Guest Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 I know this has nothing to do with children but i wondered if any of you out there had words of wisdom as i'm desperate. We have a cocker spaniel puppy who is now just over 4 months old and he is driving me mad. If i leave the room he whines very loudly all the time. He doesn't stop. I left him for 3 hours last week on his own. When i returned he had messed all over the kitchen floor and was making a coughing noise making himself sick. Every morning i come down to a mess in the kitchen. This morning i came down to 4 number 2's, a wee, and 3 lots of flemmy stuff where it had made himself sick. I think i have a puppy with an anxiety problem. I don't know what to do, I'm at my wits end. The vet just says he will grow out of it ....... I'm thinking of reducing the number of times i feed him. At the moment he is on 3 meals a day. I'm thinking of cutting this back to 2 and doing his last meal of the day at 4pm to see if it helps. At the moment he is locked in the back garden as i needed some space!!!!! I just don't know what to do..... Whole family have gone out today as they say they needed to get away from it for a bit.... but what about me!!! I'm suppose to be doing my degree course work due in very soon and i haven't started!!!!! I'm getting desperate!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 I don't know if this will help! Good luck, it sounds like a nightmare at the moment. http://www.dogclub.co.uk/advice/seperation.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Hi - My sympathies! We have a Springer Spaniel who we picked up as an 8 week old puppy a year last February. Almost identical problems with the housetraining overnight. He's now slightly flaky when encountering strange people and strange dogs, but otherwise lovely and well integrated into the family. I could never say 'It's the dog or me' because I know who the kids would choose... All that is just by way of saying that it will get better. If I have one strong recommendation it would be - get a dog crate! You can pick them up on ebay or most pet shops. They're the wire mesh things you often see in the back of cars. Although we weren't quite sure about this, it turned out to be a lifesaver. It may take a couple of sessions to get him acquainted, but ultimately although it looks to you as though you're imprisoning the dog, they treat it more like a safe cave and retreat. Dogs will never mess in their own area unless they are desperate, and it fixed our puppy's problem once and for all. In fact, we forgot to put him in one night and after putting up with him whining for half an hour or so, we went downstairs to find him standing outside the cage waiting to be shut up. Let us know how you get on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Hi Simcity I have a springer and cocker spaniel. Both very mad. My cocker spaniel i got the same time as you so he is 4 months old. I'm not having the problems you are but I do have a couple of ideas. If you leave the pup and return after a short amount of time with a lots of good boy/girl and a treat and just build the time up. If you can wait for that split second he/she is quiet and then praise. I'm not saying he/she wont cry when you leave him/her but it sounds like your pup has separation problems. This just may help him/her understand you are returning. You can use that method with a crate as well. I only feed mine twice a day and thats only because he wasn't eating the midday meal. I just feed a little more morning and night. I feed mine at 7am and 7pm both followed by a walk. I am a bit naughty at night because the dogs sleep upstairs (not on the bed.) Could you ask your family to take the pup out for a walk so you can have some me time? Half an hour does wonders for you when you are under pressure and I do find with spaniels lots of excercise equals calmer dogs. It will get better it's just hard getting there. Good luck Just read the link Carol posted, thats a good site to have. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 We have 2 german shepherd puppies - one 6 months and the other 12 weeks. I totally agree with Steve about the crates. Both of our pups were housetrained within a matter of days by using the crate (alongside hourly toilet breaks outside and lots of patience). A dog trainer friend of mine told me to feed the pup in the crate as dog's don't like to mess where they eat. It has worked out really well. I was also advised to keep crate time to a minimum and never use the crate as a punishment. We leave the doors of the crates open and our dogs come and go as they please. It's their own bit of space. They are only secured in the crates when we are out. I have info on ebay shop which sells crates at a reasonable price and their next day delivery is just that. Let me know if you want me to post details. Sally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 all good advice , good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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