Sleepy head
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She looks to come up every night we did try her down stairs but she was crying and barking for ages. Even through the day she’s like my shadow. she even waits by the bathroom door when I’m in there.
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Each to their own of course but….. my unqualified opinion is as follows.
You’re on the road to separation anxiety.
Following you around like a shadow and needing to sleep by your side is of course incredibly endearing. This is your dog owning you and when you have to leave them alone for a period of hours (which you will) issues COULD well surface. Barking and crying is tough to put up with at night, really tough!! You’ve got to get through it and set boundaries.
During the day it’s best to build up to periods of leaving them on their own. We make up Kong treats, leave the house with no fuss, return with no fuss and gradually build up duration of being away. We aim to ensure during the day six hours maximum time we’re out.
Must stress again this is my personal opinion and I’ve no qualifications (apart from 3 happy labs!!!)
Good luck and my final word is…. You’ve got a fine looking Labrador there!!!
You’re on the road to separation anxiety.
Following you around like a shadow and needing to sleep by your side is of course incredibly endearing. This is your dog owning you and when you have to leave them alone for a period of hours (which you will) issues COULD well surface. Barking and crying is tough to put up with at night, really tough!! You’ve got to get through it and set boundaries.
During the day it’s best to build up to periods of leaving them on their own. We make up Kong treats, leave the house with no fuss, return with no fuss and gradually build up duration of being away. We aim to ensure during the day six hours maximum time we’re out.
Must stress again this is my personal opinion and I’ve no qualifications (apart from 3 happy labs!!!)
Good luck and my final word is…. You’ve got a fine looking Labrador there!!!
hi thank you so much for your reply. I do take everything on board that’s written to me and any advice is appreciated. I have tried and tried to leave the house without her and she’s so Unsettled to the point my neighbours are complaining about the noise, tried her in her crate for sleep but again she is so unsettled even after 5nights of trying. I have 4 children 9 and under so the house is busy and we’re always out and about with her so she should be tired enough to sleep the night. Is there anything else I could try? She came to us at 17 weeks previous owner has not communicated with us so we don’t really know anything about her only what We are seeing. Sorry for the long reply.
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2,012 Posts
There's three things you need to apply:-
1. Patience and repetition
2. Patience and repetition
and finally
3. Patience and repetition
The fact that you are on here and asking speaking volumes - it's clear you love her and want to do the best for her (and why wouldn't you as she looks a gorgeous dog). The fact you have 4 kids under 9 years old is also a valid point as you have a busy house, I can only imagine how difficult that will be and indeed you have "quite the pack".
At circa 20 weeks learnt behaviors are already surfacing and, if it was me, I'd be steeling myself for a bit of a journey ahead. Although as she's still very much a pup you'll be able to mould her to fit in with you and your family if you apply the magic three things above!!!
Confession time from me -- we rescued Lab number three six months ago. She's 3 years old and hasn't had the best start in life with most of the puppy basic training clearly missing. The one thing that was a nightmare was her starting to bark in her crate downstairs at 4am every day. We tried everything from leaving music on, lights on, in crate, out of crate and really gave it the best crack with ignoring it.... the patience and repetition mantra.
We have virtually cracked it after six months BUT not perfect like or other two - her Lab wake up call is now about 6am. One bit of assistance we have relented to is a command collar. We use it very sparingly and it only has a beep or citric spray function - never, ever would I use a shock collar.
Please do google Separation Anxiety in dogs and ways to curb it - I hope for your sake and for your beautiful dog's sake you find some methods that help.
1. Patience and repetition
2. Patience and repetition
and finally
3. Patience and repetition
The fact that you are on here and asking speaking volumes - it's clear you love her and want to do the best for her (and why wouldn't you as she looks a gorgeous dog). The fact you have 4 kids under 9 years old is also a valid point as you have a busy house, I can only imagine how difficult that will be and indeed you have "quite the pack".
At circa 20 weeks learnt behaviors are already surfacing and, if it was me, I'd be steeling myself for a bit of a journey ahead. Although as she's still very much a pup you'll be able to mould her to fit in with you and your family if you apply the magic three things above!!!
Confession time from me -- we rescued Lab number three six months ago. She's 3 years old and hasn't had the best start in life with most of the puppy basic training clearly missing. The one thing that was a nightmare was her starting to bark in her crate downstairs at 4am every day. We tried everything from leaving music on, lights on, in crate, out of crate and really gave it the best crack with ignoring it.... the patience and repetition mantra.
We have virtually cracked it after six months BUT not perfect like or other two - her Lab wake up call is now about 6am. One bit of assistance we have relented to is a command collar. We use it very sparingly and it only has a beep or citric spray function - never, ever would I use a shock collar.
Please do google Separation Anxiety in dogs and ways to curb it - I hope for your sake and for your beautiful dog's sake you find some methods that help.
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