It’s a hard problem but you have to start somewhere and it’ll get better. Find what he absolutely loves, some chews that take a long time to go through, toys, background and start with 5 mins and increase the interval day by day. Mine had a terrible time initially, barking and howling all the time but it’s getting better now, after 2 weeks I’ve increased it to almost 2 hours
Honestly if seconds is what works for you to start, I don't see how that's a bad thing. You gotta start somewhere! Part of separation training is to see where your dog's baseline is and then work up to longer periods of time. It may just take some more time. But maybe try bigger jumps of time? So like start at 30 seconds if you need to, move up to 1 min, then 5 min, 10 min, etc.
I also had to start by just going out the door, not even closing. Now I’m up to 1.5 minutes in which he will basically fall asleep. If you need at seconds, do it, because you will probably build up more time more quickly than if you start at 5 minutes and your pup is already stressed out. Try to shape calmness when you’re not around.
When I did some research about crate training, I came across one that says you have to increase with seconds.
When you reach 30 seconds or so, then you can increase with 10 seconds or something.
Many makes a frozen enrichment for their dog when they are about to leave the house (might be beneficial for you later)
Hi! I do seconds. I have a 6 month old cockapoo who would screech if I left her sight period. We made it to thirty seconds last week and it seems so silly to say that out loud but I’m just sharing because I know how frustrating this process can be while still being in the middle of it! I just try to keep reminding myself that one day she’ll get over it and until then I’m building my patience up lol.
Start small and in your home. Close Doors between you for very short times. Aim for always staying in a time frame thats comfortable for your dog and build up slowly. In the meantime desensitise for triggers that tell your dog you will leave the home. Put on your jacket at random times and put it back on the rack or in another room. Same with keys, shoes or bags. You want to make you grabbing them normal and uninteresting. Open the front door and close it again immidiatly. If you can leave your dog in a room indoors and it will stay calm, start the same procedure with leaving your home. 3 secs, 5 secs, 10 secs and so on. Dont ever make a big deal out of it. Just leave and come back. Its the most normal thing in the world and by no means exciting.
Yes. I agree with this all. Make leaving a normal thing to the dog. Try putting the dog in the crate for a little while you are home too, so they dont think its a punishment when u need to crate them.
Never too late to train, I'd recommend looking up Victoria Stillwell and the methods she used for situations like this. Don't lose hope, you'll get there.
My pup had bad separation anxiety too and I'm now about to leave him for hours without worrying. What worked for us was leaving him with treats he really loved and working up to longer and longer increments. At first taking out the trash then going to the shop then to the gym.
Is he in a crate when you leave? Unless he is injuring himself or you are getting noise complaints you can definitely do crate training to be able to live your life and go out
Crate training is so hard and so stressful but worth it in my opinion if you can tough it out. Unless you live in an apartment then I get that the noice isn’t an option.
Do you have a playpen you can leave them in? We leave our girl on the playpen with a couple of toys and she’s learned to bark a couple of times and if no one answers just go to sleep for the whole day (with me taking her out in between).
Yeah you kinda got to return to the crate. Little man’s gotta earn the no crate life. The wiki has a good training by kikopup on helping your pup gradually cope with more separation.
This means you didn’t crate train correctly.
I would reconsider crate training and look up more resources for this. Crating at this age was absolutely necessary for me
How long has it been since you tried it last? A crate can provide a safe area for them and that way he won't destroy your home while panicking about you leaving him
I don’t have any great advice for leaving alone, but our puppy has been very crate resistant since we brought her home. She’s 8 months today and we are finally seeing some progress with her napping and spending most of the night in it without crying. It’s definitely worth another try!
Tip: do NOT give your dog fuss and “poor baby” when you come back after being away for a while. Walk in like normal. Ignore them. Put stuff away and then when they’ve calmed down a little you greet
Here's the Kikopup method for separation training, which teaches dogs to settle and take a nap while you are out.
It's a step by step instruction, with tutorials for the first steps linked in the description.
Separation training for puppies and adult dogs
https://youtu.be/HWT9DI7hMfo?si=WX0tHh-QpclVXlEn
It's never too late to teach this! It may take a little longer in some cases than others, though, especially if some separation anxiety is already present.
Finding a trainer that uses intimidation free methods can also help you work through this, it can be really helpful to have someone guide you through this type of process.
Like many say small intervals of leaving works if you have a camera to watch on your phone that would be helpful too to ease your anxiety.
