We thought we were being nice by putting Animal Planet on when we left. Turns out that it stressed him out!! We now put it on Dateline or ID channel
We found that although it was murder shows, it’s mostly monotone and it was calming.
Or our dogs are honing their skills to off us one day 🙄🤨
Yeah mine just gets all sad and naps too. I hate leaving her at home I take her with whenever I can because it breaks my heart seeing her all hopeful when I get ready to leave like, we're going somewhere?? Yes! And stand by the door and shit all excited, poor thing I try to get her ready for the bad news too like," I'm sorry sienna but you're not coming with" She seems to understand from my tone of voice lol. And I give her lots of treats but she never wants them so I just leave them for her on her little dog bed. It has actually brought me to tears more than once having to leave her at home when she really wants to come with
Ours hated the crate, like absolutely hated it to the point where he was going to hurt himself. One day we just said f it and left him to free roam the house, and he was totally fine and has been totally fine since.
The term separation anxiety gets misused a lot. It’s not just dogs that don’t like being alone and voice it. My dood had separation anxiety from the get go, when I’d leave her alone for any amount of time, she’d basically scream (I don’t know how else to describe it). She’d gasp for air and I could hear the panic in her voice. Basically, she was having a full blown panic attack. If that sounds like your dood, a lot of the well meaning advice you’ve received here is the exact opposite of what you want to do.
Dogs with true separation anxiety will not eventually tire themselves out or get used to being alone without desensitization. In fact, leaving them alone to panic actually reinforces the idea that being alone is scary. My vet described it as the anxiety being accumulative. Desensitization is the only thing that will work.
Basically what you’ll need to do is figure out what your dog’s threshold is (how long they can be left alone before they start panicking) for my dog, this was only 7 seconds. A camera you can view from outside the room helps with this. Whatever the number is, that’s where you start. Then you just start repeating similar intervals of being alone over and over and slowly work your way up. While you’re doing this, your dog can’t ever be left alone outside training sessions. The goal is to get more and more non-scary experiences under your belt. It’s a lot of work and it’ll feel like it’s taking forever but it’s so worth it!
[This website](https://www.tailsofconnection.com/trendingblog/what-to-do-for-a-dog-with-separation-anxiety?rq=Separation%20anxiety) helped me a TON. It took a few months but eventually by dog was able to be left alone for hours.
Also, just want to say I understand how hard this can be! I basically felt like I was on house arrest for the first year.
Honestly just gotta rip the bandaid off and just leave even if he is barking up a storm. He will eventually tire himself out and sleep. He will one day realize that all the barking will get him nowhere and you will always return.
Ours is 3. No separation anxiety. We keep tv on for him, make sure there’s water in his bowl and he has free rein of the house. I will say, we got super lucky with potty training (just happened naturally really), but like previous commenter said, we’d do it in spurts. We now say bye when we leave, but if I recall back then we’d just kind of sneak out run to post office, gas station etc, come back and he’d be good when out of crate. Started upping our time out from there. It’ll take time but they’ll get there! To be fair, he did chew through two nylon crates and we came home with his head poking out the massive hole he ripped, haha. Also, I’m sure it’s dog specific, but he calms himself down just looking out the window, so the blinds are up so he can lay and look out at the neighborhood. Just takes patience and time! Good luck!!
Get a camera. Whenever my girl would completely freak out, we would just say “quiet” and she’d lay right down in her crate.
Also, eased a lot of my worry throughout the day being able to check in on her.
It's important to start with very short trips (as others have mentioned). Also, be very low-key when you leave. Don't make it a big deal.
I put on the tv, give him a chewy, and tell him, back in a few. But I don't drag it out or show emotion about it (other than low-key, calm/happy).
If you have a crate, I would use it to stop the urinating and getting into things he shouldn't. If you don't, you can use a belly band until he stays consistently dry.
When you come back, be calm and don't make it a big deal over greeting him. Stay calm so you don't amp him up - either going or coming home.
I had one rescue dog with horrible separation anxiety and he always needed to be in his crate when left alone (for his sake) and he eventually found it comforting to be in his crate.
My other dog with milder separation anxiety was able to transition to having free-reign in the house after about age 2. He's 6 now and does great. He still wants to go with me when I leave, but he learned to settle himself and sleep most of the time while I'm gone.
I started with trips to the mailbox or to take out garbage. Would walk out and back in as it was no big deal, treated it as if I was walkingin andout of another room.Once he stopped barking when I would do that, I started lengthing the time. He figured out that I was always coming back, so now he may pout when I leave because he wants to come with me, but he doesn't freak out.
Does he have much alone time in general when you are home? Does he sleep with you? I have two doodles and I've never had any issues leaving the house for hours at a time. They fall asleep immediately. The trick is to teach them from a young age that they have periods of activity with you and then they rest. When they rest, they have their alone time. I spend time with them, then I put them in the kitchen to sleep and do other things around the house. They never come upstairs. I never have them with me all day, even when I'm home.
I would try giving him a bone to distract him and going upstairs for an hour. Gradually increase this. Then start leaving the house.
