babyangl86

My new 8 Week old babies are wonderful, I've delt with training other breeds in the past, just not this young they were more or less adult dogs. So I have a question, I just want to make sure I'm not going to psychologically cause problems. I put the girls Carly & Tosca in a crate, together for now, I'll separate them when they're older but the anxiety is worse when they're not laying by each other. But I put them in the crate several times a day anywhere from a few min to an hour, just so it's not the same length of time every time I do it. They usually start out quiet, and then Tosca will start crying, I wait until she gets quiet before I let her out, is this the correct way to help get rid of the anxiety. Oh yeah and this happens when they're out back, sometimes they're content to play with each other, like sunday when we brought them home they stayed outside for nearly an hour, I kept checking on them and they didn't want in, then other times like today I make them go out and pee and if I try to leave they're crying at the back door *sighs*

They're smart dogs, we've basically mastered sit, and we got potty outside on command, only having accidents when I don't take them out soon enough.

Any suggestions on separation anxiety would be greatly appreciated!! Oh yeah, I'm at stay at home mom for the time being, so they've been with me since we picked them up Sunday afternoon, I'm sure this is apart of the problem

Murreydobe

At 8 weeks they're ready to be crated by themselves.

I don't work either, so I make it a point of leaving puppies by themselves(crated until they're past the destructo stage) daily. Being with a dog 24/7 on an ongoing basis fosters dependence, and I don't think that's a good thing for any dog.

As puppies get older I may leave them for an afternoon or even overnight with a dog savvy friend, again, to encourage the dog to learn to reach inside itself for confidence rather than looking to me to provide it. Doggie daycare could also be used for this purpose.

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CH. Birchrun Who's On First, aka Razzle
Foxfire N KO Simply Madness WAC, aka Connor

2RescuedDobies

I agree crate-training your pup will be one of the most invaluable things he or she will learn. They do need to be able to be independent.

Patches Mom

When you come & go do not make a big deal out of it. I always tell mine watch the house when leaving when coming home I may fool around a little bit before opening the crate. Never had a dog with separation problems.Good Luck with two pups you are a brave soul.

alwayshadpets

Thats` funny Patches, thats` what I tell mine when I leave the house too. I also tell Copper (he is going on 11) he`s in charge.

Lexxsmom

I think that they should be crated seperately, but i've never had two at the same time. Sounds like you're doing the right thing, leaving them until they are quiet and crating several times a day. I didn't do that enough with Lexx when he was young and its the one regret that I have since now he will NOT settle in his crate if we're at home and awake.

did you mention that you left 8 week old pups in the yard un attended for an hour? that seems like a long time, they are pretty young to be left alone.

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Dobemom2b

A trainer I used years ago felt that seperate crates was not enough, that the crates needed to be in seperate rooms. She does not recomend 2 pups at the same time but if you already have them she wants them to not only not be able to touch but to be out of sight and sound of each other to develop independence. At minimum you may want to consider seperate crates with a sheet over the sides that face each other so they are not in direct view of each other when crated.

She also firmly believes in seperate attention and training and not to let pups play together for more than an hour a day when this young to get them to bond to you instead of each other. If possible she suggests dividing the house with one in each half, if not then to keep one crated.

I did one round of ob classes with her but then found another instructor. We have a difference of opinion on dobe 'leaners' and wanting to touch the owner. She feels leaners are showing dominate behavior. She also feels a dog will not have an ability to cope on its own if you allow them to sleep/nap/snuggle touching you. I can see where there should be limits. We all know what we feel goes down the leash to the dog. I can see how a nervous owner makes a nervous dog but I also think that with dobes breed traits have to be considered. They are not just dogs they are dobes. The new ob instructor has 3 dobes of her own.

2RescuedDobies

Thank goodness you found a trainer who understands Dobies. Sometimes I feel like they are few and far between.

babyangl86

They weren't alone, I was in the kitchen cooking dinner and I kept going to the door asking them if they wanted to come in yet and they would stare at me and pounce on each other, we have a small yard, we're in a town home for the time being, but come june we'll be moving to a house with a reg size yard.

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babyangl86

They pretty much understand when we leave they crate, Carly has actually caught on nicely and will go in before I say anything. We're still working on crying when we're home, but that will be easy to work on since I'm home majority of the day anyways.

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