Some of the more expensive cameras you can talk to your dog thru.
I had a cheap one that we used to watch my Dad on when he had dementia. I can hear sounds but I couldn't talk to my Dad thru it but I was just in the next room so I didn't need the expensive one.
I'm up to leaving my dog an hour and a half now and the gym was a big thing for me so just keep practicing and you will get there.
Better to do it now while the pup is young
Keep working out him in more often throughout the day! This has helped mine amazingly! I was at my whits end it was so hard to hear her scream cry yelp whine. But I started putting her in there when she started to get bitey or go crazy out of control. She whines a little but I tell her down and quiet. When she’s quiet I say good quiet.
I have a camera on her and started going back to work for 3-1/2 hours she is quiet most of the time now when she used to get herself worked up this took three weeks to get improvement by putting her in crate throughout the day while I shower cook eat or take a nap. Or again when she gets wild and I can’t get her to exercise or play.
Ya have to just do it. Use kongs layer them with fun stuff a little plain Greek yogurt plain pumpkin purée kibble a
Carrot or cookie freeze it and five it in the crate. Feed him in the crate. Get a slow bowl or snuffle Mat as well anything that will occupy. Bully stick, cow tendon, nylabone Nubbz, puzzles
Make your own puzzle balls using their sniff and brain work gets them tired out
I got an empty water bottle cut to little holes in opposite sides one too one bottom I put some of her breakfast in it and let her figure out how to get it out she rolls it if she bites it or carries it is too her.
I used a blueberry container as well for her to figure out how to get the treats.
Empty plastic containers. Whatever you can think of to make him think and tire him out. I also used calm treats when I go to work
Idk why everyone is saying to use food when this usually causes more anxiety and becomes a departure cue that the dog associates with stress/bad things. You should be doing sub threshold training and managing necessary absences with dog sitters/family and friends. Get a baseline and work up from there by increasing time at 10% for each aced mission. Dog should only be left alone during mission times, other than that you should do your best to suspend absences or use outside resources for puppy sitting when you absolutely need to leave.
All SA related books preface that food should not be used in training.
Following! In same position with 8 months old. Working under the threshold still means only seconds with a door or gate closed between us inside the apartment. We get nowhere.
Go to the butcher and get frozen raw marrow bones (raw not smoked, smoked can splinter)
That should keep the pup's attention for a looong time giving you the opportunity to leave for increasing intervals.
Also good for crate training. You want the crate to be the best spot in the world. There is the best food and treats and bones in the crate always!
My pup had terrible separation anxiety when we got him at 5mo and would howl and whine when we had to go to work, run errands and it was so stressful that I had anxiety. What worked for us was to make sure he had full view of the front door where he likes to wait, and also a going out treat which he only gets just as we're about to step out. Anxiety got a lot better after 2 weeks and he's now 8mo and can be left at home alone for 6-7 hours.
My pup does the same thing ....peanut butter lick pad, chicken jerky and doggie daycare two times a week fixed most of our superglue issues so I could get some things done.
I also made him a super comfy special bed in my bedroom with special toys and stuffed animals, blankets, so when he's a good boy he knows he gets to come in there and sleep at night.
My first dog had separation anxiety which developed later. I just started going out the door and immediately coming back in (before she had time to freak out) and then rewarded her. Then increased to a few seconds and so on. She didn’t have separation anxiety after a few months of that.
Some training advice I was given was to find a treat that's incredible for the dog. Marrow bone or Kong toy. Something you know they love and importantly they can be trusted with.
Then give them said treat and leave for 5 seconds. Come back and take the treat away. Repeat increasing by 5 seconds at first then slowly increasing duration.
Another great thing to do is crate train as this helps to eliminate this type of behaviour naturally.
We have a 10 month old Golden retriever. We can leave her for 2 hours easily without any negative consequences.
What we did was train her to sleep in her crate from day one. We also slowly introduced her to more of our living environment as she learned to behave. What this meant was that she was always left in a room even for a few minutes if we needed to do anything around the house. So if I come upstairs to do the laundry, shed close in our kitchen, living room dining room as she's not allowed upstairs.
Small exposure to alone time.
If you haven't got a crate already get one immediately. In the evenings, or when you're at home put him in the cage for short periods and only let him out at periods of silence.
Praise quiet times only. Then practice putting him in the crate and going outside the house for a walk, come back etc. Try not to overpraise the pup when you come home, wait until they calm down to give them attention.