It’s really hard for first time dog owners to not make them the focus of their lives. Totally agreed - as a puppy either my dog is with me and learning things or being physically exhausted or being fed, and if puppy is tired it’s time for nap time (98% of the time in the crate). Life is so much easier when they know and love the crate and know a “kennel up” type command. Mine is 15 weeks and when she gets tired just goes and puts herself to bed in there.
Yes every puppy I’ve had it was in its crate with me running errands out of the house for at least an hour from day 1, 8 weeks old. I don’t know how it would get to the point that a dog would expect someone home at all times.
He’ll have a couple hours by himself (2 hours at least) before he starts whining for attention. He has a strict potty routine and meal times, so it’s basically attention he wants haha.
He doesn’t sleep with us since he’s insanely curious and we keep lots of trinkets and such in our room. We’re worried he’d might swallow or eat something he shouldn’t!
We’ve been considering another dood for him to have some companionship. I like your routine with your dogs!
Thank you everyone for your suggestions and experience! I was firmly petfree until my husband brought him home and I cannot imagine life without him 🤍 He’s got his quirks, but a very good boy!
We’ve thought about getting a second doodle, but for now we will try to implement the ideas that everyone gave.
We started leaving our dood for short periods of time since he was 8 weeks old and the older he got we added on more time. We’ve always left the tv on also.
This is what we do. When we are about to leave he gets on the couch and lays down cuz he knows what is happening and that he’s about to get treats 🙃but I only have to do it when we are both leaving. If it’s just one of us he is fine.
We got a very large kennel, then kennel trained our goldendoodle very, very slowly - building in 15 minute increments - but actually leaving the house during those times. Now she likes her crate and will stay in there happily for up to 4 hours. We always make sure someone comes to let her out/walk her if we will be away longer.
We play the radio for or Rosie but she’s been crate trained from day one since we adopted her. That first night was HORRIBLE tho! My daughter swears by Dog TV for her dogs (non-doodle rescues).
**Consistent Exercise** we live in a city without a yard so four to five walks a day(usually between 8k-10k steps a day).
**Training** especially on a settle word like “place”.
**A camera with a two way mic in front of his covered and cozy crate(with a water bowl attached to the inside).** Especially at first I would periodically check in, now less so. If hes chirping, I calmly talk to him- saying things like “lay down good boy, place. Good boy, good bear. place little one”. He will stop chirping stare at the camera then circle a few times and lay down to sleep. I know he needs to go out if he doesn’t settle and then I rush home or pay a neighbor friend to swing by if they’re around. But that like never happens, esp since we go out right before I crate him.
**Dental chews/digestible chews, and textured silicon lick pads** with frozen peanut butter, Greek yogurt, or wet dog food spread across.
**low and relaxing background noise** Classical music or npr playing quietly in the background is my go to.
My dog is a lot like yours- wildly well behaved unless he’s left alone. If he’s alone and loose, he will incessantly bark. I came up with this process because I live in a studio apartment *and* dogs thrive with routine. When you’re introducing him to this process of being left alone, be patient and consistent. Just like general crate training, get him acclimated by removing stimulus and try your set up in short intervals. Reward him when he doesn’t bark, try testing what you can say that he’ll pay attention to through the mic(if you go that route). He just needs to know he’s safe and you’re coming back. You’ve got this.
My doodle is 5 and has separation anxiety. We can leave him now but it was basically just leaving him until he figured it out. He's kennel trained so we started by leaving him in the kennel with a chew toy. I couldn't give him a pillow or blanket because he'd eat it. So just a toy and him in the kennel. Now he's sad when we leave and he whines for a bit but he eventually settles. He'll still chew things if given an opportunity so we ensure there's nothing around for him to destroy when we leave him.
He's also got my other dog to keep him company.
We did the disappearing exercise to reinforce that we will ALWAYS come back. So it starts with throwing treats into the house and then going out the door for 1 min, come back in with big praises. Then repeat with 2 mins, 3 mins, 5, 10, you get the drift. Key is to give treats BEFORE going out, not after coming home. So he’ll associate your departure with good things.
The important part is to not let her feel your anxiety, and not have a big ritual like “bye bye! Iove you! Be good!” We just leave like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
I just go my dood three weeks ago and we started in small intervals. Taking out the trash, going out for quick grocery stop. We made sure that when we leave, we don't acknowledge him. We eventually were able to leave him for about 6 hours without any issue. He learned to understand that we will come back eventually and learned to nap while we're away. We just enclose the entrance to our kitchen but we let him roam on his own. So far he's been a good boy and I'm grateful.
Start with small increments and allow them to be successful - meaning, there are enough distractions to hold him over while you’re gone (2 minutes, 5 minutes, 45 minutes, 2 hours, etc). Basically, don’t let him fail for those few times for a few weeks.
High value treat, high amount of exercise, and a calm and routine exit and entry process. Get him SO tired he can barely keep his eyes open, grab the kong, and calmly leave.
