# New puppy crying when confined/left alone?



## jojohouse

Hi all! My first proper post on this site  

We have a 10 week old collie name Molly. We brought her home on Sunday so this is her third night at home. Besides the toilet training problems we knew we'd be having, we're having quite a lot of trouble getting her to be quiet when we leave her alone. I've had a read of lots of other posts on here but havent found one quite the same as my situation. 

From research I've done it is normal for puppies to cry after being taken from their litter anyway, but this seems different to what is being described on these sites I've found. 

We let her sleep in our bedroom, on my husbands side on the floor (not at all allowed in our bed!) once she is calmed down by some pats she falls asleep soundly within literally 2mins or so. And will sleep the night out with only one toilet break.  we have her in our room as the first night we tried to have her in a seperate room and she was howling for aages so we gave in  we're planning to slowly move her bed away from us over the next few weeks. 

The problem we are having is when she is left alone, or contained for example by her crate. As she is so young we are not keen to have her outside by herself (and it is winter here too - australia) so she needs to be inside. Initially we had half a small room cornered off for her where we put paper down, had her bed, toys, food and water, radio, a piece of our clothing etc. But as soon as she was in there (before i'd even left and she could still see me), and also left there alone she would cry, whine and bark at the top of her lungs. Initally I thought that it would cease after 30mins or so and would then let her out, not wanting to get her out whilst barking. We had to leave her home yesterday for about 1.5hours to get her some things and we had her in this room. The neighbours said she was crying the WHOLE time we were gone!! 

I have tried some positive reinforcement, so leaving her in the room until she stops barking, then go and praise her. I tried this several times but I really don't feel like its working. The amount of time she's barking doesnt reduce at all, and the amount of time she's quiet for hardly gives me time to go in and reward her before she starts up again. 

Molly even crys and yelps when she is in her crate (it is a decent size) and I am only half a meter away!! So she can see me and still gets very agitated, trying to jump out!!! She will happily sleep/play in there with the door open though. 

When I got home this morning from work she had been left alone for an hour. Being a paramedic working night shifts it works good - one is home at night while the other is home during the day. Molly had been left in her crate by my husband, but she had managed to jump out of it (!!)  and she was sleeping soundly and most of all quietly, on a pile of my clothes in our room!!! 

So after this news this morning I am thinking that she is more worried about being confined rather than something like separation anxiety? I'm really not sure where to leave her when we have to make those inevitable trips out and leave her home alone. She would be happiest (as would the neighbours) if we could let her have free range of a room or two so she is quiet, but I really don't want to do that yet as she isn't fully toilet trained and who knows the havoc she could wreak! 

Any help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated! 

Sorry for the long post, and hope I will be able to offer others some tips/advice when I learn from this


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## fun4fido

jojohouse said:


> Hi all! My first proper post on this site
> 
> We have a 10 week old collie name Molly. We brought her home on Sunday so this is her third night at home. Besides the toilet training problems we knew we'd be having, we're having quite a lot of trouble getting her to be quiet when we leave her alone. I've had a read of lots of other posts on here but havent found one quite the same as my situation.
> 
> From research I've done it is normal for puppies to cry after being taken from their litter anyway, but this seems different to what is being described on these sites I've found.
> 
> We let her sleep in our bedroom, on my husbands side on the floor (not at all allowed in our bed!) once she is calmed down by some pats she falls asleep soundly within literally 2mins or so. And will sleep the night out with only one toilet break.  we have her in our room as the first night we tried to have her in a seperate room and she was howling for aages so we gave in  we're planning to slowly move her bed away from us over the next few weeks.
> 
> The problem we are having is when she is left alone, or contained for example by her crate. As she is so young we are not keen to have her outside by herself (and it is winter here too - australia) so she needs to be inside. Initially we had half a small room cornered off for her where we put paper down, had her bed, toys, food and water, radio, a piece of our clothing etc. But as soon as she was in there (before i'd even left and she could still see me), and also left there alone she would cry, whine and bark at the top of her lungs. Initally I thought that it would cease after 30mins or so and would then let her out, not wanting to get her out whilst barking. We had to leave her home yesterday for about 1.5hours to get her some things and we had her in this room. The neighbours said she was crying the WHOLE time we were gone!!
> 
> I have tried some positive reinforcement, so leaving her in the room until she stops barking, then go and praise her. I tried this several times but I really don't feel like its working. The amount of time she's barking doesnt reduce at all, and the amount of time she's quiet for hardly gives me time to go in and reward her before she starts up again.
> 
> Molly even crys and yelps when she is in her crate (it is a decent size) and I am only half a meter away!! So she can see me and still gets very agitated, trying to jump out!!! She will happily sleep/play in there with the door open though.
> 
> When I got home this morning from work she had been left alone for an hour. Being a paramedic working night shifts it works good - one is home at night while the other is home during the day. Molly had been left in her crate by my husband, but she had managed to jump out of it (!!)  and she was sleeping soundly and most of all quietly, on a pile of my clothes in our room!!!
> 
> So after this news this morning I am thinking that she is more worried about being confined rather than something like separation anxiety? I'm really not sure where to leave her when we have to make those inevitable trips out and leave her home alone. She would be happiest (as would the neighbours) if we could let her have free range of a room or two so she is quiet, but I really don't want to do that yet as she isn't fully toilet trained and who knows the havoc she could wreak!
> 
> Any help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Sorry for the long post, and hope I will be able to offer others some tips/advice when I learn from this


