# Help my cockapoo be alone



## maxDJ (Nov 29, 2012)

Hello. We brought home a 12 week old (Max) this past Sunday. He is doing great so far but I am looking for advice on a few issues.

Max struggles when he is not in the same room as one of us. Even for short periods of time (if I run upstairs to shower) he will whimper or howl the entire time. Does anyone have any advice for ways to improve his independence when I am not around, or is this likely just a stage that will pass?

Also, we attempt to crate him at night. We have tried various ways to get him comfortable with his crate but nothing seems to work. The only success we have found is if one of us sleeps beside the crate. Otherwise he will howl and yell all night.

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


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## RachelJ (Oct 5, 2012)

Hello 

Im afraid i cant really give any advice as Darcie is 19weeks now and has to be in the same room as us all the time, if she is playing or sleeping in the living room and i move to go into the kitchen within 30seconds she is behind me! 

Darcie settles fine at bedtime and sleeps in her bed in the kitchen no problem - the first 2 or 3 nights she cried but we persevered and she is fine now - think its a case of being cruel to be kind in the long run! I also believe she is fine when we leave her during the day too when at work etc but this is something we built up over time and the longest she is ever on her own is about 3hours once or twice a week. When leaving i tell her to get in her bed and give her a treat i then keep saying stay as i walk out the door.

Hope you get some good advice from more experienced puppy owners on here


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

There are two schools of thought here. Either you go for tough love and just let him cry till he gets used to it or don't leave him on his own while he is still lonely and scared and desperately missing his siblings. 
When mine were tiny I let them sleep in my bedroom and let them follow me everywhere. Once they grew confident and not scared that I was going to abandon them they were fine. When I did have to leave them I made sure they had had a good walk and were pretty tired so settled easily in their crates.


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## benson (Apr 18, 2012)

Benson, does not like going in his crate, it is in our bedroom as thats the most convenient place for it to be, if I put him in during the day he scrabbles, he whines he makes a real fuss about it, that is of course while I am still in the bungalow, I caught him out by shutting the front door and going straight to the window of the bedroom and he has stopped all the noise and settled down immediately, he also follows me around during the day and if he he really tired I put him in his crate, shut the door and then pretend to go out if I am really quiet I get away with it!!!!


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well......for the first time today I was treating a client and Max was happy to be shut in the lounge. We have had him for almost 8 weeks and he will be 18 weeks old on Friday. That is a first. Normally he follows me every where. He can be sound asleep, I get up, he is there at my ankles. So rest assured if you let your dog feel secure and loved and are prepared for them to follow you around, gradually they become comfortable being left.
Can you move the crate to your bedroom? That's where he wants to be and at least you will get some sleep!


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## Chumphreys (Oct 1, 2011)

We didn't do the tuff love with Malie.She has slept in her bed in our room since day two.She is allowed anywhere in the house and although she prefers to be near us she also chooses now to take herself off and can usually be found curled up on the door mat ) I think the more secure they feel them the more confident they become 
XClare


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## Smallears (Oct 28, 2012)

Muttley always wants to be close to me and at first I would sleep next to his crate but one night my little boy woke after having a nightmare and I had to go up to him but all the time was worrying that muttley would start but he didn't so I got into bed after settling Alfie and was woken at 7 when muttley woke. I crate him when I go out and he barks and howls but if i park up down the road and go back he's quiet. Be loving but be firm. My vet said (when I'd burst into tears as I wasn't coping and had left mutt for just over 4 hours in crate) he/she is a dog. As with a child don't let them control you. Be loving kind but firm. Sorry for waffle but hope it makes some sense.


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## Sue T (Aug 1, 2012)

Lucy our pup is 15 weeks old, and we were fortunate that her breeder socialised her to the crate, so we have no problems there. However, she used to cry when we left her in another room during the day and also following us around. She is not allowed upstairs, (we have a make-shift barrier), and so if I go upstairs I use the "stay" command, and when I peer down at her and if I'm lucky she is still at the bottom of the stairs, or if not she is in the kitchen. Her separation anxiety has got much better over the last 2 weeks. We are now able to leave her in the kitchen with her crate door open when we are in the lounge, and she does not wine nearly as much as before. Perhaps she now feels more settled and secure (certainly more confident!). I hope this helps.


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## Qing (Oct 21, 2012)

I'm a newbie too, when we first got Cookie, we put her crate in the kitchen which is on the ground floor, we live in a three storeys twon house, our bedroom is on the top floor. The first three nights were shocking! She cried, howled, weed, pooed all night! On fourth night, we moved her crate into the lounge which is on the first floor, she was better and I still got up twice at night to take her out for toilet. The second week she started to settle down, now she sleeps through till 6:30 am everyday. I know how you feel, it's really hard to know what to do. If I ignore her when she crystal at night then she'll wee and poo in her crate, so it's rather to get up at night than clean the crate in the morning.
Maybe you can try to put Max in his crate during the day while you are in the same room, ignore him for a few minutes , then let him out when he's quiet, then try again, gradually increase the time. like I said, I'm a newbie too, never had dog before, sometimes just need to try a few things to find out which one works for you.


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