Ex: freeze a Kong and play relaxing music - send him to a happy spot in the house and set him up with his Kong. Say a word or phrase like “I’ll be right back” and leave. Come back before you hear whining. Don’t overly praise or be excited when you come in. Ignore him and go about your business. The kong, bone, lick mat, puzzle toy only comes out when you’re leaving and it’s a GOOD one… a treat that he normally doesn’t get (cheese, peanut butter, etc).
Start with small time increments and get a doggy camera like FURBO. My puppy is 8 months and is able to stay home for an hour now by himself without getting into trouble or losing his sh!t. Make sure you tire him out tho.
Employers aren’t required to allow them to come to work. I ran into this. My employer didn’t allow me to bring him, which caused more stress to both of us. So stupid.
When first leaving our dog on her own we timed it with meals. We would fill up a Kong with some kibble mixed with a few treats or wet food and give it to her just as we went out. Start with just 15 or 20 mins and build up time you are away gradually. To be honest we are still not great at this, but we can leave her alone for maybe 2-3 hours. We were also told if you dog is super anxious, be very calm and ignore them when you first some in the door, if they are super stressed out and you make it big fuss it can make them think they were justified getting all worked up. Generally if we need to go out we will hide a few treats around the house as we are going out the door she is so busy trying to sniff them out she barely notices we are gone at first.
You have to condition them. Leave home at random interval and stay out randomly. Don’t say bye, don’t even acknowledge that you’re leaving or that you are coming home.make the entire experience boring. Do it for two weeks and you’ll see a massive improvement
I've only just come out the other side after dealing with this with my new Labradoodle puppy, Marcie. She's 7 months old now and has been absolutely fine being left alone while my partner and I are at work for a few months now, but it took a long time to get to that point.
Firstly we always take her for a long walk in the morning to tire her out and get her some stimulation before she has to be alone. We also do shift work so it's only a few days per week we are both working long hours at the same time, and usually we alternate mornings/afternoons so she doesn't have to survive a full 8-9 hours but closer to 4-5.
We had to work up to her being comfortable alone for that length of time, starting with crate training and short trips to the store etc. To get through this period we had neighbours, family, friends drop in on her to check on her or walk her, and started to gradually increase the length of time. With some consistency, she settled into it and while she still has some anxiety about us leaving her she is becoming more confident and more independent.
It sounds like you're facing a tougher job than we did, but hang in there, keep practicing and trying new things, it gets easier.
What I have found helps is A-Z crate training, which includes crating him and walking in and out of the room (not looking at him) sweeping, putting things away, which phases into leaving the room for 20 minutes straight then reappearing, then 45 minutes, then working in another room 1 hour…2 hours….until he learns that you’re coming back. It worked for me but from 3 months age and on, being a crate training purist solved it young for me. For my friend, who took a pup from the same litter, the pup was thrown into that life because he had a 9-5 job. The pup is now a year old and still barks the entire time he’s alone at home and licks himself until he’s soaking wet. It’s like permanent separation anxiety that nothing seems to fix.
If I have shoes & lipstick on my doodle goes in her crate… cracks me up. She knows the difference between my slippers and Birkenstocks. She’s two and at first she did some crate whining but now she seems to be cozy in there.
There was no easy transition for our labradoodle. She would bounce off the kennel walls literally 10 minutes after we left (Security camera). We would never leave her for more than an hour. Eventually she got use to being left alone in her kennel and we can leave her for hours now. It took many months before she figured it out. Set up a camera to see how bad it is, if you haven’t already.
One thing I do is I don’t say goodbye or hello when I leave or enter the house. He never knows if I’ll be taking out the trash for five minutes or out to dinner for five hours. It’s gotten to the point where he will eventually come greet me when I walk into the house, but it’s usually after he sees I’ve complete unloaded the groceries or have taken off my shoes. And not as soon as that door opens. I’ve noticed that allot of people who’s dogs have some separation issues will make a production of leaving of coming home.
⬆️this⬆️
NOT making a big deal when one gets home is VERY beneficial- totally agree. I learned that from the free online (YouTube) trainers. Though my spouse wasn’t as easy to train in this aspect!😉 Coming and going is just a normal occurrence. Keeping *ourselves* calm and relaxed was key.
Though after dogs are in their bedrooms (enormous crates), I do use different phrases to give them a clue about how long I’ll be gone.
I would start from square one with crate training! Kennel him for some time when you are home. Don’t let him out until he is calm and quiet. That will help teach them it’s a safe place, and that if they cry and it won’t get them what they want. My oldest dog has been crate trained since 8 weeks and is almost 6 and has only been out in the house the past year. Honestly crate training is great, it could save a life!
We put our Dood in her crate. Have since day one. Not even a whimper when she goes in. She loves her safe space! She will bark a few times when the front door opens upon our return. More of a greeting than complaining!
I just left tbh! But I started a week after having my puppy. Having a camera made me feel better and before I left we do long walks and lots of cuddles. Waiting too long just makes it worse.
Yep, can confirm I got another doodle for this reason. Playmates for life! And I am able to leave them at home without a problem. I only leave them for up to 2 hours, however. If I need to be gone longer, they go to doggy daycare and play with friends.
