5 Key Reasons Your Puppy Gets Anxious When Left Alone And How To Help Them

Now, the five big mistakes that people make that contribute to having a puppy going cray-cray when you leave them alone. Number one, refusing to use a crate because you think it's cruel. Refusing to have that puppy be confined in any way because you want them to just be a dog. Because the truth is you are teaching the dog, you and I, we're going to be together all the time. And let's face it, there's times when that's just not going to happen. Even if you're raising a service dog, there's going to be times when that puppy or dog is going to be at the veterinarian clinic. They have to be a confident dog to be at their best for you. You don't want them to be anxious. You want them to be confident. And the way that they grow to be confident is learning to be confined and not be worried about it. The second mistake that people make that create chaos when they leave, and that is the use of negative reinforcement. Now stick with me because that sounds like it's bad, and it actually isn't. Reinforcement means the animal likes it. Negative means you're taking something away and the animal likes it. Here's what happens. People don't do what I suggest and build up the dog's confinement time in a crate. And so, when they put the dog in the crate, they start whining or barking and it breaks your heart a little bit. And so, you go in the other room and kind of let them bark and whine, and then you go, I can't take this anymore. And you go and you let them out. And the puppy gets reinforced, negative reinforcement. You're taking away the barrier which gives them their freedom. And so, the puppy learns, how did I get reinforced? I know I barked. And so, what you create is something called nuisance barking. How do you know you have nuisance barking? When you walk towards the crate and the puppy or the dog hears those footfalls, they stop barking because they know, oh yeah, she's on her way to let me out. Avoid nuisance barking by avoiding a puppy who gets anxious in the crate and wants to bark by doing the steps that I mentioned previously by building up time in that crate and looking for it as something that's fun for them. And having them look towards not something that they fear, just something that they can relax. It's my chill time in here. The third thing that people do is constantly have physical contact with their puppy. So, you want your puppy on your lap when you're watching TV and you're patting them. You want your pup chewing their bone on your lap. You want your puppy playing with their toys on your lap. And so, the puppy starts to build this association that where I go, you go, we're always together. And this is the way it's always going to be until you want to go out for a social evening. Unless you're one of the beautiful people that can put your puppy in your purse and take them out. But I digress. The fourth thing is something that a lot of people are told by dog training instructors, and it really isn't a great idea. And that is something called tethering or umbilical training. Now there's two different types of tethering. There's tethering a dog to a stake. Not something that I would do, but I wouldn't care if you trained your dog to do it. If you say you wanted to take your dog to a picnic and wanted them to hang out in the fresh air with the family. But what I'm talking about is when dog training schools tell their people that you want to tether your puppy to your waist so that they have to follow you around all day long. I am not a fan of this for a number of reasons. Number one, you are making that puppy a hostage. Now the thought process is you are helping to develop a strong bond because the puppy learns to go everywhere you go. And you may in fact get that outcome by doing this. But I've got that outcome and I've never done that. I've got that outcome because I play fun reinforcing games with my dogs. So, tethering isn't necessary. Why I don't like it, number one, it's a pain in the butt for the person who has this puppy hanging around their waist to get anything done in a day. Number two, as I mentioned, the puppy is hostage. There is no choice. You must do what I want to do. Number three, you don't give the puppy the chance to self-regulate. The puppy doesn't learn to go off and sleep somewhere because they're always being dragged around with you. And number four, it contributes to a puppy suffering from separation anxiety because they're learning where you go, I go. We are always together. We are chained together at the waist. And then suddenly you're not. And the world is different. So, spending some time to create a dog or a puppy who absolutely is a hundred percent fine with, I got my stuff, I got my deal, I'm chilling in my house while you're gone doing whatever you need to do. Now note that this is temporary. All puppies grow up and they grow to be relaxed and responsible dogs. And none of my dogs have to go in a crate. But funny enough, they almost all choose to be in a crate when I leave the house. Take the time to get your dog comfortable with you being away so that you know a hundred percent that they're chill, that you can come home to have a dog who is completely happy and you don't have to worry about what you might see when you open that door. There's nothing better than leaving the house and coming back knowing that your puppies are completely happy. You've enjoyed your night out or you've enjoyed a day at work, if that's possible, and come home and now have some fun with your dog.