I think I’m giving my puppy separation anxiety and idt I can do this anymore

[canick]

I’ve had my 8 week puppy with us for 5 days now and I am worried I am giving him separation anxiety. He is a mini dachshund and when he came home with us, he was really scared and sad because we had just basically kidnapped him. We held him and cuddled him and never left his sight… and have kept doing so for the past 5 days.

I worry that he has separation anxiety because of a few things. First, he absolutely loses his mind when we don’t give him attention. He has a playpen, and if I am even on the other side of jt, just standing there or sitting there, he will whine and bark and jump up at the fence. He will stop when we reach down and pet him or if we give him attention. Because of this, we are always sitting on the floor with him or playing with him and a toy when he’s note napping, which is bad because all three of us in the household have jobs that require our attention. He also will not sleep or settle unless he is in one of our laps, and when he’s half sleep we will move him into his bed or his crate for the night. Obviously he doesn’t care because he’s asleep but I don’t want him to be so reliant on us to settle him to sleep when he grows up. I have been sleeping on the couch in the same room as his crate for the past 5 days which I am also wondering when j should stop.

I tried once to get him in the crate to “cry it out” at the direction of my vet who alluded to the fact that I coddle him too much. He barked and screamed actually for the whole hour, panic pooped in the crate even tho he had gone before!! And mashed it all up with his paws. I am becoming quite overwhelmed with all the things I need to train him on too… I wish there was a guide for this. I am getting so discouraged and stressed that I am considering a board and train program for him, since I know I am not strong enough to not cave in and I would end up letting him train me (which I’m afraid he’s already doing). I would never in a million years give up on him or give him up, but I am really struggling. The board and train program comes reccomended from several people I know and they have had great results, so it’s an investment I am considering for the long run. Any advice is welcome and also just needed to get this off my chest. Thank you puppy time is hard!! I’m so tired!

 

[michelle1]

@canick I know it feels very distressing, but it's really really normal for an 8 week old puppy to not want to be left alone. You haven't given them separation anxiety in the last few days - it's their own biology that tells them that if they're left alone, they're likely to be eaten by something bigger. It's also really hard to coddle a tiny puppy too much - impossible, actually. The best thing you can work on in the first couple of weeks is building a bond, and it sounds like you've been doing a great job of that. You have so much time in front of you; don't worry too much about training right now. The only thing that I worry about in the first week or two with my pup is potty training and having them get used to sleeping in their crate.

Hang in there! I would also gently warn you away from the board and train - most of them use very aversive techniques and risk doing long-term damage to dogs. 8 weeks is also much too young for any kind of program like that, even if it was totally force-free. Give this article a read - I think it's super helpful in the first few days after bringing a puppy home: https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/behavior/kidnapped-from-planet-dog/

 

[canick]

@michelle1 Thank you!! This honestly made me feel a lot better. I worry so much that I’m doing too much and setting him up for failure as he gets bigger.