Remember that positive reinforcement
Example when my doodle barks I tell her no. The instant she stops I pay her and say good girl. Shell growl and I stop all touch.
I would attempt to tea CB then wait command while utilizing the door and another person
I put her in her crate from the second I got there, fed her treats in there to make it a positive, safe space. She loves it! I keep the door open and she’ll go lay in there. When I’m leaving I’ll close the door and she’s fine!
Honestly it’ll take some time, just build it up gradually. Even starting with 5 minutes if needed
You will have to slowly desensitize him to absences. He will likely need a separation anxiety protocol. What does he get for exercise? What about enrichment? Does he know how to relax?
We started with like a dog cam with microphone. Our dog was a nut but just hearing us talk would calm her down a bit . Eventually when she got out of the puppy stage we no longer needed to check on her and now we have a perfectly good baby camera 😆
I put in a naturecam video from YouTube. 8-10hrs videos of animals and nature for my dood to watch and fall asleep too. I'd turn on the pet cam while at work and she'd be watching or sleeping on the couch in doodleflop mode.
my doodle has separation anxiety too. but we have another doodle so he’s never completely alone. he’s only been alone for like 45 min when we took other dog to vet. maybe your dog doesn’t like being in the kennel?? can’t you leave him out if you just run to the store? we never kennel trained our doodles and they are perfect.
We started a routine early, basically ignoring her while we get our stuff together- keys, bags, shoes and then give her special treats (a carrot and a liver treat) so now when she sees shoes and keys in hand she is like “awesome, carrot time!” And there is no stress 😊
He needs a sibling. I know it sounds insane but two dogs are exponentially easier than one. I will never have just one pup unless they’re very old and one has passed. Trust me. Everyone will win
Get him used to being alone gradually. Leave him inside while you step outside for a couple of minutes. then go in treat him if he is calm. Extend the time little by little. He just wants to know you will come home.
You could try leaving him in tiny increments, I'm talking 15 minutes then coming back (we took a lap around our neighborhood) and doing that a couple days in a row then 25-30 minutes if he gets used to it.
Give him a distraction too! A stuffed Kong, a frozen licki bowl/mat that you put down right before you leave.
Side note, I was told by multiple trainers that after getting ready to go to linger a couple minutes like you're putting on your coat/ shoes etc so they don't associate you saying bye, giving the treat with you leaving or else if could form a negative association.
We also make leaving no big deal, we don't make a big show as that can work a dog up; it's OK dog we'll be back, look after the house (in a calm quiet voice) delay a minute or two and then leave.
**we were lucky to get a dog that does OK on her own without much work, we joke that she just gets depressed and sleeps on the couch (sleeps on the couch part is true)
Actually it sound like at this point you need talk and tell him you got to go but you will be back,they understand words and start with leaving for very short periods reward him when you return with a treat and praise,the start to increase the time away,it's work but that's what I did and she's fine now good for hours,don't make a big deal about leaving, leave her snack in her crate and just go.
I grew up with 2 golden doodles. Neither of them ever did this. I mean the younger one always had the older one but the older one never barked like crazy or had separation anxiety. He just has regular anxiety. I think we had both of them in a crate when we left until they were 2. The younger one a little longer bc he ate moulding. They only slept in the crate at night until they were house trained and they both sleep in my parents room anyway.
They like having the house to themselves and not being bothered. During Covid, when all of us were home from college and work for like ever they started going to rooms in the house they typically never go to bc we weren’t there 🤣. They were literally trying to get away from us. They stopped running when we called them as well lol.
He needs a friend. Animals do better when they have companionship.
I’ve never had less than two dogs at a time. I also rescue and bottlefeed kittens - and we do our best to keep bonded pairs together.
It’s easier with two dogs too. They entertain each other, and aren’t always in your face.
Our dood digs the food network.
We thought we were being nice by putting Animal Planet on when we left. Turns out that it stressed him out!! We now put it on Dateline or ID channel We found that although it was murder shows, it’s mostly monotone and it was calming. Or our dogs are honing their skills to off us one day 🙄🤨
I picture your poor pup hiding under the covers as a lion roars.
Try cartoons!! My friend and I put adventure time and bluey on for our dogs lol
My dood will destroy the tv if Bluey is on lol.. but the only way I can brush him is if I hold his collar while it’s on. Conundrum!
Might I suggest forensic files
There's also dog tv on YouTube!! They have videos that are good for anxiety.
We have this on our cable lol Our guy will park himself on the couch and watch it all day if we leave it on.
Mine loves Bluey hahaha
One of mine loves Star Trek. Not Discovery though..
Maybe take him for a long walk first to tire him out so he can just chill / sleep.
I was going to say that won’t work but then I remembered it’s pup. Mine is not though lol
[удалено]
Same. We started right away with 15min. Then 30min gyms, then 1hr grocery runs. Maybe we got lucky, idk.
