9 week year old beagle - separation anxiety!

[nswells001]

Hi all,
My boyfriend and I have recently added the addition of a 9 week old Beagle to our family. Although he is fairly new we have already had complaints from our neighbours about his constant whining and crying out when he is alone. We live in a apartment building and it has become clear our neighbours are not very tolerable. I have fallen head over heels in love with our new puppy Cruz and although I am aware it will take patience and time for him to adjust I was just curious if anyone had any suggestions on how to train him so that the noises are kept to a minimal in the future? I do not want to have to be forced to give him up. We have both owned dogs before however this breed is a first for us both. Any ideas on how long the cries usually last for? I know Beagles are prone to seperation anxiety, however we can't even shower without hearing him cry out for someone.

If anyone has any advice to offer or suggestions please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,

[Hunter's_owner]

Start with leaving him alone for very short periods at a time. Then work up to longer amounts of time. This should help.

Also, don't make a big deal out of leaving him, as that may add to his anxiety.

So you can start out even with just a couple of minutes at a time in another room. When he is comfortable with that, you can increase the time gradually.

[sugarcatmom]

First off, you'll probably want to invest in a bunch of chew toys like Kongs, which can be filled with treats and kibble and will hopefully keep your little guy distracted for a bit. I also highly recommend reading this article by Dr. Ian Dunbar: http://www.dogstardaily.com/article/home-alone As well as downloading his book "Before You Get Your Puppy" (it's free). Has lots of tips on everything from housetraining to separation anxiety.

Good luck, I hope you find a solution!

Oops, forgot the link to the puppy book: http://www.jamesandkenneth.com/new_puppy.html

[nswells001]

Thanks for the great links, I'm looking over them now and they are full of helpful information.

[Dog Dancer]

Congratulations on the new puppy. You may want to go to the neighbours with a peace offering like a nice bottle of wine and introduce them to the puppy. Ask them to please bear with you while you work on the crying issue and let them know that you understand why they are complaining. A little more time will help immensely. But you really do want them onside with you, not against you! Now on to the puppy - the stuffed kong is always a great suggestion, you can fill it with peanutbutter and bits of cookie pieces or something tasty like hotdogs and freeze it. If it's frozen it will take much longer for puppy to clean it out. Do you crate the puppy when you're out. Sometimes that helps a lot - drape a towel over the crate to keep it a little bit darker (leave the door uncovered though). Put a shirt or something of yours that smells like you in with him, it will comfort him some (make sure it's something old that you won't mind if he chews it up because he might.) If it's old sleep with it in your bed overnight to make sure it smells good... A few well planned and invested toys will help to distract him while you are out. ALso lease the TV or radio on for him while you are out - he won't feel so alone that way. But remember he's just a puppy he has to learn that you will come back and it's hard to be alone for him. With patience and effort he can get over it though. Good luck.

[mona_b]

I totally agree with what was said about the kongs,t.v or even music.This is what I did when my dogs were pups.

Was Cruz the only pup?If not he could be missing his sibblings.And he is in a new surrounding.So this may not be seperation anxiety..He's just a bit scared maybe.

How long is he alone for during the day?

What you can also teach him is "quiet" or "enough"....When he starts his whining and crying,just say to him,Cruz quiet(it may take him a while to understand this command)..When he stops,praise him.

Oh and we would love to see pics......

[rudiravenlexi]

Another strategy to try would be to put the puppy in a "crate". Sometimes it's very scary for a puppy to be all alone in a big room/house. In a smaller area, like a crate, they feel safer. It's like their cave or den. As was mentioned earlier, he shouldn't be left for long periods of time because he's just a baby. He needs to be with his "family" and taken out to potty, etc. At this age he also needs to be fed about 3 times a day. Good luck

[TeriM]

Originally Posted by Dog Dancer

Congratulations on the new puppy. You may want to go to the neighbours with a peace offering like a nice bottle of wine and introduce them to the puppy. Ask them to please bear with you while you work on the crying issue and let them know that you understand why they are complaining. A little more time will help immensely. But you really do want them onside with you, not against you! Now on to the puppy - the stuffed kong is always a great suggestion, you can fill it with peanutbutter and bits of cookie pieces or something tasty like hotdogs and freeze it. If it's frozen it will take much longer for puppy to clean it out. Do you crate the puppy when you're out. Sometimes that helps a lot - drape a towel over the crate to keep it a little bit darker (leave the door uncovered though). Put a shirt or something of yours that smells like you in with him, it will comfort him some (make sure it's something old that you won't mind if he chews it up because he might.) If it's old sleep with it in your bed overnight to make sure it smells good... A few well planned and invested toys will help to distract him while you are out. ALso lease the TV or radio on for him while you are out - he won't feel so alone that way. But remember he's just a puppy he has to learn that you will come back and it's hard to be alone for him. With patience and effort he can get over it though. Good luck.

Great advice . Good luck with the new puppy and make sure you post some pictures .

[Dog Dancer]

Just wondering now if you know how to crate train your puppy if you go that route? You mustn't just shove him in and lock the door. Make the crate a happy place to be. Feed him in there, give him treats in there, put the crate near your bed at night. A few minutes in the crate while you're watching TV and don't let him out unless he's being quiet. If he's crying and you let him out he will learn that you cry to get out and he'll not be able to use the crate effectively. You need to be patient with this as well, try crating him a few minutes at a time when you're home and then at night pop him into the crate and leave him in there. Make sure you put him out to potty every time you take him out of the crate. He will need to go. NEVER use the crate to punish the dog.

There are lots of threads on this board with more detail about crate training and separation issues. At this point he's just a baby and it's normal stuff.