Leaving 7 month old home alone

[JodiWeigelt]

Because our puppy is a COVID puppy, we are home all the time. If not, our puppy, Benson, rides in the car on our few errands. We had to be away from home today for almost 4 hours for a Dr. appointment. When we returned, Benson was panting and had obviously gotten himself really worked up, but no damage done to the house. Is there a method /strategy to help him cope with periods of time alone at home without causing the anxiety it caused today?

[Adrienne]

Hi Jodi, 

I am glad you are seeking help on this as we want to work on this early to prevent the behavior from putting roots. With pups like this, it helps to conduct a variety of exercises that can help foster independence, while also getting them used to our absences. If you are still home most of the time, this is a good time to work on this to prevent things from going overboard once it's time to go back to work or should there be another need for going out of the home for longer than Benson can cope with. here are a few exercises. 

These exercises can play a primary role in preventing emotional issues such as separation anxiety and isolation distress. Making the crate or playpen a fun and rewarding place to be may also help prevent the onset of containment phobias. Hopefully, breeders will introduce pups to crates from an early age, to make life easier to new puppy owners once their puppies are sent out to their new homes.

As you unfold these exercises, it's important to always monitor your puppy to ensure he remains calm and relaxed and that you progress gradually going at your pup's pace. If your puppy at any time shows signs of struggling, take a step or two back in the process and work more at those levels.

1) Practice Fun Crate Games

It's very important to teach puppies to love their crates, and part of that is initially not leaving them alone in them for too long. Get your puppy used to gradual absences and make great things happen during that time. Ideally, you should do this when you have time off from work.

For example, place a super yummy long-lasting food puzzle in the crate (like a stuffed Kong or a Lickimat) with the door closed and your puppy out of it. Your puppy should grow eager to get it, perhaps pacing around it or whining.

When you notice eagerness to have it, open the door and let your puppy inside and close the crate and leave the room briefly. Watch your puppy from a window or other remote monitoring device, and once he's finishing up, return and open the crate.

The goal is to make it clear that great things happen when you leave and your pup is crated. So aim to teach your pup to be left a little bit alone each day. Here are more ways to make puppies love their crates:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/advanced-potty-training/crate-training-restraint-confinement/

2) Organize Treasure Hunts

You can foster your pup's independence by setting up fun nose work activities in the house and in the yard. One of my favorite ways to do this is by setting little "treasure hunt games" by hiding kibble and treats around the home or yard.

Simply have a helper hold your puppy or keep him in another room/behind a baby gate while you set up the treasure hunt in a puppy-proofed room or yard. Then release your puppy to go on the hunt while you are away running errands in a nearby room. If your puppy knows how to hold a down stay or sit says, ask for that as you hide the 'treasures."

Here is the section on the treasure hunt game:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/

3) Prepare Mat Games

Train Benson to lie on a mat and relax there with a stuffed Kong when you are eating your meals or when you want to enjoy a bit of alone time. Use clicker training (if your puppy is familiar with this method) to introduce the mat using a training method known as "shaping." If you don't have a clicker, or if your puppy isn't clicker trained, replace the clicker's sound with a verbal marker such as "yes!''

If your puppy hasn't learned yet to hold a down/stay on his mat, you can keep him in a designated area by tethering a food dispenser to something stable in a safe manner so that your pup won't carry it along to follow you.

Here's how to train a dog to lie on a mat:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/

4) Install a See-Through Baby Gates

Is your puppy often by your side accompanying you even to your bathroom trips? If so, you may want to install a baby gate. Your puppy can still see you come and go and therefore will feel reassured by that.

This is more of a management tool to use whilst you are starting to train your dog to better cope with your absences. So as you run errands around the house or use the bathroom, keep your pup behind the baby gate, but make sure to provide him with something to do such as access to a fun interactive toy or stuffed Kong contingent upon you leaving the room.

5) Play Peek-a-Boo Games

I like to play this with new puppies I foster or my client's pups who seem to be a bit too clingy. I simply have the pup behind a baby gate or large box blocking the entrance to a room and hide behind the wall separating us. Every time before I hide, I toss a treat/kibble to the pup and hide while he/she is eating it. Once I hear he/she is done, I re-appear and keep doing this.

I then progress to tossing several kibble/treats at once and therefore spend more time hiding behind the wall, always listening until the pup is done to re-appear and repeat. Afterward, I can practice the same game going out the door.

