# Cockapoo extreme separation and confinement anxiety



## CottonTheCockapoo (Apr 4, 2021)

Hi

I am a first time cockapoo (show + miniature) owner and had my puppy for two weeks. To be honest, he is driving me insane with his confinement and separation anxiety.

I am not able to crate him for more than five minutes without him whining and barking - giving him Kong or puzzle toys or chews do not work so far as whining begins after he loses interest. The same goes for confining him to the living room when I leave to take a shower or cook dinner. I have tried all the tricks such as slowly introduce him to crate, feeding in crate and giving him treats when he goes inside voluntarily. Recently he has started whining and pawing at the living room door even with me inside the living room. 

Because of the crate and anxiety issue, he is not able to sleep which spirals into him throwing tantrums often. When he is actually sleeping, he will wake up whenever I stand up to leave the room. 

I think this is a very big behavioral issue but do not want to spend money on a dog trainer yet. However it is driving me (and my neighbours) crazy! I cannot even go to the toilet on the worst days. I have thoughts of rehoming him now if this issue does not go away. I heard cockapoo has such an issue but it is significantly worse for him as he is rather timid by nature. This has led to some growling and biting issues which I suspect is out of fear for crate.

Any help please I am desperate!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Getting in touch with a trainer now will save you a fortune in the long run as assuming this is a baby pup coming to you at 8 or 10 weeks this is very normal puppy behaviour and they need to learn gradually to cope with being alone. Pups learn to cope with being alone in very small doses by settling in and being secure and happy. My pup slept in a crate in my bedroom and slept all night through from day one, she was also fed in her crate and loved the security of a space that was hers. She was never left to cry in the crate and any time she spent in it was just built up very gradually as she was happy to settle and sleep in there.

If you are leaving him to cry all night this will in all likelihood lead to him getting stressed and tired and it all spirals out of control. Go back to baby steps and get him settled and secure, sleep with him, either down with him or up in your room and let him settle from how scared and worried he sounds at the moment.

As for when he is sleeping and you stand up to leave the room and he follows this is pretty normal for every dog I have ever had, they like to follow to see where I am going, but equally they will go and find their own spaces to sleep.



https://apdt.co.uk/find-a-trainer/


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## Mmansf (May 31, 2019)

This sounds like normal puppy behaviour to me. They are still tiny little babies with very little experience of the world. Everything they have known since birth has been taken away and you are now their everything.
Our dog has just turned 2 and is now finally independent. I can now go to the toilet on my own and shower without him waiting on the bath mat for me to get out. It was a very gradual thing and to be honest I just went with the flow, if he wanted to follow me I let him. He just stopped being so needy when he was ready.

Does he need confining when you shower or cook? Could he just come with you? I used to scatter frozen peas on the floor when I cooked to keep Rocket entertained.

Dogs don't sleep as heavily as we do so they do notice when we get up. Even adult dogs do this.

Where does he sleep at night? We did the same as 2ndhandgal and had the crate next to the bed with a jumper of mine inside it for comfort too. He now sleeps in our room usually in his own bed but does sleep on ours when it's cold.

It will get better as your dog gets older but try and build confidence slowly and at their pace to avoid anxiety problems.


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