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New puppy behavior?

2K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  Mikki 
#1 · (Edited)
When I try to confine my new puppy in a safe space so I can either leave the house or do something in the house that prevents me from watching her, my puppy carries on non stop by jumping, whining, crying, and just acting very agitated for as long as I am out. this can go on for an hour or more. I am afraid that this behavior will damage her physically in some way. I know this is what she does because I have a camera on her. In addition, she often poops during this time of agitation and she does not poop entirely on the potty pad. She does not seem to be able to control where she poops, and part of it lands on the floor outside the potty. I'd like to know if this is common behavior for a young puppy (I've only had her for 2 days) and if it is possible that she will calm down and adjust to being left alone in a safe space without me. and if she will eventually be able to poop entirely on a potty pad. She is 3 mo old. Except for these things, she is as sweet as can be. She has already learned her name and has figured out how to push her way out of a gated area. Any ideas on what I can do? Today, I left her in my large bathroom with a bed, toys, water and a potty pad and music, but she did not calm down the entire time I was out. I have also tried a playpen, she does not like that either and tries to climb out and then poops and soils herself and the pen. I an afraid that she will hurt herself trying to climb out. What can I do?
 
#2 ·
I think it is important to start leaving a puppy alone quite early, but you need to start with very short increments so that she knows you are coming back. Look at it from her point of view. Two days ago, she was with the only family she has known in her entire life. Now she is not, and now she is being left alone for extended periods. It's not really surprising that this is too much for her.

I am ALL for teaching puppies to stay alone and self-sooth. But this is too much too soon.
 
#3 ·
If she’s only been home 2 days, keep in mind she’s still very much adjusting. There are a few threads on how to gradually increase your distance from a new puppy, but a small amount of letting her crying it out is normal. If she’s upset to the point where she’s going potty, I would do some short separation exercises to show her she’s okay alone and that you will come back. Try short separation while you are in the same room or the next room with distractions available to her, such as a toy or something to chew. Then increase the time gradually. Don’t go too slow, but don’t expect to leave her for 8 hours if you’ve only practiced leaving her for 10 minutes.
 
#4 ·
I left my puppy alone tonight for about 20 minutes. She was contained in the bathroom with water and a pee pad. This is the safest place in the house for her if I am not home. She carried on again with jumping, whining, etc. Again, she carried on so much that she pooped. I do not like leaving her in such as agitated state. I have a small crate for overnight, but it is just big enough for her to sleep in with no extra space so I do not put her in there during the day while out. During the day, while watching her, I keep her blocked in the kitchen using a free standing fence and she has water, a bed, and large pee pad and toys. The problem is that she is able to move the fence and get out so I have to be home to watch her. I do not have a door to the kitchen so I have to close off the wide entryway with a free standing gate so this would not work if I am not home. Does anyone see a way that I can improve on this set up?
 
#5 ·
I think you may want to look into an expen if you have a house with lots of open space. There are a lot of examples people on this site have posted. I used free standing gates to block off some rooms, but never to “keep her in” as she definitely would have pushed them down to get out. i always found it interesting that she never pushed a free standing gate out of her way, but they were just artificial barriers as she had no real interest in going into rooms where none of her people were hanging out...on gates to keep them in a particular room, i.e a bathroom, look for ones posted on this site (search for gates) because these little guys can get thru many of them. There are a couple brands that make the slates close enough to stop a Havanese puppy! I went thru several bathroom gates before finding one she couldn’t squeeze thru...
 
#12 ·
We don't have a lot of space for an ex pen either. I am now using this crate as an ex pen for second Havi. It is 6' x 2 1/2' and fits perfectly up against the wall. I have a pee pad, bed, toys, and a small animal water bottle hooked to the bars. It has worked perfectly.
Amazon.com : Richell Expandable Pet Crate with Floor Tray, Medium, Dark Brown : Pet Supplies
I have this beautify ex-pen (crate) and it worked well when Patti was a small, young puppy. But, she soon outgrew it and could easily climb and jump over the top. It's less than 2.5' tall. It's light weight and a determined older dog can move it around. I purchased the small size and would recommend the medium size. There is a top you might need to buy later, if you purchase this crate for long term. For me it was a temporary solution I needed to use in a small vacation condo, where I didn't have much room.
 
#7 ·
Our puppy turned 1 in June, and she does best in her crate when we leave her alone. She seems to know we are leaving and accept it better. At one point we would leave her out in the bedroom thinking this would give her more freedom but she does bark and carry on way more in that situation, so we are back to always putting her in the crate when we leave and she doesn’t make a peep.
 
#8 ·
Mine was the same as yours, Nora. I am a crate person though. I think a crate is the safest spot for a puppy. I bought a wire crate for Shadow(he was 9 months old when I got him and was never alone for 9 months, always with the other dogs since he lived most of his 9 months there). He would pee &/or poop everytime I left him for 5 or 10 minutes. So I shifted him into a hardsided crate. I thought he'd feel better, more secure in there.
He still got upset and howled. Only once did he poop in the hardsided crate. Never again though. I have his crate in the bathroom and he likes to go in and nap and chew on a toy. I also feed him his breakfast in there.
Still do.
Do you have a crate for her? Maybe it would help.
I'd love to see a picture of the young lady! And her name?
 
#9 ·
I have a crate but it’s only large enough for my puppy to sleep in. There is no room for playing really or a pad. My puppy is in the crate overnight. During the day I was thinking about using a larger crate so I could put a pad in there as well as some toys in water. I have not received the crate yet is being delivered next week. Her name is Lexi
 

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#10 ·
Lexi is beautiful! Very sweet. She is still adjusting to life without her littermates around so these things will take time. I would not cave to her behavior and practice with small amounts of time several times a day in the crate where you want her to stay. It'll get better!
 
#11 ·
I use wire crates for both my dogs and they both love them. I did gradually increase the time they were left in there. These crates did not have potty pads in them - just large enough for them to lay comfortably and not tall enough for jumping which I think could be dangerous in their crate. I also taught them the “crate” command and would reward them with a special treat whenever they would go into their crate. This helped them to associate good things with their crate. They are 10 and 11 now and their crate is still their favorite place to hang out. I also have sliders on their crates so I can move them around if need be. They are rarely left for more than 4 hours. When I worked I came home at lunch to let them out but eventually got a job where I could work from home because I did not want them to be left very long.
 
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