Yeah mine just gets all sad and naps too. I hate leaving her at home I take her with whenever I can because it breaks my heart seeing her all hopeful when I get ready to leave like, we're going somewhere?? Yes! And stand by the door and shit all excited, poor thing I try to get her ready for the bad news too like," I'm sorry sienna but you're not coming with" She seems to understand from my tone of voice lol. And I give her lots of treats but she never wants them so I just leave them for her on her little dog bed. It has actually brought me to tears more than once having to leave her at home when she really wants to come with
Watched me from the window when I leave without my food. It’s so sad 😭
Ours hated the crate, like absolutely hated it to the point where he was going to hurt himself. One day we just said f it and left him to free roam the house, and he was totally fine and has been totally fine since.
Same here. He only sleeps in his crate in the room with us at night
The term separation anxiety gets misused a lot. It’s not just dogs that don’t like being alone and voice it. My dood had separation anxiety from the get go, when I’d leave her alone for any amount of time, she’d basically scream (I don’t know how else to describe it). She’d gasp for air and I could hear the panic in her voice. Basically, she was having a full blown panic attack. If that sounds like your dood, a lot of the well meaning advice you’ve received here is the exact opposite of what you want to do. Dogs with true separation anxiety will not eventually tire themselves out or get used to being alone without desensitization. In fact, leaving them alone to panic actually reinforces the idea that being alone is scary. My vet described it as the anxiety being accumulative. Desensitization is the only thing that will work. Basically what you’ll need to do is figure out what your dog’s threshold is (how long they can be left alone before they start panicking) for my dog, this was only 7 seconds. A camera you can view from outside the room helps with this. Whatever the number is, that’s where you start. Then you just start repeating similar intervals of being alone over and over and slowly work your way up. While you’re doing this, your dog can’t ever be left alone outside training sessions. The goal is to get more and more non-scary experiences under your belt. It’s a lot of work and it’ll feel like it’s taking forever but it’s so worth it! [This website](https://www.tailsofconnection.com/trendingblog/what-to-do-for-a-dog-with-separation-anxiety?rq=Separation%20anxiety) helped me a TON. It took a few months but eventually by dog was able to be left alone for hours. Also, just want to say I understand how hard this can be! I basically felt like I was on house arrest for the first year.
Best response here.
Mine enjoys home improvement and cooking shows so the tv is a good option to make them comfortable when they are alone.
Honestly just gotta rip the bandaid off and just leave even if he is barking up a storm. He will eventually tire himself out and sleep. He will one day realize that all the barking will get him nowhere and you will always return.
If it’s true separation anxiety he won’t tire himself out and it’ll make it worse
We got him a doodle 😁
Ours is 3. No separation anxiety. We keep tv on for him, make sure there’s water in his bowl and he has free rein of the house. I will say, we got super lucky with potty training (just happened naturally really), but like previous commenter said, we’d do it in spurts. We now say bye when we leave, but if I recall back then we’d just kind of sneak out run to post office, gas station etc, come back and he’d be good when out of crate. Started upping our time out from there. It’ll take time but they’ll get there! To be fair, he did chew through two nylon crates and we came home with his head poking out the massive hole he ripped, haha. Also, I’m sure it’s dog specific, but he calms himself down just looking out the window, so the blinds are up so he can lay and look out at the neighborhood. Just takes patience and time! Good luck!!
Sounds like you need a second dood!
Get a camera. Whenever my girl would completely freak out, we would just say “quiet” and she’d lay right down in her crate. Also, eased a lot of my worry throughout the day being able to check in on her.
It's important to start with very short trips (as others have mentioned). Also, be very low-key when you leave. Don't make it a big deal. I put on the tv, give him a chewy, and tell him, back in a few. But I don't drag it out or show emotion about it (other than low-key, calm/happy). If you have a crate, I would use it to stop the urinating and getting into things he shouldn't. If you don't, you can use a belly band until he stays consistently dry. When you come back, be calm and don't make it a big deal over greeting him. Stay calm so you don't amp him up - either going or coming home. I had one rescue dog with horrible separation anxiety and he always needed to be in his crate when left alone (for his sake) and he eventually found it comforting to be in his crate. My other dog with milder separation anxiety was able to transition to having free-reign in the house after about age 2. He's 6 now and does great. He still wants to go with me when I leave, but he learned to settle himself and sleep most of the time while I'm gone.
I started with trips to the mailbox or to take out garbage. Would walk out and back in as it was no big deal, treated it as if I was walkingin andout of another room.Once he stopped barking when I would do that, I started lengthing the time. He figured out that I was always coming back, so now he may pout when I leave because he wants to come with me, but he doesn't freak out.
Does he have much alone time in general when you are home? Does he sleep with you? I have two doodles and I've never had any issues leaving the house for hours at a time. They fall asleep immediately. The trick is to teach them from a young age that they have periods of activity with you and then they rest. When they rest, they have their alone time. I spend time with them, then I put them in the kitchen to sleep and do other things around the house. They never come upstairs. I never have them with me all day, even when I'm home. I would try giving him a bone to distract him and going upstairs for an hour. Gradually increase this. Then start leaving the house.