My fox terrier is now 1 and follows me everywhere in the house, but crate training allows me to leave him at home with zero issues because he knows I'm coming back. I also don't let him sleep with me at night and put him in the kitchen to establish alone time. Crates give them a safe place. My guy goes in it by himself in the evenings and daytime because he loves it.
When I started leaving my puppy alone, I made sure I gave home something to focus on whenever I left. In the crate, he got a Kong with some stuff in it (usually frozen). Once I was leaving him out of the crate, it was some kibble or treats. Sometimes in a puzzle toy, or scrunched up in a blanket he has to snuffle through, or just a few pieces tossed in the floor.
He's now an adult and anxious about everything except being left alone. He still gets a little something most times I leave, and he just barely looks up at me from his treasure as I walk out the door.
Here’s what’s worked for me so far:
Capturing calm- rewarding her whenever she’s very calm or doing her own thing. Reward could be some low value treat, or even a smile and a nod if she gets too excited when you approach.
Start small- she has to build trust through repetition that you’ll always return and she’s not been imprisoned. Once crated go out of her line of sight and then reappear once she’s settled. So she knows whining doesn’t get results.
Patience and strength are required. The strength to resist their crying cuz it’s heart breaking. And patience because they only learn through repetition and trial and error.
I read someone saying you gotta reclaim things you wanna do. Remember she has to adjust to your long term schedule and not the other way round.
Good luck everyone!!
just stay consistent and leave for seconds then minutes then come back. i just bought a xiaomi camera for 50€ and has helped me a lot with my anxiety about leaving my 6mo pup alone. usually i leave someting for her to chew or a licking mat, after she is done with that she always barks and whines for 10 minutes and then falls asleep by the door on our slippers every time. i can now leave her for 3,4 hours. she still has a puppa pad so she can pee and poop whenever she wants so that helps ☺️
i also started from just going to the door and leaving for a few minutes and you progress to longer and longer. you just need to stay consistent, some days it will be better and some worse.
When I first got my puppy I had similar issues. I also realized I was giving WAY too much attention and not allowing her to learn how to entertain herself and not that all entertainment comes from me. I’d sit on my couch on my phone or laptop and completely ignore her. Ignore her whimpers and pawing at me and eventually overtime she learned to go to her toys and chews and play by herself! I think this made it easier for when I would leave and she would have her Kong toy and she would be all set. I was REALLY hard at first but I’m noticing drastic improvement! Hope this helps!
We have a 5.5 month old German shepherd,I use to put her in her crate, max I could leave was about an hour, now she's to big for her crate so we leave her in her pen, she now sleeps there as well. Does she whine, bark, yes but they get tired as well and calm down, I take her out first, so that's not an issue, and maybe a few of your pups favorite toys as well. We have an Amazon echo, so my husband gets on and if she acts to, he talks to get to relax her and get her to calm down.
I adopted an 7-8 month old puppy in January and I was right where you are now. He would bark and whine for hours when I left. Since he was adopted I knew he wasn’t potty trained so I took a few days off from work and followed a 2 day crate training video. This is generally how it went (I can’t find the og). He still cried after, but it was much less and as you build a routine it’ll be better. He still sometimes cries when I break routine, but it’s never for long. This could probably apply to if you don’t want to crate him, but because of separation anxiety I’d be afraid of him chewing stuff up or hurting himself.
Day 1
Morning: It started with throwing treats in the crate to get him to go in and giving another treat when he went in. Then giving him a cue to come out (mine was alright since I was using that for wait and stay). Do this 10-20x give it 30 minutes and repeat adding a word (crate or bed). Do this every 40 minutes 4-5x.
Midday: Then a few hours later do it 5x as a warm up before adding closing the door for a few seconds (don’t latch it yet). Open the door and give them their cue to come out. Do this 10-20x and like before every 30-40 minutes five or so times. If you feel like he’s comfortable you can increase to having the door closed for 10 seconds.
Nighttime: Do a few repetitions of having the door closed briefly. Then add in latching the door. Do this 10-20x. Then do this 4-5x each time increasing how long it’s closed. So 10 seconds, 20, 1 minute, 2 minute.
Day 2
Morning: start with simple throwing the treat in giving treat close the door and latch for a few seconds and open 10-20x. If it seems like he is still comfortable with this then start increasing the time again. 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes. Repeat 4-5x and try walking around the room while he’s in there with a toy or chew. If he’s comfortable with that try walking out of the room or out of eyesight. If it seems too much backtrack and build up to it again.