6) Play Hide and Seek

Your puppy will need to know how to sit/stay down/stay for this game. Ask your dog to stay while you hide a few treats/kibble around the house/yard, then release him while you go hide in another room. Once he's done searching/eating, encourage him to look for you—when he finds you, praise him and start another game. Here's the guide on this:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/hide-and-seek/

7) Organize Fun Stays

The goal is to teach your pup that it's OK to be briefly left alone. Start with brief distances, such as just a step away, then gradually build on distance until you reach a point where your dog can be left in a room while you're in another. Make sure you go very gradually and slowly in the process and praise lavishly for each step. You want your dog to see this as a game. Here's the guide on training stays;

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/stay/

😎 Destination No Where

Do you have a clingy puppy that follows you everywhere? Or even a puppy who gets up the moment you touch the remote or the armrest of your couch? Then start repeating these actions over and over until your pup gets tired of responding to it. If your puppy gets up when you put the remote down, frequently put the remote down over and over.

Eventually his senses will tire and he'll give up responding to it. Then progress and get up repeatedly. Then take a few steps and sit down repeatedly. Then walk in one direction like towards a door, and if your dog follows you, walk in circles, until he gives up following you. When he does, praise him and give a reward. Great things happen when he doesn't follow you.

9) Practice Calm Departures and Arrivals

This is both training for you and your pup considering that your demeanor can highly impact your puppy. Avoid as much as possible making a big deal when you are leaving the home or greeting your puppy when you come back.

Every now and then, place a valuable edible item your dog loves on a tall shelf he cannot reach. Make sure your puppy sees you put it there. When your pup gives signs of wanting it badly, provide it and then leave the home briefly in a matter-of-fact fashion until you expect him to be done eating it.

Then, come back and make sure to not make any great fuss over him. Being overly emotional when you leave the house can influence your puppy's emotions when left alone.

Tip: as you practice longer and longer absences, make sure to provide longer lasting goodies (like Frozen Kongs, long-lasting chews) to enjoy, and also make sure to mix in short absences within the longer ones so that your puppy doesn't detect an increase in difficulty as you progress and gets anxious in the process. So for example, do a 20 second absence, then a 10 second one, then a 50 second one, then an 8 second one, then a 30 second one, then a 60 second one, then a 10 second one etc. 

10) Provide Exercise, Training and Mental Stimulation

Separation anxiety, or what may look like it, may occur when puppies are bored and have come to associate our presence with entertainment, therefore coming to depend on us for their basic needs.

It's therefore important to meet a puppy's needs for exercise, training and mental stimulation (brain games!). Movement /exercise helps release energy and anxiety, so plan to incorporate walks, play, training and brain games into your pup's routine every day.

Don't Forget Technology!

As you practice going outside for longer periods of time, you will find it extra helpful to monitor how your pup is doing during your absence. Nowadays, courtesy of technological advances there are many great products to use such as baby monitors, cell phone apps, webcams and now even special monitoring devices that allow you to talk to your puppy and even toss him treats as you are away (check out the Furbo Dog Camera).

Technology may also turn helpful if you suspect your pup is suffering from separation anxiety, but want a sure diagnosis. Separation anxiety is known as the great imitator, because struggling with being left alone can be caused by a variety of other things (like boredom, especially in younger dogs). Provide your vet with details about your pup's behavior and some recorded footage showing what your pup does when he's left alone. While there can be many other causes for the behaviors you are seeing (such as boredom) early diagnosis is important to nip the behavior in the bud.

In the meanwhile though, try your best not to leave your pup alone. If you need to head out for some time and your pup isn't ready yet for that based on your recordings, you can hire a dog walker or pet sitter, have a neighbor stay with your pup, or take your pup to daycare. This is important to prevent your puppy from rehearsing the troublesome behavior which can make it more challenging to eradicate over time.

I recently posted some more in depth protocols in the below thread if this would truly turn out to be separation anxiety. While veterinary behaviorist Dr. Karen Overall finds that most separation anxiety conditions appear as full blown conditions when dogs are undergoing social maturity (12 to 36 months of age), puppies 4-6 months of age can also show separation anxiety.

I hope this helps, let me know if you have other questions and keep me posted.

Best,

Adrienne