# Help!! Separation Anxiety in my 5 1/2 month Cockapoo puppy ???



## JodieWeeks (Sep 10, 2018)

Hi,

I need a little bit of help, I have a 5 and a half month Cockapoo Puppy, he is very loving a real good family pet however .... he has started to get a habit of following me round from room to room! - which I have researched and is supposedly normal cockapoo behaviour. He is crated at night for his sleep and he is crated in the morning from 8-12 - he used to sleep the whole way through this however now he has got a bit older only sleeps til about 10 and then just barks .. we have now made him a sort of area where his crate is and some toys so he can get on and play with them when he isn’t sleeping. I tried this today and he barked the house down !!! He ended up stopping 10/20 mins after and then started back up later on but then managed to fall asleep in his crate and was in the crate until 1:30 ( my sister was home so monitored what he was doing from upstairs ). I also put him in his crate on sunday to pop out to the shop and he cried and cried and cried .... I feel like he only does things on his terms and normally wants to go in the crate when he is tired or wants to sleep .... not to mention he doesn’t ever go into his crate anymore (despite today in his pen) but goes upstairs and goes under my bed. I also was in and out the house yesterday filling a skip so i tied him on a 10m rope to my washing line so he didn’t get out and was still in the garden - every time I left his sight he cried and barked ( this was many times ) even if I gave him a treat before my departure 


I am really worried my cockapoo will suffer from separation anxiety when he is older, I have used all sort of methods of giving him a kong / game when I leave for work etc, but just want him to stop barking and play with himself when he is on his own 

Any help ???


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

If he’s crated at night and again at 8 for 4 hours how much exercise/stimulation/company does he get between the two sessions?

Try leaving him out of the crate but in a safe room behind a baby gate (after a walk/play so he’s tired, with a filled Kong, radio on etc.) when you have to go out.


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## JodieWeeks (Sep 10, 2018)

Yeah he is in a safe room! We have got a pen and a crate, he gets 2 x 30 minutes walks a day


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## JodieWeeks (Sep 10, 2018)

More info:

He wakes up at 6, goes on a half hour walk, then has company until half 7, then someone is home at 12 so he has company then. He sleeps in a locked crate at night but in the day the crate is open and he has the kitchen and half the dining room.


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## Cayley (Jul 21, 2018)

How much stimulation is on the walks? Maybe throw in a fair bit of training to help mentally tire him.

Also, in the day I would mimic the nighttime set up so he feels safe. I use a dark crate at night but I lift the blanket at the front of the crate in the day so that I can watch her on my doggy cam. (My hubby currently works at home so it’s rare she is left and she is fine when she is.) My pup doesn’t play alone in her crate. She’ll chew something or eat a kong but that’s it, and only if it’s somthing she hasn’t had for a while. She gets bored of things if she gets them too often. Mostly she sleeps in her crate. 

To make the crate more desirable try making it a nice place? Feed him there. Drop treats in randomly while he’s settled. 

I also never go to her when she cries. I wait for silence. It sounds like you do the same but thought I’d chuck that in here. (Our puppy was recently sick and so has learnt crying gets her let out of her crate. (She had the runs so we had to let her out to do her business.) Now we know her stomach is fine again we’re starting to ignore the crying again. Pups learn the wrong things so quickly. She has also learnt that she can bark at the door to be let out, not just when she needs a wee or poo. We now have make a mental note of when she last went out to decide if we are going to ignore her or not.


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## JoanneF (Feb 1, 2016)

Cayley said:


> I also never go to her when she cries.


I'm not a fan of letting pups cry. If they are distressed (regardless of whether that's about the crate or anything else) I want the dog to know I am there for him and he has nothing to feel anxious about, which in turn makes for a more confident dog. If a puppy learns that crying gets him ignored, he may stop crying but he is still upset or anxious about something.


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## lullabydream (Jun 25, 2013)

JoanneF said:


> I'm not a fan of letting pups cry. If they are distressed (regardless of whether that's about the crate or anything else) I want the dog to know I am there for him and he has nothing to feel anxious about, which in turn makes for a more confident dog. If a puppy learns that crying gets him ignored, he may stop crying but he is still upset or anxious about something.


Exactly this..
The dog becomes quiet. Owners presume puppy is ok. Roll on X amount of months when more confidence naturally builds crying returns as puppy decides actually it's not ok. Or actually you end up with a nervous dog which isn't down to nature but nurture. So it effects so many things in the dogs life.

I think only return when quiet is old school. Actually means nothing just you have left the puppy to cry to exhaustion.


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## JodieWeeks (Sep 10, 2018)

Thanks everyone for your help!! I am still doing lots of training and walking in the morning before he goes into the crate however he is still a bit unsettled, I am going to get perservering .. I also changed it and put his bed only in the pen instead of the crate - but maybe i should put the crate back and see if he likes to go in there? On the weekend / evenings he will most often go under my bed as it acts as almost a safe den - why would he prefer this more to the crate ? he will never go and sleep in the crate willingly - should I shut off my room so he doesn’t sleep under my bed? He doesn’t do any harm and is very content under there, just don’t want him to be hassle if he needs to sleep at someone else’s ( although sleeps fine at night in his crate )


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## CottonTheCockapoo (Apr 4, 2021)

Hi may I know if you managed to resolve this and how? I'm facing similar issue now! Thank you



JodieWeeks said:


> Thanks everyone for your help!! I am still doing lots of training and walking in the morning before he goes into the crate however he is still a bit unsettled, I am going to get perservering .. I also changed it and put his bed only in the pen instead of the crate - but maybe i should put the crate back and see if he likes to go in there? On the weekend / evenings he will most often go under my bed as it acts as almost a safe den - why would he prefer this more to the crate ? he will never go and sleep in the crate willingly - should I shut off my room so he doesn't sleep under my bed? He doesn't do any harm and is very content under there, just don't want him to be hassle if he needs to sleep at someone else's ( although sleeps fine at night in his crate )


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## SusieRainbow (Jan 21, 2013)

You would be better starting your own thread on this topic and also reading the sticky thread on SA.
https://www.petforums.co.uk/threads/how-to-help-a-dog-with-separation-anxiety.112552/
The original poster of this thread hasn't been active for 2 years.


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