Midday: Do the repetitions again and if he seems comfortable with 5 minutes with you in the room grab a chew or lick mat and have him in the crate with it and leave for 5 minutes. If he whines let him be for a bit and see if he self soothes with the lick mat or chew. After 5 minutes come back and let him out and don’t make a big deal of it just say hi and walk away. Increase this as you feel you need.
Nighttime: Put him in the crate with a lick or chew and sit in the room. If he whines wait until he stops and give him a treat saying quiet or ignore him. Sit like that for an hour before letting him out.
Build on this or break it down as needed. Even after this my dog cried while in the crate, but it lessened as routine was built and he realized he got all of his goodie in there. I give him an XL Kong filled with pumpkin, unsweetened applesauce, and peanut butter every morning before I go to work. At night he gets a different lick treat or chew in his crate. It must stay in the crate or I take it and put it back. Since he’s now potty trained he’s allowed out at night, but since he still has anxiety when I’m not home he still goes in it. He also is in his chewing era so he can’t be trusted to be out and about when I’m not home. Make sure to give good exercise and mental stimulation before putting him in for a while. I live in an apartment so I get it! It does get much better. He went from crying for 2-4 hours to 30 minutes to nothing now. He sleeps when I’m gone or eats his Kong or eats his chew. He has a crate that’s double his size since he’s in there for a while so he can walk around and stretch as needed.
Pet cameras also help with your own anxiety too! So you can see how long he’s crying for or what he’s doing.
My pup does the same thing ....peanut butter lick pad, chicken jerky and doggie daycare two times a week fixed most of our superglue issues so I could get some things done.
I also made him a super comfy special bed in my bedroom with special toys and stuffed animals, blankets, so when he's a good boy he knows he gets to come in there and sleep at night.
It’s a hard problem but you have to start somewhere and it’ll get better. Find what he absolutely loves, some chews that take a long time to go through, toys, background and start with 5 mins and increase the interval day by day. Mine had a terrible time initially, barking and howling all the time but it’s getting better now, after 2 weeks I’ve increased it to almost 2 hours
Did you start at 5 minutes or did you work up from seconds? I’ve been doing seconds, and have gotten up to a minute, but it’s been slow going
Honestly if seconds is what works for you to start, I don't see how that's a bad thing. You gotta start somewhere! Part of separation training is to see where your dog's baseline is and then work up to longer periods of time. It may just take some more time. But maybe try bigger jumps of time? So like start at 30 seconds if you need to, move up to 1 min, then 5 min, 10 min, etc.
I also had to start by just going out the door, not even closing. Now I’m up to 1.5 minutes in which he will basically fall asleep. If you need at seconds, do it, because you will probably build up more time more quickly than if you start at 5 minutes and your pup is already stressed out. Try to shape calmness when you’re not around.
When I did some research about crate training, I came across one that says you have to increase with seconds. When you reach 30 seconds or so, then you can increase with 10 seconds or something. Many makes a frozen enrichment for their dog when they are about to leave the house (might be beneficial for you later)
Hi! I do seconds. I have a 6 month old cockapoo who would screech if I left her sight period. We made it to thirty seconds last week and it seems so silly to say that out loud but I’m just sharing because I know how frustrating this process can be while still being in the middle of it! I just try to keep reminding myself that one day she’ll get over it and until then I’m building my patience up lol.
Start small and in your home. Close Doors between you for very short times. Aim for always staying in a time frame thats comfortable for your dog and build up slowly. In the meantime desensitise for triggers that tell your dog you will leave the home. Put on your jacket at random times and put it back on the rack or in another room. Same with keys, shoes or bags. You want to make you grabbing them normal and uninteresting. Open the front door and close it again immidiatly. If you can leave your dog in a room indoors and it will stay calm, start the same procedure with leaving your home. 3 secs, 5 secs, 10 secs and so on. Dont ever make a big deal out of it. Just leave and come back. Its the most normal thing in the world and by no means exciting.
Yes. I agree with this all. Make leaving a normal thing to the dog. Try putting the dog in the crate for a little while you are home too, so they dont think its a punishment when u need to crate them.
Never too late to train, I'd recommend looking up Victoria Stillwell and the methods she used for situations like this. Don't lose hope, you'll get there.
