My Beautiful Puppy Alfie..... the Terror!

[Lucy-Jayne]

I need help, advice, anything anyone's willing to give or I'm going to stick my head in the oven!!

I have a beautiful golden Cocker Spaniel puppy called Alfie. He's 15 weeks old. He's pretty much toilet trained, he sits, he fetches, he's perfect. Apart from the whining if I so much as take a step outside the room!

If I so much as leave the room for more that a minute he goes off on one. I can't go to the toilet without him whining. It's really starting to depress me because a) I can't get anything done b) the neighbours are complaining c) I can't go back to work.

We went to our first puppy socialisation class yesterday and I spoke to the trainer afterwards and she talked me through everything I should be doing.... and I'm already doing it! So now we have to establish whether or not he has genuine anxiety or if he's attention seeking.

We think anxiety because even if I leave treats out, if I say pop to the bank etc for an hour he won't touch them, and apparently it is very very very rare that dogs won't eat a treat!

They've given me some anxiety drops which I'm putting in his water 3 times a day, and I need to buy a 'DAP' which you plug in and emits a scent similar to a dogs mum throughout the room.

Any ideas Geeks? I'm really worried about this and it's depressing me. I have to go back to work at some point, and he will have to be left for a few hours at a time, maybe more. At the moment it's just not going to happen. I don't want to get rid of him, I love him to bits, but will it come to this, I don't know. Do we need to get him another dog for company? Or is this compounding the problem?

Help Geeks! xx

 

[tonilee]

Awwwwww chick! We have 2 pooches, a 8 month old lab (Benson) and a 1 year old Lhasa Apso (Butch!), the lab has me tearing my hair out regulalrly but then he just looks soooooo cute!!

Whenever we leave out dogs Benson fretts and poohs like nothing I have ever seen in my life!! Thankfully we leave them outside normally!! Have you tried installing baby gates in your house so when you leave the room he can see you? Then when you return give him heaps of praise......other tips are to leave something that smells of you with him and a radio on although these things are best done once you have mastered being able to leave pooch behind a baby gate.....they are clever things mutts, have you thought about speaking with your vet or vets nurse they are very helpful......Benson used to vomit as soon as we put him in our car, and the vets prescribed doggie valium, the idea was to disasociate the car with anxiety by making him dozy....and i have to say it worked!! HTH and good luck!

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

Thanks so much, but all tried! I'll list everything I've done so far.....

- 3 Baby Gates in the house (we live in a town house)
- TVs left on
- We ignore him when we come in (vet and trainer told us to do it). If they get attention, apparently the whining has been successful.
- If he follows us around the house we ignore him, again lack of attention
- I wore a top for about 4 nights, and the little sod ate it when I left it with him!
- His FAVOURITE edible bone that will keep him amused for hours if we're in, doesn't even get touched.
- I do my leaving the house routine about an hour before I leave and then sit with him so that he doesn't expect when I'm going.

If he whines, a few people have said just leave him but eventually we have to go to him because he is soooo loud. We live in a courtyard of houses and everyone can hear him, up to about 400m away!!!

I have so much sympathy for anyone who has brought up a puppy!!

 

[rouge]

My brother had this problem with one of his dogs, and he ended up getting one of those things that you put round their neck and it gives them a spray of something in the face if they get too loud. Sorry I can't be more specific about it but maybe you could look it up on the internet or ask your vet about it.

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

My brother had this problem with one of his dogs, and he ended up getting one of those things that you put round their neck and it gives them a spray of something in the face if they get too loud. Sorry I can't be more specific about it but maybe you could look it up on the internet or ask your vet about it.

THANK YOU!!!!! I'm searching now! xx

 

[Susie H]

Not the answer but an answer, is it just when you leave him or is it when he is alone? if its when he is alone, but he will stay with someone else then ask the naibours if any of them will dog sit rather then hearing him whine, this also lets them get to love him so they will be more tolerant of him:lol: also a puppy cage, if its stress then a puppy cage will help because it takes away his feeling of being exposed and gives him his cave to hide from the monsters in so they cant eat him, you can put something that smells of you under or over it, so he has the smell but can't eat it:lol: but with the fact that he ate your top I think it might be a little bit of dominance, usually when dogs are stressed at being left they poop all over, I think your cutie wants to be the boss of his pack, still think a cage is a good idea, because its also his time out room.
See if you can talk to your local police dog section, the sniffer dogs are mostly spaniels so they are the experts on the breed. And they, like every dog owner love to chat about their dog.

 

[Susie H]

THANK YOU!!!!! I'm searching now! xx

citronella spray and its sound activated.

 

[tonilee]

Best thing we got for our two was my water spray, all you have to do is pick it up and they both put there heads down and go and lie in there little beds!!! IVE GOT THE POWER!!

