I know it's Christmas/holiday time so probably not the best time to ask this but, from the day we brought Cooper home (gosh not even 2 weeks ago yet!) if he cannot see me, he cries the house down.

It does not matter if Brad or stepson is in the same room with him and I leave (bathroom or washing whatever) he cries. And this is whether he is loose, in his crate or pen.

I really don't know what I should be doing.

Today I took him to Mum and Dad's for Xmas, took his pen and we were all outside with him. When I went inside, he's at the door crying. When we had lunch I put him in his pen while we were inside. He screamed blue murder. I had given him a bone to chew on, nope only interested in it, if I was with him.

Any suggestions/advice greatly appreciated please as I don't know how to deal with this and would like to knock it on the head before it becomes a huge issue. Thank you in advance

well, the best thing you can do is the absolute hardest ... let him whine and cry and DO NOT EVER go to him or let him inside or out of his crate while he is doing it. the second he is quite reward him!! it is hard becasue they sound so forlorn...they really can handle it though....and if you are at someone's house it is hard to do. but, i dont know anyo ther way... ignore the screaming-everytime... party when he is quiet-everytime. he will get it

ps. the ore you go to him when he is whineing the more he will do it since in his eyes your are "rewarding" him by coming

I agree. If you go to him you're rewarding him for his behavior. It's extremely hard to ignore a beautiful, adorable, cuddly puppy no matter what they're doing - they're so ____ cute!. Pretty close to impossible for me, LOL! So much easier (dang those maternal instincts!) to go to them, pick them up and tell them "There there, Fido, it's ok." and cuddle them up nice and cozy to ease their "suffering" but all that will do is to promote the behavior that gets them their reward = YOU!

Nissa had a huge problem w/separation anxiety for awhile when I'd come home from work. She was off the scale nutsy when I'd walk in the door. After I learned about the ignore technique and began using it - about 3 days later the "Mom's home" drama was down to an acceptable level.

Don't worry-- this is totally natural. In the wild, a canid pup wouldn't be separated from his pack at this age. He's gonna raise a ruckus!

You can: Crate train so he's got a supersnug, warm safe den, just like his instincts call for. When you leave his sight, make no big deal of it-- not even comforting him at all. Go do your thing. Return when he is quiet-- with no fanfare. No reassurances. No praise. Ho-hum. Mom's return = boring, nothing to anticipate nor get worked up about! Make your comings and goings a non-issue.

When I returned home in the early days of Baby Grimm, enter without a word to him. I'd put my packages down, put away the frozen food and cold items, hang up my coat, pour myself a drink of water--- THEN go c-a-l-m-l-y greet my *quiet* puppy.

Then, very calmly let him out to pee-- the excitement of me returning, which got less and less, still might cause him to need to potty. Plus, he likely snoozed while I was out, and a pup needs to potty as soon as they wake, anyway.

Grimm learned to be VERY calm and quiet and secure within himself whenever I went away!

I never give any eye contact to them while putting into the crate, or while in it, or leaving (house or area).

Thank you all for the advice, I appreciate it and will implement it as of now It's just strange to me, how much he has bonded with me already, Brad and SS are basically invisable.

Not so strange ... GSD's many times have one special person in their pack no matter how many other pack members there are. Some bond very quickly, others take a little longer.

Thank you, he is only the second PB I have had, and although there is no question Molly is MY dog, she didn't follow me around this early!

So is Brad jealous that you have stolen his puppy?

LOL Leah, that's the thing he sulks but then he is never up (by choice) and chooses not to interact with Cooper.

I told him that the collective advice is to ignore him when he whines/cries and he gets pissed listening to him. Well who wanted this puppy huh? But that's a whole new thread (rant) that I am debating whether to put into words

Hang in there. He'll learn to settle soon.

Should have heard the theatrics from Ciara last night when I put her in her kennel at bedtime. You would have thoguht we were torturing her. I left the room to go brush my teeth and she atarted up a second time. THen DH came in and also left the room - by that time I was back - but she started fussing all over again. Finally settled when we were both in bed and the lights went out - maybe 5 minutes of whining and a semi howling

So I feel your pain - we can commiserate together.

Aww, I'm sorry B.

Thank you Johanna, commiserating sounds great! There is no peep out of him as long as he can see me!

Thanks Leah, it's OK I should have expected it would be like this - wishful thinking on my part that he would try to be involved

Ciara most definitely does not like being put in her kennel for the night. Last night was much worse than the first night and she barks, yips, howls and carries on. I took her out around 3 to potty when she started acting up. Put her back in the kennel and she carried on for almost 1/2 an hour. But DH and I didn't want to give in because at that point she just wanted out of the kennel.

I think it would be better if I could put the kennel nearer the bed, but it's a 42" one and won't fit. I'd be tripping against it if I had to get up in the dark. We're going to try and tire her out more before bedtime tonight and see if that helps any.

It's funny - as soon as you get up and go over near the kennel she shuts right up, just sits waiting for the door to be opened.

That sounds like normal puppy behavior. Can you get a smaller kennel that will fit next to the bed? In my experience, being able to stick fingers in there and have them smell you helped a lot.

Yeah - I know it's pretty normal puppy behavior. She just sounds like she's being tortured. For whatever reason, Caleb was pretty quiet when we brought him home (~ 9 weeks). Aodhán was 3 months old and we never dealt with much noise with her either. The last noisy pup was Rica.

I borrowed a kennel that is one size down from a friend with Aussies. But it's still too big to fit beside the bed and not be a tripping hazard. I may try moving my night stand & chair for a while and then putting the kennel there with a board on top so I can keep the light and alarm clock there. If it fits that way it might be the best alternative. Don't really want to buy a 24 or 30" kennel when she'll grow out of it so fast.

Ruth,

My response doesn't mean I don't appreciate the suggestion.

I was looking at the area between the wall & the bed on my side and I don't think that the big kennel will fit. May have to break down and get a smaller kennel to solve the problem.

The one I borrowed from my friend has only one door. So it won't work there either. The big one has doors at either end and one on one side, which is why I thought it would be a possible solution if it would fit.

Johanna, I am using Molly's puppy crate as a bedside table. It just squeezes in! When he outgrows that, he will have to sleep in the huge crate out in the rumpus room. Our room is tiny and I need room for Brad's hoist.

I still haven't worked out what I am going to do about my car and crates though - I need a bigger car!

Bianca,

How is Copper doing with the theatrics?

I broke down and got a 30" kennel to fit beside the bed. It's made a world of difference and the last 2 nights she has slept through from midnight til about 7:00.

Thank you for thinking of us (and our ears!) Johanna!

He is great in his crate at night. He can now handle not seeing me during the day for a couple of minutes before the screaming starts

Ciara is such a good girl, that is amazing!