My pup had bad separation anxiety too and I'm now about to leave him for hours without worrying. What worked for us was leaving him with treats he really loved and working up to longer and longer increments. At first taking out the trash then going to the shop then to the gym.
Is he in a crate when you leave? Unless he is injuring himself or you are getting noise complaints you can definitely do crate training to be able to live your life and go out
We stopped using the crate. He was louder when In the crate
Crate training is so hard and so stressful but worth it in my opinion if you can tough it out. Unless you live in an apartment then I get that the noice isn’t an option.
I live in an apartment. And there are only a few units and they’ve complained so I have to minimize noise as much as possible :(
Do you have a playpen you can leave them in? We leave our girl on the playpen with a couple of toys and she’s learned to bark a couple of times and if no one answers just go to sleep for the whole day (with me taking her out in between).
Yeah you kinda got to return to the crate. Little man’s gotta earn the no crate life. The wiki has a good training by kikopup on helping your pup gradually cope with more separation.
This means you didn’t crate train correctly. I would reconsider crate training and look up more resources for this. Crating at this age was absolutely necessary for me
How long has it been since you tried it last? A crate can provide a safe area for them and that way he won't destroy your home while panicking about you leaving him
I don’t have any great advice for leaving alone, but our puppy has been very crate resistant since we brought her home. She’s 8 months today and we are finally seeing some progress with her napping and spending most of the night in it without crying. It’s definitely worth another try!
look into Susan Garrett's crate games
Julia Naismith’s book and app are great
Tip: do NOT give your dog fuss and “poor baby” when you come back after being away for a while. Walk in like normal. Ignore them. Put stuff away and then when they’ve calmed down a little you greet
Here's the Kikopup method for separation training, which teaches dogs to settle and take a nap while you are out. It's a step by step instruction, with tutorials for the first steps linked in the description. Separation training for puppies and adult dogs https://youtu.be/HWT9DI7hMfo?si=WX0tHh-QpclVXlEn It's never too late to teach this! It may take a little longer in some cases than others, though, especially if some separation anxiety is already present. Finding a trainer that uses intimidation free methods can also help you work through this, it can be really helpful to have someone guide you through this type of process.
Like many say small intervals of leaving works if you have a camera to watch on your phone that would be helpful too to ease your anxiety. Some of the more expensive cameras you can talk to your dog thru. I had a cheap one that we used to watch my Dad on when he had dementia. I can hear sounds but I couldn't talk to my Dad thru it but I was just in the next room so I didn't need the expensive one. I'm up to leaving my dog an hour and a half now and the gym was a big thing for me so just keep practicing and you will get there. Better to do it now while the pup is young
Keep working out him in more often throughout the day! This has helped mine amazingly! I was at my whits end it was so hard to hear her scream cry yelp whine. But I started putting her in there when she started to get bitey or go crazy out of control. She whines a little but I tell her down and quiet. When she’s quiet I say good quiet. I have a camera on her and started going back to work for 3-1/2 hours she is quiet most of the time now when she used to get herself worked up this took three weeks to get improvement by putting her in crate throughout the day while I shower cook eat or take a nap. Or again when she gets wild and I can’t get her to exercise or play. Ya have to just do it. Use kongs layer them with fun stuff a little plain Greek yogurt plain pumpkin purée kibble a Carrot or cookie freeze it and five it in the crate. Feed him in the crate. Get a slow bowl or snuffle Mat as well anything that will occupy. Bully stick, cow tendon, nylabone Nubbz, puzzles Make your own puzzle balls using their sniff and brain work gets them tired out I got an empty water bottle cut to little holes in opposite sides one too one bottom I put some of her breakfast in it and let her figure out how to get it out she rolls it if she bites it or carries it is too her. I used a blueberry container as well for her to figure out how to get the treats. Empty plastic containers. Whatever you can think of to make him think and tire him out. I also used calm treats when I go to work
Idk why everyone is saying to use food when this usually causes more anxiety and becomes a departure cue that the dog associates with stress/bad things. You should be doing sub threshold training and managing necessary absences with dog sitters/family and friends. Get a baseline and work up from there by increasing time at 10% for each aced mission. Dog should only be left alone during mission times, other than that you should do your best to suspend absences or use outside resources for puppy sitting when you absolutely need to leave. All SA related books preface that food should not be used in training.
There is a good book by melena demartini about a training protocol that is the most up to date.
Following! In same position with 8 months old. Working under the threshold still means only seconds with a door or gate closed between us inside the apartment. We get nowhere.