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

Not the answer but an answer, is it just when you leave him or is it when he is alone? if its when he is alone, but he will stay with someone else then ask the naibours if any of them will dog sit rather then hearing him whine, this also lets them get to love him so they will be more tolerant of him:lol: also a puppy cage, if its stress then a puppy cage will help because it takes away his feeling of being exposed and gives him his cave to hide from the monsters in so they cant eat him, you can put something that smells of you under or over it, so he has the smell but can't eat it:lol: but with the fact that he ate your top I think it might be a little bit of dominance, usually when dogs are stressed at being left they poop all over, I think your cutie wants to be the boss of his pack, still think a cage is a good idea, because its also his time out room.
See if you can talk to your local police dog section, the sniffer dogs are mostly spaniels so they are the experts on the breed. And they, like every dog owner love to chat about their dog.

Thanks Susie

To be honest I don't really know the neighbours that well, and defintely not well enough to put a puppy who is likely to pee and poo everywhere on them, and eat everything!

I should have mentioned that Alfie had a crate which he grew out of, and he now has a play pen which he gets left in and he sleeps in it still. We've tried him in it and out of it, no change. He does wee and poo everywhere too if he's left. And it's only if he's left alone.

My parents had two cocker spaniels about ten years ago and they've been giving all of the help in the world. They were a bit firmer on him when we left him with them when we went on holiday but their house is a bit more secluded and if he whined, not many people could hear him.

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

Best thing we got for our two was my water spray, all you have to do is pick it up and they both put there heads down and go and lie in there little beds!!! IVE GOT THE POWER!!

I've heard of other people doing that! Bit difficult if I'm out of the house. What I need is a video camera and a tap on a timer and I can control it from wherever I am..... now that's me talking silly!

 

[Fingertips ND]

Have you tried a comforter?

When Molly was a puppy she had a cuddly toy.

If I went out I left it with her and she only used it when she was left on her own or when she went to bed. She used to sleep with it under her paws. It went very skanky but it did the trick.

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

Have you tried a comforter?

When Molly was a puppy she had a cuddly toy.

If I went out I left it with her and she only used it when she was left on her own or when she went to bed. She used to sleep with it under her paws. It went very skanky but it did the trick.

I'll try that, thanks. He has a lot of toys, but I'm restricting his use of them because he has too many and loses interest. But I'll try some kind of teddy.

 

[del3]

[FONT=&quot]Hi
I totally know what your going through!!
It looks like you've been given all the right advice but unfortunately it looks like your going to have to just persevere, the puppy is still only young and sometimes it takes time for all the best training in the world to kick in.

The reason he is whining is because up until now (like with any new puppy) he has probably had all the fuss in the world, being the cute new puppy, from family, friends and any visitors and is having to adjust to the fact that this kind of attention is (rightly so) not going to be the case 24/7.

The best thing to do (imo) is to slowly increase the time that you spend away from him and give him plenty of praise when you come back. (But not so much that he gets over exited and think that the whining is a kind of game with the reward of fuss at the end)

You say that you will be going back to work. Could you get someone to look in on him a few times a day? This will help him realise that you haven’t abandoned him.
Getting another dog would possibly help. Dogs are naturally pack animals and need company, but do you really want 2 dogs in the house??

As a breeder and owner of three dogs I know how difficult it is with a new puppy.
Be prepared for some destruction of your things when you do leave him for a longer period of time.... this is a sign of rebellion.

Have a word with your neighbours and explain to them that you are going through a tough time with the pup at the moment and that you are doing every thing you can to sort the problem out.
Another suggestion is find a website that specialises in you dogs breed and ask them for advice, different breeds have different characteristics, and what might not work for one breed might be the answer for another.
hth
Good Luck
:hug:
[/FONT]

 

[beautyseeker]

There is a website called "dogster" which has loads of advice which may help.

Trish :hug:

 

[JessieBee]

Hi

I know you mentioned about your dogs toys and you wanting to restrict them but have you thought of maybe getting a "kong" for him, the ones where you put something in the middle for your dog to eat? We put peanut butter in ours and our Bess loves it. If not I'm sure there are toys where you put biscuits or treats in them and the dogs have to roll them about in order for them to be able to eat them? Just another little thing to keep him amused whilst your gone.

We've got a rescued trailhound called Bess and as you can probably imagine being a hound she is really really loud but we do as I said above or just scatter biscuits about in her crate and she soon settles down.

Our Lhasa Huxley when he was a pup really used to cry when we went to bed but it did stop. It's only now he's a little bugger! 15 weeks is still very young so he will grow out of it.

Definitely (as mentioned) find a trainer that specializes in your dogs breed the info they can give you will be invaluable. We have now done this with Huxley and so much of what we were advised to do by someone else for him (although it was good) just wasn't right for a Lhasa.