It’s really hard for first time dog owners to not make them the focus of their lives. Totally agreed - as a puppy either my dog is with me and learning things or being physically exhausted or being fed, and if puppy is tired it’s time for nap time (98% of the time in the crate). Life is so much easier when they know and love the crate and know a “kennel up” type command. Mine is 15 weeks and when she gets tired just goes and puts herself to bed in there.
Yes every puppy I’ve had it was in its crate with me running errands out of the house for at least an hour from day 1, 8 weeks old. I don’t know how it would get to the point that a dog would expect someone home at all times.
He’ll have a couple hours by himself (2 hours at least) before he starts whining for attention. He has a strict potty routine and meal times, so it’s basically attention he wants haha. He doesn’t sleep with us since he’s insanely curious and we keep lots of trinkets and such in our room. We’re worried he’d might swallow or eat something he shouldn’t! We’ve been considering another dood for him to have some companionship. I like your routine with your dogs!
My doodle cannot stand seeing other animals on tv, even animated animals! The original lion king really sets her off.
Probably the remake too
That’s so funny! My dood goes crazy and wants to play with the animals on tv 🤣
Thank you everyone for your suggestions and experience! I was firmly petfree until my husband brought him home and I cannot imagine life without him 🤍 He’s got his quirks, but a very good boy! We’ve thought about getting a second doodle, but for now we will try to implement the ideas that everyone gave.
Trazodone. We have it.
We started leaving our dood for short periods of time since he was 8 weeks old and the older he got we added on more time. We’ve always left the tv on also.
I always give a treat when I’m about to walk out the door. He knows he will get a treat so it makes him okay with us leaving.
This is what we do. When we are about to leave he gets on the couch and lays down cuz he knows what is happening and that he’s about to get treats 🙃but I only have to do it when we are both leaving. If it’s just one of us he is fine.
We got a very large kennel, then kennel trained our goldendoodle very, very slowly - building in 15 minute increments - but actually leaving the house during those times. Now she likes her crate and will stay in there happily for up to 4 hours. We always make sure someone comes to let her out/walk her if we will be away longer.
We play the radio for or Rosie but she’s been crate trained from day one since we adopted her. That first night was HORRIBLE tho! My daughter swears by Dog TV for her dogs (non-doodle rescues).
**Consistent Exercise** we live in a city without a yard so four to five walks a day(usually between 8k-10k steps a day). **Training** especially on a settle word like “place”. **A camera with a two way mic in front of his covered and cozy crate(with a water bowl attached to the inside).** Especially at first I would periodically check in, now less so. If hes chirping, I calmly talk to him- saying things like “lay down good boy, place. Good boy, good bear. place little one”. He will stop chirping stare at the camera then circle a few times and lay down to sleep. I know he needs to go out if he doesn’t settle and then I rush home or pay a neighbor friend to swing by if they’re around. But that like never happens, esp since we go out right before I crate him. **Dental chews/digestible chews, and textured silicon lick pads** with frozen peanut butter, Greek yogurt, or wet dog food spread across. **low and relaxing background noise** Classical music or npr playing quietly in the background is my go to. My dog is a lot like yours- wildly well behaved unless he’s left alone. If he’s alone and loose, he will incessantly bark. I came up with this process because I live in a studio apartment *and* dogs thrive with routine. When you’re introducing him to this process of being left alone, be patient and consistent. Just like general crate training, get him acclimated by removing stimulus and try your set up in short intervals. Reward him when he doesn’t bark, try testing what you can say that he’ll pay attention to through the mic(if you go that route). He just needs to know he’s safe and you’re coming back. You’ve got this.
My doodle is 5 and has separation anxiety. We can leave him now but it was basically just leaving him until he figured it out. He's kennel trained so we started by leaving him in the kennel with a chew toy. I couldn't give him a pillow or blanket because he'd eat it. So just a toy and him in the kennel. Now he's sad when we leave and he whines for a bit but he eventually settles. He'll still chew things if given an opportunity so we ensure there's nothing around for him to destroy when we leave him. He's also got my other dog to keep him company.
Finally, Prozac.
We did the disappearing exercise to reinforce that we will ALWAYS come back. So it starts with throwing treats into the house and then going out the door for 1 min, come back in with big praises. Then repeat with 2 mins, 3 mins, 5, 10, you get the drift. Key is to give treats BEFORE going out, not after coming home. So he’ll associate your departure with good things. The important part is to not let her feel your anxiety, and not have a big ritual like “bye bye! Iove you! Be good!” We just leave like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
I just go my dood three weeks ago and we started in small intervals. Taking out the trash, going out for quick grocery stop. We made sure that when we leave, we don't acknowledge him. We eventually were able to leave him for about 6 hours without any issue. He learned to understand that we will come back eventually and learned to nap while we're away. We just enclose the entrance to our kitchen but we let him roam on his own. So far he's been a good boy and I'm grateful.