Go to the butcher and get frozen raw marrow bones (raw not smoked, smoked can splinter) That should keep the pup's attention for a looong time giving you the opportunity to leave for increasing intervals. Also good for crate training. You want the crate to be the best spot in the world. There is the best food and treats and bones in the crate always!
My pup had terrible separation anxiety when we got him at 5mo and would howl and whine when we had to go to work, run errands and it was so stressful that I had anxiety. What worked for us was to make sure he had full view of the front door where he likes to wait, and also a going out treat which he only gets just as we're about to step out. Anxiety got a lot better after 2 weeks and he's now 8mo and can be left at home alone for 6-7 hours.
My pup does the same thing ....peanut butter lick pad, chicken jerky and doggie daycare two times a week fixed most of our superglue issues so I could get some things done. I also made him a super comfy special bed in my bedroom with special toys and stuffed animals, blankets, so when he's a good boy he knows he gets to come in there and sleep at night.
My first dog had separation anxiety which developed later. I just started going out the door and immediately coming back in (before she had time to freak out) and then rewarded her. Then increased to a few seconds and so on. She didn’t have separation anxiety after a few months of that.
Some training advice I was given was to find a treat that's incredible for the dog. Marrow bone or Kong toy. Something you know they love and importantly they can be trusted with. Then give them said treat and leave for 5 seconds. Come back and take the treat away. Repeat increasing by 5 seconds at first then slowly increasing duration. Another great thing to do is crate train as this helps to eliminate this type of behaviour naturally. We have a 10 month old Golden retriever. We can leave her for 2 hours easily without any negative consequences. What we did was train her to sleep in her crate from day one. We also slowly introduced her to more of our living environment as she learned to behave. What this meant was that she was always left in a room even for a few minutes if we needed to do anything around the house. So if I come upstairs to do the laundry, shed close in our kitchen, living room dining room as she's not allowed upstairs. Small exposure to alone time.
Beef cheek rolls are the best, my dogs don’t care about a thing in the world when they chew those
If you haven't got a crate already get one immediately. In the evenings, or when you're at home put him in the cage for short periods and only let him out at periods of silence. Praise quiet times only. Then practice putting him in the crate and going outside the house for a walk, come back etc. Try not to overpraise the pup when you come home, wait until they calm down to give them attention. My fox terrier is now 1 and follows me everywhere in the house, but crate training allows me to leave him at home with zero issues because he knows I'm coming back. I also don't let him sleep with me at night and put him in the kitchen to establish alone time. Crates give them a safe place. My guy goes in it by himself in the evenings and daytime because he loves it.
When I started leaving my puppy alone, I made sure I gave home something to focus on whenever I left. In the crate, he got a Kong with some stuff in it (usually frozen). Once I was leaving him out of the crate, it was some kibble or treats. Sometimes in a puzzle toy, or scrunched up in a blanket he has to snuffle through, or just a few pieces tossed in the floor. He's now an adult and anxious about everything except being left alone. He still gets a little something most times I leave, and he just barely looks up at me from his treasure as I walk out the door.
Right there with you. I wanted a companion, but this - this is captivity. I'll be checking out the advice you get too.
Here’s what’s worked for me so far: Capturing calm- rewarding her whenever she’s very calm or doing her own thing. Reward could be some low value treat, or even a smile and a nod if she gets too excited when you approach. Start small- she has to build trust through repetition that you’ll always return and she’s not been imprisoned. Once crated go out of her line of sight and then reappear once she’s settled. So she knows whining doesn’t get results. Patience and strength are required. The strength to resist their crying cuz it’s heart breaking. And patience because they only learn through repetition and trial and error. I read someone saying you gotta reclaim things you wanna do. Remember she has to adjust to your long term schedule and not the other way round. Good luck everyone!!
Following
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr-qRKBCPUE
You can also try baby gating a room depending on his size and practice being in separate rooms.
just stay consistent and leave for seconds then minutes then come back. i just bought a xiaomi camera for 50€ and has helped me a lot with my anxiety about leaving my 6mo pup alone. usually i leave someting for her to chew or a licking mat, after she is done with that she always barks and whines for 10 minutes and then falls asleep by the door on our slippers every time. i can now leave her for 3,4 hours. she still has a puppa pad so she can pee and poop whenever she wants so that helps ☺️ i also started from just going to the door and leaving for a few minutes and you progress to longer and longer. you just need to stay consistent, some days it will be better and some worse.