Sorry it wasn't much help lol

 

[amirose]

Your probably going to hate this suggestion but ...

My whippet Jade was just like yours I tried EVERYTHING. I was getting serious problems with my neighbours, one in particular who would hammer on my front door trying to shut her up when I was out but all he really did was frighten her and make it worse. I caught him on video camera so no I am not paranoid ! I ended up actually thinking about giving her away.

In the end, after a suggestion from someone else, I got another dog!!! :lol: Thinking about it now I was very lucky it worked out I could have ended up with two dogs the same, however Aleigh was carefully chosen for her nature and Jade is no longer a problem. She doesn't even bother getting up when I leave now.

Amy

P.S didnt have time to check no-one else suggested this but ... set up a camera when you leave point it at the front door it doesn't mater if you cant see him the whole time because you will hear him. see if anyone is messing with him makes sure he is safe. Get an idea of when he starts whinging and how long her takes to stop (if he stops at all).
The most important thing is to not pander to him do exactly what you want and act like its no big deal. If he works out he can control you he will. Same way my flaming dog will get right up in my face and sigh continuously until I am FORCED to take her out for a walk :lol:

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

Your probably going to hate this suggestion but ...

My whippet Jade was just like yours I tried EVERYTHING. I was getting serious problems with my neighbours, one in particular who would hammer on my front door trying to shut her up when I was out but all he really did was frighten her and make it worse. I caught him on video camera so no I am not paranoid ! I ended up actually thinking about giving her away.

In the end, after a suggestion from someone else, I got another dog!!! :lol: Thinking about it now I was very lucky it worked out I could have ended up with two dogs the same, however Aleigh was carefully chosen for her nature and Jade is no longer a problem. She doesn't even bother getting up when I leave now.

Amy

P.S didnt have time to check no-one else suggested this but ... set up a camera when you leave point it at the front door it doesn't mater if you cant see him the whole time because you will hear him. see if anyone is messing with him makes sure he is safe. Get an idea of when he starts whinging and how long her takes to stop (if he stops at all).
The most important thing is to not pander to him do exactly what you want and act like its no big deal. If he works out he can control you he will. Same way my flaming dog will get right up in my face and sigh continuously until I am FORCED to take her out for a walk :lol:

Thanks for your suggestions Amy. We don't really want another puppy / dog but I know it may have to be an option. It would be a very last resort though!

Alfie starts whinging the minute the door is shut. And keeps whinging until the minute it is opened again! I know for sure that nobody is messing with him.

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

Hi

I know you mentioned about your dogs toys and you wanting to restrict them but have you thought of maybe getting a "kong" for him, the ones where you put something in the middle for your dog to eat? We put peanut butter in ours and our Bess loves it. If not I'm sure there are toys where you put biscuits or treats in them and the dogs have to roll them about in order for them to be able to eat them? Just another little thing to keep him amused whilst your gone.

We've got a rescued trailhound called Bess and as you can probably imagine being a hound she is really really loud but we do as I said above or just scatter biscuits about in her crate and she soon settles down.

Our Lhasa Huxley when he was a pup really used to cry when we went to bed but it did stop. It's only now he's a little bugger! 15 weeks is still very young so he will grow out of it.

Definitely (as mentioned) find a trainer that specializes in your dogs breed the info they can give you will be invaluable. We have now done this with Huxley and so much of what we were advised to do by someone else for him (although it was good) just wasn't right for a Lhasa.

Sorry it wasn't much help lol

We've got all the kongs! They are good I agree. Unfortunately, he won't touch food / treats if he's left alone. xx

 

[marie111]

Its not a good idea to get another dog when you haven't got your first dog trained.
I would suggest going on a dog forum which has behaviourists/trainers rather than asking for sugestions on here as some of the answers have shocked me.
Heres a good one, Dog Rescue Pages - UK rescue centre and shelter guide
Firstly your dog is a puppy, of course he doesn't want you to leave him so the last thing you should do is squirt citronella in his face.
You also say that he will be left for a few hours or more when you return to work, a puppy shouldn't be left for no more than four hours.
I'm not going to say anymore, I foster dogs for a rescue and believe me I could tell you some stories.

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

I am going to try for the next week with the herbal remedy and the DAP thingy that you put in the wall that gives off a scent similar to a mummy dog that calms them. This comes highly recommended from the vets and the trainer.

I've started doing little things today like when I go into my bedroom, shutting the door behind me and so he doesn't know where I've gone. After the max of 20 mins I didn't have any whining. And he was sat right the other side of the door. I did however have a nice wee and poo on the carpet to greet me as I wasn't around to let him out!

Next step is going out of the house again. With Steve being on gardening leave now for the next two and a half months I think we'll get back to going to the gym for an hour a day an hopefully the little monster will get used to that!

xx