How did you get your puppy used to being alone....?

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Parkranger

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And which breeds are best/worst on their own for periods during the day?

I guess there are no rules but we have been looking at staffies - found a good dog walker who will also take the puppy to hers if it's stressed out one it's own to start with but wanted to start with a positive mind!

When your dog was a puppy, did it have access to the garden and kitchen during the day - how did that work? I'm just figuring there's alot omore interesting things to chew in the garden.....!

Any advice/ideas much appreciated. I know that in an ideal world I'd be home all day but that isn't going to happen everyday although i do get to work from home quite a lot....
 
Our dogs have always been in outside runs and kennels so I can't really help with the indoors bit!
I suppose it depends on the dog.
We have always started off with two, but ended up with one!
We got a companion for our last bitch (GSD) who then had to go quite soon as she was running after sheep.
Original bitch was fine on her own until the day she died.
The girl we had before that was one of two and was absolutely delighted when her old adversary passed away.
Because of our family situation, she was alone all day between 7-6 when I was at primary school and 8-3.30pm when I was at secondary school, was obviously not ideal but she lived to 14, she loved life and was very sound in mind and body until she popped her clogs.
 
Yeah see my old great danes were kept outside most of the time (although in the house during the evenings) and they lived to a ripe old age!

I really want a puppy but I think unless I get a job that i can take a dog to work, it's just not fair - better to get a dog that's used to the lifestyle of chilling out during the day.
 
I know puppies can be great, having them from when they are tiny is a real experience, but I am going to vote for an older dog.
My current two came at six and eight months and the old girl came at nine months.
Almost any dog can be trained or re-trained and to be honest I am so relieved that my two are starting to grow up and settle down (they are now a year old), even in the last six months they have been a real challenge sometimes!
 
Did it gradually. Jake's crate trained which has helped, but just gradually introduced him to his crate, then left him for gradual periods of time. As far as I know he's okay, I give him a filled Kong before I go out so he doesnt really notice me leaving and it keeps him busy for a while too.
 
Hi, my dog is now 18 months, a good tip I had is not to make too much fuss when you actually leave, just go without saying anything/fussing her etc, and the same when you get back, ignore them for 5/10 minutes then greet them in a calm way, that way they will get the message that it's no big deal. Good luck with your new friend!
 
I got lucky, as my dog is incredibly independent. No barking, whining, chewing etc. right from the moment we got her. I do think it helped enormously that she was fifteen-weeks-old, and therefore more mature, having already been crated overnight and separated from her mother.

There are some fantastic toys out there to keep them occupied. Obviously, the kong is your best friend
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and Busy Buddy makes various toys, all essentially with the same purpose: stuff with treats, leave dog alone, dog has to figure out how to get the treats out of the toy.

As for breeds susceptible to separation anxiety, many toy breeds are this way, and dachshunds are notorious for hating being left alone.
 
we've agreed to see what happens with the bitch we liked who was being rehomed and will probably sign up with battersea on our week off......I think for me having a dog is all about the long walks etc and we can hopefully give an older dog a good home ;-)
 
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Mastiffs dont mind being left. They sleep most of the time anyway!
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But not sure that is what you are looking for!!
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Think a mastiff may be a bit big for our 3 bed terrace! I'd have a dane if I had my way!
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It sort of just happened
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We were out of our minds at first and felt like prisoners as we couldnt leave the house as he whined so much. Everyone said ignore him which is fine if you live on a farm out of the way but if you live in a semi, it doesnt go down well with the neighbours! Its wierd really as hes now 6 mth old and we CAN go out .... maybe hes just grown up a bit. We never leave him for more than a couple of hours though, thats mainly because Im soft and feel sorry for him stuck in his crate. Hopefully in time we will ditch the crate and I wont feel so bad. Fingers crossed the house stays in one piece
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Entering the great crate debate
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I would crate train if it was a samll baby, it;s much less stressfull to go from crate to no crate when reaching maturity, than no crate to crate when the possibility of destruction occurs, esp with staffs, they make dreadfull noises and can destroy a crate in minutes at adult size.

Otherwise the smallest most secure part of the house, then gradually increase the space as toilet training completes and destruction has passed, in general the bigger the space the more insecure they feel when left and the more mess, be it passing motions or chewing they can make.

You need to practice the small periods of time with the puppy left alone when you are in the house with the puppy or dog, alot of owners make the mistake of taking time of work and spending the time killing the dog with kindness and time, then when they return to work the dog suffers seperation problems as they have never been taught to be alone and feel secure.
You can do this by tiring the puppy with play or after a meal as this is when they feel most tired and then placing them in their secure area to rest or with their long lasting treat, so they can hear you mulling around in the back ground but they do not neccessarily have to be with you, and they are experiencing their time in their secure place as a positive, either by sleeping or playing with their toy/chew.

Use the secure area to let them out frequently when time has been spent in their and carry them to the toilet area, i.e the garden and praise when the motion is nearly passed otherwise you will disturb the passing of the crap or wee wee...lol
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, eventually they will make their own way from secure area to garden everytime they are let out, this helps toilet train.
Also dont make a fuss when releasing them from the secure area, just straight out to toilet.

There is nothing lazy about crate training, otherwise Im the laziest person in the world, because I have crate trained hundreds of rescue dogs, to secure them a future and save them from the the inside of a body bag, I would describe laziness as not traing your dog and getting shot of it when you cannot put up with what you have allowed it to get away with through lack of training.

Some breeds will breeze through training and being left alone, but others wont, and I dont think its worth, just expecting/hoping for the best without putting measures in place and then having to deal with problems at a later stage and possibly having to part with the dog if things become out of hand (not that im suggesting you will) but others do.

When you feel the puppy is set in a routine, then you can place a nice comfy bed where the secure area is and the dog will retraet back there, which is basically what the crate does, and most dogs love going back to their crates of their own free will, my own dogs who have not been crated, fight to get into the rescue crates as they provide a secure little den
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I would never leave a puppy unsupervised with the run of the garden, as I would be afraid of them getting into mischief or having an accident whilst I was gone or worse stolen.
I would maybe install a doggi flap to get them used to going back and forth when I was in, to gradually allowing them access alone when they are older.

It more important to put training measures in place in a single dog household, as you will also find it's alot easier for owners with multi dog household to train young dogs/puppies if they have a mentor in older dogs, basically half the work is done for them by their more mature dogs.
 
CALA, I can see the benefits of a crate, I really can but I think OH and I have agreed that an adult dog would be better for us at this stage of our lives....just got to find the right one I guess!

Spoke to owners of the gorge 4 year old that I met last weekend and she said that she wants to wait until she has a completion date on the house, so think we're going to wait for her as she is used to a similar way of life that she will have with us - apart from the fact that she'll have a garden to run around in and a dog flap so she can come and go as she wants.....fingers crossed it works out. We're going to battersea dogs home during our week off aswell to put our names down and see what dogs they have there. Just want to make sure whatever we rehome is right for us I guess.
 
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