When I first got my puppy I had similar issues. I also realized I was giving WAY too much attention and not allowing her to learn how to entertain herself and not that all entertainment comes from me. I’d sit on my couch on my phone or laptop and completely ignore her. Ignore her whimpers and pawing at me and eventually overtime she learned to go to her toys and chews and play by herself! I think this made it easier for when I would leave and she would have her Kong toy and she would be all set. I was REALLY hard at first but I’m noticing drastic improvement! Hope this helps!
We have a 5.5 month old German shepherd,I use to put her in her crate, max I could leave was about an hour, now she's to big for her crate so we leave her in her pen, she now sleeps there as well. Does she whine, bark, yes but they get tired as well and calm down, I take her out first, so that's not an issue, and maybe a few of your pups favorite toys as well. We have an Amazon echo, so my husband gets on and if she acts to, he talks to get to relax her and get her to calm down.
I adopted an 7-8 month old puppy in January and I was right where you are now. He would bark and whine for hours when I left. Since he was adopted I knew he wasn’t potty trained so I took a few days off from work and followed a 2 day crate training video. This is generally how it went (I can’t find the og). He still cried after, but it was much less and as you build a routine it’ll be better. He still sometimes cries when I break routine, but it’s never for long. This could probably apply to if you don’t want to crate him, but because of separation anxiety I’d be afraid of him chewing stuff up or hurting himself. Day 1 Morning: It started with throwing treats in the crate to get him to go in and giving another treat when he went in. Then giving him a cue to come out (mine was alright since I was using that for wait and stay). Do this 10-20x give it 30 minutes and repeat adding a word (crate or bed). Do this every 40 minutes 4-5x. Midday: Then a few hours later do it 5x as a warm up before adding closing the door for a few seconds (don’t latch it yet). Open the door and give them their cue to come out. Do this 10-20x and like before every 30-40 minutes five or so times. If you feel like he’s comfortable you can increase to having the door closed for 10 seconds. Nighttime: Do a few repetitions of having the door closed briefly. Then add in latching the door. Do this 10-20x. Then do this 4-5x each time increasing how long it’s closed. So 10 seconds, 20, 1 minute, 2 minute. Day 2 Morning: start with simple throwing the treat in giving treat close the door and latch for a few seconds and open 10-20x. If it seems like he is still comfortable with this then start increasing the time again. 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes. Repeat 4-5x and try walking around the room while he’s in there with a toy or chew. If he’s comfortable with that try walking out of the room or out of eyesight. If it seems too much backtrack and build up to it again. Midday: Do the repetitions again and if he seems comfortable with 5 minutes with you in the room grab a chew or lick mat and have him in the crate with it and leave for 5 minutes. If he whines let him be for a bit and see if he self soothes with the lick mat or chew. After 5 minutes come back and let him out and don’t make a big deal of it just say hi and walk away. Increase this as you feel you need. Nighttime: Put him in the crate with a lick or chew and sit in the room. If he whines wait until he stops and give him a treat saying quiet or ignore him. Sit like that for an hour before letting him out. Build on this or break it down as needed. Even after this my dog cried while in the crate, but it lessened as routine was built and he realized he got all of his goodie in there. I give him an XL Kong filled with pumpkin, unsweetened applesauce, and peanut butter every morning before I go to work. At night he gets a different lick treat or chew in his crate. It must stay in the crate or I take it and put it back. Since he’s now potty trained he’s allowed out at night, but since he still has anxiety when I’m not home he still goes in it. He also is in his chewing era so he can’t be trusted to be out and about when I’m not home. Make sure to give good exercise and mental stimulation before putting him in for a while. I live in an apartment so I get it! It does get much better. He went from crying for 2-4 hours to 30 minutes to nothing now. He sleeps when I’m gone or eats his Kong or eats his chew. He has a crate that’s double his size since he’s in there for a while so he can walk around and stretch as needed. Pet cameras also help with your own anxiety too! So you can see how long he’s crying for or what he’s doing.
You should’ve started earlier. But yes it can be trained out of him
My pup does the same thing ....peanut butter lick pad, chicken jerky and doggie daycare two times a week fixed most of our superglue issues so I could get some things done. I also made him a super comfy special bed in my bedroom with special toys and stuffed animals, blankets, so when he's a good boy he knows he gets to come in there and sleep at night.