Puppy Cries Whenever Separated From Me

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Bexter is 9 weeks old & I've always dreamed of a doggie who would be very affectionate & attached to me.  Well...You know what they say about being careful what you wish for!  He is incredibly attached to me!  I expected him to bark/cry when I have to leave the house & crate him (which he does). 

When I am home, (which is almost always), he is great & follows me everywhere downstairs.  However, when I have to do things upstairs (get dressed in my bedroom, put laundry away, make beds, etc.) I put him in my bathroom where there is a baby gate.  So, he can still see me while I am working.  He freaks out & whines & barks the whole time!  Is there a "hush" command or something I can do to get him quiet while I am doing some of these needed upstairs chores?  He has chew toys in the bathroom, he can see me & hear me & still he freaks out.  Any advice?  Thanks!

[Melissa]

We use "no bark".  But I would say just be strong and you might have to listen to him bark and whine for awhile until he gets used to it.  Or you can also, if you use a crate, put him there to get used to it...Buddy is a year and  a half and I crate him when I do housework because he gets underfoot and he does just fine in there being away from me and not seeing me.  When he was little, he would bark and whine a lot...just like a baby they have to learn to self sooth.  Hope that helps and hang in there.

[Elizabeth & *Kosci*.]

Maybe put the radio on for him,not to loud, Also place him in the bathroom/crate when your downstairs,So he can see it's o.k and be tough and let him cry. ( he's playing on your heart strings ).

[Eva and Fenway]

I have a young puppy as well with the same issue. She dislikes being separated from me, even when she can see me and will bark for attention. I've noticed that she settles down much faster when she has gotten her morning and evening walk. I've followed the advice of the forum, and I simply ignore the barking. She does eventually settle down and even though it's only been about a week, the barking time is reducing. I also do not return to her pen area until after she has quieted. If she barks when I return to her line of sight, I turn around and walk out again. Now she will sometimes simply whine or cry a single time. 

 

My question, which is related to this, is how long we can expect before this behavior ceases? It's to be expected with puppies, and the training is clearly having an effect. I am still curious about how long this may typically last so that we have some type of idea? 

[Helen & Kirby]

I always give a super delicious treat --like a treat filled Kong or a marrow bone before I leave.  I did this even when I needed to leave the room and put her in the kitchen or crate when she was little. (like you)  Then again if I needed to leave the house.   Now she can't wait for me to leave!!

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Haha...Izzy and (I guess Lucca too) were the same way. At such a young age I would either wait for her to fall asleep (which puppies do a lot of) in the gated kitchen, then leave the room and do my chores or give a high value long-lasting treat like a kong filled with goodies and frozen. I also tried to ignore the barking because they do settle eventually. We worked with the "shhhhsh" or "no bark" command also. My family would get mad at me because I was the only one they cried for:) But sometimes you don't want to feel so honored!!!! Sometimes it's better if they DON'T see you. Good luck and remember, this is short term!!!!

[K and Racey]

Racey is 8 months old and cries every morning when I leave. The only reason I know this is because my neighbor and roommate have both told me. She has never been let out of her kennel when crying so I don't know why she does it. Sometimes she'll start whining after I put her in her kennel and am putting on my shoes, and I say "shhhh!" and she does. I wonder at what age she'll grow out of it as well.

[Camilla and Darwin]

You may just have to ignore his whines and barks until he gets used to being left alone. I found that leaving Darwin with a peanut butter filled Kong or other tasty treat helped to keep him occupied.