advice! 
I've been really working on desensitizing him to my leaving today. he managed ok for 5 minutes when I was outside just now. I didn't wait till he barked to come back in, so who knows how long he could have really gone! I'm curious about what's a good balance between socializing/alone time. I'm always a bit worried that I'm not doing enough of one or the other.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

hot off the press today ... http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/d...-we-adequately-socialize-young-puppies-people


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## gateau (Jan 1, 2015)

Muthu is such a cutie! 

Dave's reply was brilliant. I have very limited experience with puppies but hopefully what I can share will also help in some way. A month ago, we brought home our first ever puppy. I had the same questions as you did about balancing play time and alone time. After the first week of never leaving her alone, as soon as we left the room she barked like mad. I too thought it was the beginnings of separation anxiety and posted a thread on this forum about it. I got a number of helpful tips and reassurance that it was a simple puppy training problem and not SA. 

This helped me feel more confident to leave her alone, and I started working on the "quiet" command. I told her to be quiet in a serious voice when she was barking, left the room, only returned when she was quiet (at first that was about 5 minutes), rewarded her as soon as she stopped barking (either with treats or a cuddle) and said in a very happy voice "good! quiet". As well, I rewarded her before she even started barking or doing some other type of "demanding" for attention like jumping up on us or on the sofa. I would say to her "good! quiet" whenever i found her just minding her own business, sitting or lying down quietly or looking at me quietly, and then I'd reward her with a cuddle or a treat. 

She learned the quiet command in a few days and she now (3 weeks later) rarely barks and when she does (doorbell or overexcited energy, for e.g.), she stops as soon as we say "quiet". Yesterday, she stayed home alone for 2 hours without barking even once!  So there's hope! However, if I were to do it over again, I would use a clicker. We did our first puppy class last weekend using clicker training and we couldn't believe the results. Instead of taking a day to learn a new command, she learned it within minutes.

best of luck! enjoy your adorable puppy!


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## dridur (Dec 9, 2014)

Thank you for all the advice, he's improved scores by following some of the tips you guys have given me. my fiance had to leave because of a family emergency last night. so he's been away all day and poor puppy has regressed again. I'm sure we'll get back to where we were when he gets back, though. I feel terribly for putting him through the stress of ripping him apart from his mommy and siblings and then a week later being separated from the one who brought him home and spends his mornings with him.


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