Separation Anexity Please Help!

[dave&kooks]

Hello All,

Ripley is our 9 week old Flashy Fawn who we adore. We got her at 8 weeks and training is going well. But here's the deal we started to crate train our little rug rat from day one, but she absolutely hates it. At night we even placed the crate next to the bed so we could put a hand down there for her to know that we were near as she would cry her eyes out. Now we have her enclosed in the hall way with her bed outside of our door only being blocked with a baby gate, and this seems to work as she sleeps now and has had no accidents. Now here lies the real problem when we leave the house to go run errands or whatever Ripley goes in the crate, and before we can even leave the house she starts sreaming. We still leave her in there, but good lord does she sound pitiful. We were wondering if she might have "SA". Has anyone ever had this problem, and what can we do to help our little girl enjoy her short visits in the crate. All opinions are welcome. Thanks and we love this sight.

 

[gmacleod]

At nine weeks it is extremely unlikely that your puppy has separation anxiety. What you're describing is absolutely normal behaviour for a baby puppy that has just left her littermates and isn't yet crate trained. So don't worry too much just yet It's a very lucky owner whose puppy takes to the crate right away.

But nine week old puppies actually learn things surprisingly quickly. It does take a week or two for the most maleable pup to take to the crate, and for some rather longer. But you really do need to be consistent about that, or you'll find that your baby has in fact learned that if she cries enough, she'll get your attention and be freed from her crate.

If she's no longer in her crate at night, is the only time she's in there when you're going out? If that's the case, I'd really recommend she spends short periods in there while you're home. Whenever she's sleepy and needs a nap is perfect, and you could try feeding her in there, and generally playing games with her in and out of the crate. That way she has a good chance of learning to like the crate as a good, safe place.

As for the crying - it's going to happen. I'm afraid you have to ignore it, and take her out the crate only when she quiets down. If you respond to her crying by letting her out, what you're teaching her is that making that sort of fuss is effective.

Try doing a search on "crate training". There are literally hundreds of threads from members who've gone through exactly the same thing. Chances are; you'll find plenty of info in their experiences that will help you out here. Good luck

 

[lmwenske]

I got Bella when she was only 5 weeks old- the mom had 16 pups in the litter and it was her first and she weaned them herself at 4 weeks. So unfortunately I knew that I would inherit some behavior problems because of the early weaning. Bella did the same screaming sound, and even though I was consistent, she wouldn't stop. The problem was she was so young that whenever I would leave she acted like she was being weaned again.

The best advice I can give is to put her in the crate when you are at home. When she starts crying, ignore her until she stops and then let her out. Slowly increase the time between when she stops crying and when you let her out. This helped with Bella. But I have a wierd case because Bella would still cry until she was about 4 months old and decided that she liked her crate and has been great ever since.

Your pup is just young and she has to learn to be independent, which is hard for a boxer because they looooove people. It will take time but she will get over it. Right now she is just being a puppy. If she acts the same way in a few months then you might talk to the vet about SA.

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

I find that Rider does a little (15 min.) of crying and whining when I leave for errands.

If you can keep sufficient toys and INTERESTING ITEMS in the crate (frozen pnut butter in Kong toys, etc.), plus give a biscuit right before leaving (again to keep them occupied for the first 20 min.), the dog will get over this behavior in no time at all.

No. This is not S/A.

 

[tyson&ali]

Tyson has SA

We got Tyson from the SPCA his prior owners "LOST" him if you can imagine that! well any way he has SA in a minor way ie: crying at the baby gate, he wouldn't eat while we were away, not leaving our sides while we were home at all period, refusing to go out when we left in the morning the list goes on! well any way we got a puppy and as time goes on things are getting better! We keep lots of toys, Raw hide, Soup bones, and other goodies around, and we ignore the crying. Slowly Tyson has begun to realize that we will be back and while he still has some SA having a little sister around to keep him company has helped tremendously!He is not constanly at our side, he still fights going out sometimes but because she goes out right away he is learning to go to, he eats while we are gone, plays and is not lonely. In due time with a routine your little one will learn to trust you and the fact that you are comming back! Also as a side note, we do not do the whole crate thing! the dogs have a bed at the foot of our bed but the idea of keeping such active dogs in a small place seems kind of cruel to both of us. Not to knock the idea I know it works and some dogs love it but we would rather allow them as much freedom as possible when we are home and away!