@melouise I’m raising a 7 week old Akita solo… with 2 jobs.
This is her 3rd day at my home. I spent 3 days with her at the breeder’s before bringing her home. She seems to LOVE Clifford the Big Red Dog.
I still get the whining and howling after I’ve been home for an hour and she can’t see where I’ve wandered off to. They adapt pretty quickly though. Try to establish and maintain a routine with LOTS of treats/food in hand.
@melouise The first couple of weeks are exhausting and overwhelming. It's a huge adjustment, and even with two people we struggle. Finding a good routine that works for you is so important, and that includes some puppy free time.
I’m single and I work from home. I was fortunate and got my puppy (lab/golden mix) around Christmas when work was slow.
But I also had to start leaving her in the crate from when I got her at 11 weeks.
I cover the crate on 3 sides when I’d put her in for a nap or still for sleeping. The uncovered side is near a wall.
She also goes to daycare 4-5 days per week. Before I could send her to daycare, if I was out of the house for more than 4 hrs I’d get a pet sitter from Rover. At 4 months she could start going to daycare. She enjoys the playtime. I enjoy knowing she’s playing with other dogs. There is cost involved but it works well for both of us.
We also do training classes to keep her busy and get her brain engaged.
@seeker422 I second daycare! I'm a single female dog mom My pup (now almost 1), started going 3-5 days a week around 4.5/5 months old. She's a german shep/aus cattle dog mix & has always needed lots of exercise and stimulation -- 1 hour of play was never enough to satisfy her needs for a 2 hour nap. It's obviously a huge cost, but one that I easily can justify. Her needs are met, I'm able to work & have a social life, and she sleeps as soon as she gets home!
@melouise doing it alone was so hard. i was held hostage by this tiny animal. but the clouds do lift! promise! hes 3 next week and I only reconsider my choice about twice a month now lol.
@melouise It is hard especially at that age. My partner works outside of the home and didn’t seem to quite understand especially in those early weeks how stressful it was for me to be home with her, training her, playing and entertaining her, all while still having to do my daily stuff. I don’t know if you’re looking for advice, but for when I first started leaving her home alone in the crate I covered it and would play podcasts on the speakers so people were “still home” and it helped a little bit. It does get better though, we’re at 6 months and things have slowly smoothed out. Good luck with your golden!!
@melouise Been in your spot with my Chesapeake in 2021. Dogs need lots of sleep so it’s fine to leave them for a hour or two don’t stress. I did have my regrets with getting a dog. But he is so happy when I come home now. Make friends either other at parks, and you could find someone to watch them for a day. A lot easier now that I have a wife. Chicks dig puppies
@beautyfromathistle Yup I know they sleep and that’s the hope when I put in the crate. I was gone an hour and he so stressed when I got home. I bought a camera to watch him when I’m gone so I can understand what he is doing
@melouise Try gating off a room or getting an ex pen for when you leave until the pup is fully crate trained.
Feed all meals in the crate, crate during the day for quiet chew-on-treat time to build a positive association with the crate. Crate training really starts when you’re at home and then you transition the skill to being crated when pup is home alone.
Also, don’t make a fuss about leaving the house or coming home, just quietly exit and enter without engaging.
@melouise crate training was a HUGE (social) lifesaver when my pup was that age!!!
I followed a 1-2hr in crate (enforced naps) and 1 hr out of crate (playtime) rotating schedule. As soon as she was in the crate, it gave me a chance to run out and buy lunch/groceries/meet up with friends for coffee or dinner/appointments/etc.
I know you’ll feel so bad about the initial crying in the crate but in the long run, you and your puppy will be so grateful. It helps a lot with separation anxiety as well because the crate becomes their safe space
@yes_jesus_loves_you He right cries for more than 10 minutes and feel bad. My friend said let him cry it and when he stops give him a treat. He said that worked for him
@melouise While this works for some people, the most important thing is to take baby steps. You’re not expecting him to stay quiet for a whole hour right at the start of crate training, you start at 10 min intervals then 30 min then 1hr, etc. Don’t open the crate just because they cry, whining is a learned behaviour that will continue because they learned it gets them attention.
You should be training him to go to the crate at any time possible: give them their meals in their crate, when they voluntarily go inside they get a special high-value treat, give them a special toy when inside their crate. It’s your choice to keep the door open or closed during these times but try out both.
I was really lucky with my pup and she never cried at all in her crate from Day 1 but I used the above techniques to enforce that her crate is her happy place.
@melouise I’m also living alone raising a puppy. You should start expose him to isolation with gradually increased time. The progress will be slow until one day voila they suddenly got a lot better. These jumps(as well as stagnation) in progresses happened to me multiple times. This week is the first time when I went out for 3 hour without her crying once.
@melouise You are a new parent to a very young baby. The next six months will be intense. I highly recommend you use social media and signs around the neighborhood to find other dog pal families. Please do NOT go to a dog park as your pup is vulnerable to parvo until all puppy shots are given.
But screening visitors (accept play dates only with dogs that have been vaccinated), you can get your little guy socialized and dog play diminishes chewing and restlessness. You can also build a network for pet are (as in “got a dentist appointment. Can my Bowser stay with you tomorrow afternoon, etc).
Puppies are exhausting- but you have a great breed. Susan Garrett has some great YouTube videos on puppy games. Make this pup the center of your world and (in a year) you will have the dog of a lifetime
@melouise i lived alone in an apartment with pretty thin walls when i first got my maltipoo. he SCREECHED for any amount of time he was left alone. i remember crying to my family about it and trying to plead people to please watch him while i ran an errand. it was absolutely horrible.
honestly, i think your pup will get better as they age. that’s what happened to my ozzy. my job changed and im out of the house a few hours a few times a week and he whimpers for a second but then he just lays down and sleeps. i never thought id be able to leave the house again in those early stages.
time is your best friend with these babies! you got it!
@melouise I got a puppy about a month ago and I just put a baby gate up so she can’t leave the kitchen and I turn on tv for her the 1st few weeks she barked but then she got use to it after a couple weeks also I work outside the home 5-7 hours a day
My pup (now almost 1), started going 3-5 days a week around 4.5/5 months old. She's a german shep/aus cattle dog mix & has always needed lots of exercise and stimulation -- 1 hour of play was never enough to satisfy her needs for a 2 hour nap. It's obviously a huge cost, but one that I easily can justify. Her needs are met, I'm able to work & have a social life, and she sleeps as soon as she gets home!