Start with small increments and allow them to be successful - meaning, there are enough distractions to hold him over while you’re gone (2 minutes, 5 minutes, 45 minutes, 2 hours, etc). Basically, don’t let him fail for those few times for a few weeks. High value treat, high amount of exercise, and a calm and routine exit and entry process. Get him SO tired he can barely keep his eyes open, grab the kong, and calmly leave. Ex: freeze a Kong and play relaxing music - send him to a happy spot in the house and set him up with his Kong. Say a word or phrase like “I’ll be right back” and leave. Come back before you hear whining. Don’t overly praise or be excited when you come in. Ignore him and go about your business. The kong, bone, lick mat, puzzle toy only comes out when you’re leaving and it’s a GOOD one… a treat that he normally doesn’t get (cheese, peanut butter, etc).
Mine starts barking before I even leave
Start with small time increments and get a doggy camera like FURBO. My puppy is 8 months and is able to stay home for an hour now by himself without getting into trouble or losing his sh!t. Make sure you tire him out tho.
There’s a lot of videos on YouTube from reputable trainers to help you with this.
Sign him up to be an emotional support dog.....only you two will know it's to be HIS emotional support 😂....jk...
Employers aren’t required to allow them to come to work. I ran into this. My employer didn’t allow me to bring him, which caused more stress to both of us. So stupid.
When first leaving our dog on her own we timed it with meals. We would fill up a Kong with some kibble mixed with a few treats or wet food and give it to her just as we went out. Start with just 15 or 20 mins and build up time you are away gradually. To be honest we are still not great at this, but we can leave her alone for maybe 2-3 hours. We were also told if you dog is super anxious, be very calm and ignore them when you first some in the door, if they are super stressed out and you make it big fuss it can make them think they were justified getting all worked up. Generally if we need to go out we will hide a few treats around the house as we are going out the door she is so busy trying to sniff them out she barely notices we are gone at first.
Came here to say doggie daycare is a great option. Works just like daycare for kids and will wear out all that extra dood energy.
You have to condition them. Leave home at random interval and stay out randomly. Don’t say bye, don’t even acknowledge that you’re leaving or that you are coming home.make the entire experience boring. Do it for two weeks and you’ll see a massive improvement
I've only just come out the other side after dealing with this with my new Labradoodle puppy, Marcie. She's 7 months old now and has been absolutely fine being left alone while my partner and I are at work for a few months now, but it took a long time to get to that point. Firstly we always take her for a long walk in the morning to tire her out and get her some stimulation before she has to be alone. We also do shift work so it's only a few days per week we are both working long hours at the same time, and usually we alternate mornings/afternoons so she doesn't have to survive a full 8-9 hours but closer to 4-5. We had to work up to her being comfortable alone for that length of time, starting with crate training and short trips to the store etc. To get through this period we had neighbours, family, friends drop in on her to check on her or walk her, and started to gradually increase the length of time. With some consistency, she settled into it and while she still has some anxiety about us leaving her she is becoming more confident and more independent. It sounds like you're facing a tougher job than we did, but hang in there, keep practicing and trying new things, it gets easier.
What I have found helps is A-Z crate training, which includes crating him and walking in and out of the room (not looking at him) sweeping, putting things away, which phases into leaving the room for 20 minutes straight then reappearing, then 45 minutes, then working in another room 1 hour…2 hours….until he learns that you’re coming back. It worked for me but from 3 months age and on, being a crate training purist solved it young for me. For my friend, who took a pup from the same litter, the pup was thrown into that life because he had a 9-5 job. The pup is now a year old and still barks the entire time he’s alone at home and licks himself until he’s soaking wet. It’s like permanent separation anxiety that nothing seems to fix.
If I have shoes & lipstick on my doodle goes in her crate… cracks me up. She knows the difference between my slippers and Birkenstocks. She’s two and at first she did some crate whining but now she seems to be cozy in there.
There was no easy transition for our labradoodle. She would bounce off the kennel walls literally 10 minutes after we left (Security camera). We would never leave her for more than an hour. Eventually she got use to being left alone in her kennel and we can leave her for hours now. It took many months before she figured it out. Set up a camera to see how bad it is, if you haven’t already.
Ours looks like a 25 pound version of your dog.lol
Mine will bark for hours. It is freaking terrible.
One thing I do is I don’t say goodbye or hello when I leave or enter the house. He never knows if I’ll be taking out the trash for five minutes or out to dinner for five hours. It’s gotten to the point where he will eventually come greet me when I walk into the house, but it’s usually after he sees I’ve complete unloaded the groceries or have taken off my shoes. And not as soon as that door opens. I’ve noticed that allot of people who’s dogs have some separation issues will make a production of leaving of coming home.
⬆️this⬆️ NOT making a big deal when one gets home is VERY beneficial- totally agree. I learned that from the free online (YouTube) trainers. Though my spouse wasn’t as easy to train in this aspect!😉 Coming and going is just a normal occurrence. Keeping *ourselves* calm and relaxed was key. Though after dogs are in their bedrooms (enormous crates), I do use different phrases to give them a clue about how long I’ll be gone.
I would start from square one with crate training! Kennel him for some time when you are home. Don’t let him out until he is calm and quiet. That will help teach them it’s a safe place, and that if they cry and it won’t get them what they want. My oldest dog has been crate trained since 8 weeks and is almost 6 and has only been out in the house the past year. Honestly crate training is great, it could save a life!