You are right it is quite normal for pups to cry and whine when recently separated from littermates.

However, a few days of trying crate training is simply not enough, it does take time, and you have to be very patient.

If there is room I would suggest moving the crate to your bedroom for 1st week, this will allow your pup to settle into her new environment. Then after 1st week, move the crate to where you would like it to be permanently, until she is fully house trained.

But please do stick with it, once she's settled she will feel secure in her crate, and it will be her own special place in the home. A crate is a wonderful management tool for toilet training, house training, preventing inappropriate chewing, and when used correctly can help to prevent separation anxiety.

This article should help:

Successful Crate Training


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## jojohouse

thanks for the link to that site, was really helpful and better than any sites that I had found about crate training. We even made some progress yesterday and she is happy to go in and out as she pleases and sleeps in there now. Will still take quite awhile before I can close the door, but we are making some progress


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## annax

hi there.

i had exactly the same problem with my boy. hes now a year old.
i tried the crate training but he got him self in such a state i was worried he would harm himself in there.

he now stays up stairs when no one is home because thats where he knows i am when im home and thats where he sleep at night. he has his bed, toys and food etc although this has made him alot better and happier.
he still now to this day at a year old crys and barks from time to time while im at work!!
not sure what to do about this because my neighbour has even noticed it!! which is very worrying.

and now to make things worse i have been home with him for the last 5 days because he was neutered monday so i took time off work to look after him while he heals. now im worried he'll really hate being left when i go back to work tomorrow!!!!!!

help!!!!!!!!!


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## Dylano

Hi, this is my first post on here and not sure where i should put it :so here goes

ive got a gsd puppy whos 8 weeks old named kai and i have some issues. Since i have had him(3 days) he has not been left alone for more then 5 mins as i am home all day all week. When he is left alone (over night or when i need a shower ect) he is in a indoor run which has a crate(which he does not use) a blanket and his water (at night the water is taken away from him). when im around he has the run of the living room. 
the issues are as follows:

1) when ever hes in the run he crys/whines/barks even if im in the same room and he can see me.
2) when he is in the living room he follows me around when i go from one spot to another
3) when i leave the room he sits out side the door i just exited from. if i dont return in 10 secs he will cry and scratch the door


I have spoken to some vets and trainers and the vets have said one thing and the trainers have said another. I need my mind put to rest as its stressing me out as in a couple months i will need to start work part time and he will need to be left alone. is it a phase?is there anything i can do to help him get used to being alone ie process?


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## lou18

Hi 
we have a 16 month old collie and he settled really well as was left most of the time to get used to it. we have recently go a new pup and she just will not settle as she just wants to play. i let her out for the toilet and to feed then put her back in the box. she cries and if you go and give her a teddy to cuddle into she stops. maybe something to try xxx


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## Holtie

Dylano said:


> Hi, this is my first post on here and not sure where i should put it :so here goes
> 
> ive got a gsd puppy whos 8 weeks old named kai and i have some issues. Since i have had him(3 days) he has not been left alone for more then 5 mins as i am home all day all week. When he is left alone (over night or when i need a shower ect) he is in a indoor run which has a crate(which he does not use) a blanket and his water (at night the water is taken away from him). when im around he has the run of the living room.
> the issues are as follows:
> 
> 1) when ever hes in the run he crys/whines/barks even if im in the same room and he can see me.
> 2) when he is in the living room he follows me around when i go from one spot to another
> 3) when i leave the room he sits out side the door i just exited from. if i dont return in 10 secs he will cry and scratch the door
> 
> I have spoken to some vets and trainers and the vets have said one thing and the trainers have said another. I need my mind put to rest as its stressing me out as in a couple months i will need to start work part time and he will need to be left alone. is it a phase?is there anything i can do to help him get used to being alone ie process?


Congratulations on your new GSD puppy Kai!

Seeing from your post you have only had him three days so he is still at the stage where he is wondering where his littermates are so is a little unsure hence the crying.
When he is in the indoor run, he is wondering why he has to be in there and not out with you. Why is he in the indoor run?
As he is getting used to his surroundings, he sees you as his 'security blanket' and wants to be close.
Lastly, this is the the tricky bit - although you can hear him crying and it is very difficult not to give in but when you have to leave him, give him fuss then leave the room. Ignore his crying and eventually he will realise that you will not come straight away and calm down, maybe start from 5 minutes and slowly build up. This way he will slowly come to realise that you will return. If you give in when he cries, he will learn that this gets your attention and do it constantly.
Everyone on here has varying opinions and this is mine.


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## CaliDog

Hi
i have a border collie pup too and her first couple of nights were loooong she did cry and i had to be strong and not give in if she cried which was hard i just let her out for a wee no playing or fussing then after the wee right back in the crate. 
I had her crate in my kitchen from Day one so i don't have to gradually move her, while you are out give her lots of things to do Kongs chews ect and make the crate a positive experience give meals in the crate or hide some treats in there, it will take a while but will be worth it


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## Dylano

Hi
He is in the indoor run for his safety and so he doesnt chew everything while he cant be watched. He does not use his crate so i leave it open inside the indoor run.I just wanted to know if this is normal for a puppy whos movied in 3 days ago or is it something i should be worrying about
thanks allot


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## fun4fido

Hi Dylano,

It's been a few weeks since your post, was just wondering how it's going?


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## lisa MARSHALL

Hi everyone I'm new we have two dogs and just got a 8 week old broader lakeland / jackrussell. Our other two Seattle quickly and good now when left. Our little boy conkers we named him soon as we leave room or can't see us or night time in create he Cry's whimpers whole time. I'm just wondering what things can do to help him. 

Crate in our bedroom where cover over it so feels safe and he can see us just first night woke ever 30mins


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## Alutchy

Holtie said:


> Congratulations on your new GSD puppy Kai!
> 
> Seeing from your post you have only had him three days so he is still at the stage where he is wondering where his littermates are so is a little unsure hence the crying.
> When he is in the indoor run, he is wondering why he has to be in there and not out with you. Why is he in the indoor run?
> As he is getting used to his surroundings, he sees you as his 'security blanket' and wants to be close.
> Lastly, this is the the tricky bit - although you can hear him crying and it is very difficult not to give in but when you have to leave him, give him fuss then leave the room. Ignore his crying and eventually he will realise that you will not come straight away and calm down, maybe start from 5 minutes and slowly build up. This way he will slowly come to realise that you will return. If you give in when he cries, he will learn that this gets your attention and do it constantly.
> Everyone on here has varying opinions and this is mine.


Hi I am a proud new owner of an Alaskan Malamute. He is 8wks old and had him for past 3days. He seem to adjust to his crate well. At night I have partial covered his crete with a blanket to make it cosy. The first night he cried i did cave but managed to get him resting without me being by his cage for at least two hours. I have tried ignoring his cry started with 5mins intervals and tonight up to 20mins intervals. I sit next to his cage and don't say anything until his breathing settles and he falls asleep which takes at least 10-15mins and he goes back to sleep for at least 2-3hrs. He seems to be wide awake at 5-6 so i let him out off his cage and he seems to settle on the floor next to the sofa i am currently sleeping to try and make his settling better. Is this correct. During the day he likes sleeping on any floor surface once he can see or hear you. And if i put him in his crete he will sleep but during the day his crete door is left open and uncovered. I only close the gate if I am not able to supervise. Please advise if this is ok as this is my first dog and i don't want to cause him unnecessary stress. Thanks


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## kittih

@Holtie @Alutchy welcome to the forum. The original thread was posted 8 years ago and the contributors are no longer around. You will likely get more replies and ones specific to your issues if you make your own threads


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