We put our Dood in her crate. Have since day one. Not even a whimper when she goes in. She loves her safe space! She will bark a few times when the front door opens upon our return. More of a greeting than complaining!
I just left tbh! But I started a week after having my puppy. Having a camera made me feel better and before I left we do long walks and lots of cuddles. Waiting too long just makes it worse.
Get a rescue from the pound as a buddy
Get another doodle
I leave the tv on. Usually a channel that has wildlife. My dog pays attention when there are animals on the screen.
Yep, can confirm I got another doodle for this reason. Playmates for life! And I am able to leave them at home without a problem. I only leave them for up to 2 hours, however. If I need to be gone longer, they go to doggy daycare and play with friends.
Remember that positive reinforcement Example when my doodle barks I tell her no. The instant she stops I pay her and say good girl. Shell growl and I stop all touch. I would attempt to tea CB then wait command while utilizing the door and another person
I put her in her crate from the second I got there, fed her treats in there to make it a positive, safe space. She loves it! I keep the door open and she’ll go lay in there. When I’m leaving I’ll close the door and she’s fine! Honestly it’ll take some time, just build it up gradually. Even starting with 5 minutes if needed
Get another dog!
You will have to slowly desensitize him to absences. He will likely need a separation anxiety protocol. What does he get for exercise? What about enrichment? Does he know how to relax?
Get another. That’s what I did.
Get a second dog!!
I think Mines kitty brothers threatened to slit his throat if he didn't calm down ha ha
I don’t ool
Had this issue with my dog, not a doodle but a husky. Exercise before and just suffer it out- it gets better lol
On alexa...dogs music... Tho we are lucky our doodette is ok that we go.
We started with like a dog cam with microphone. Our dog was a nut but just hearing us talk would calm her down a bit . Eventually when she got out of the puppy stage we no longer needed to check on her and now we have a perfectly good baby camera 😆
I put in a naturecam video from YouTube. 8-10hrs videos of animals and nature for my dood to watch and fall asleep too. I'd turn on the pet cam while at work and she'd be watching or sleeping on the couch in doodleflop mode.
my doodle has separation anxiety too. but we have another doodle so he’s never completely alone. he’s only been alone for like 45 min when we took other dog to vet. maybe your dog doesn’t like being in the kennel?? can’t you leave him out if you just run to the store? we never kennel trained our doodles and they are perfect.
We started a routine early, basically ignoring her while we get our stuff together- keys, bags, shoes and then give her special treats (a carrot and a liver treat) so now when she sees shoes and keys in hand she is like “awesome, carrot time!” And there is no stress 😊
He needs a sibling. I know it sounds insane but two dogs are exponentially easier than one. I will never have just one pup unless they’re very old and one has passed. Trust me. Everyone will win
Get him used to being alone gradually. Leave him inside while you step outside for a couple of minutes. then go in treat him if he is calm. Extend the time little by little. He just wants to know you will come home.
#Help I need the answer as well!
Get him a pal!
You could try leaving him in tiny increments, I'm talking 15 minutes then coming back (we took a lap around our neighborhood) and doing that a couple days in a row then 25-30 minutes if he gets used to it. Give him a distraction too! A stuffed Kong, a frozen licki bowl/mat that you put down right before you leave. Side note, I was told by multiple trainers that after getting ready to go to linger a couple minutes like you're putting on your coat/ shoes etc so they don't associate you saying bye, giving the treat with you leaving or else if could form a negative association. We also make leaving no big deal, we don't make a big show as that can work a dog up; it's OK dog we'll be back, look after the house (in a calm quiet voice) delay a minute or two and then leave. **we were lucky to get a dog that does OK on her own without much work, we joke that she just gets depressed and sleeps on the couch (sleeps on the couch part is true)
Holy shit this looks like my dood
That calming peanut butter a lick mat.
Another dog?
I heard they like to watch golf
We used to put the radio on or the tv with talk and music
Actually it sound like at this point you need talk and tell him you got to go but you will be back,they understand words and start with leaving for very short periods reward him when you return with a treat and praise,the start to increase the time away,it's work but that's what I did and she's fine now good for hours,don't make a big deal about leaving, leave her snack in her crate and just go.
Hate to say it, but we can’t. Doods just can’t handle that.
False lol
I grew up with 2 golden doodles. Neither of them ever did this. I mean the younger one always had the older one but the older one never barked like crazy or had separation anxiety. He just has regular anxiety. I think we had both of them in a crate when we left until they were 2. The younger one a little longer bc he ate moulding. They only slept in the crate at night until they were house trained and they both sleep in my parents room anyway. They like having the house to themselves and not being bothered. During Covid, when all of us were home from college and work for like ever they started going to rooms in the house they typically never go to bc we weren’t there 🤣. They were literally trying to get away from us. They stopped running when we called them as well lol.
He needs a friend. Animals do better when they have companionship. I’ve never had less than two dogs at a time. I also rescue and bottlefeed kittens - and we do our best to keep bonded pairs together. It’s easier with two dogs too. They entertain each other, and aren’t always in your face.