My puppy cries when left alone. How can I teach him to self-soothe?

Begin with crating her for very short periods of time. Gradually increase that time as she acclimates. This will take time and requires patience and consistency. Offer a special toy or treat as a distraction. Praise and reward her as she acclimates. A pheromone product, such as the Adaptil collar or DAP plug in diffuser, may help to decrease anxiety. This same method can be used to acclimate her to your absence. Additionally, you can prepare to leave several times daily then put everything away and stay or actually leave. Upon your return, ignore Lily Belle for 15 minutes or until she is calm. Do not make a big deal about coming or going. Consider a pet day care program or having a dog walker visit during the day. At her age, she should not be crated for more than 5 hours before being let out to relieve herself. This time can increase as she matures. The general rule is 1 hour of crate time per month of age plus an additional hour.

Hi. This is very common in puppies. As she gets older it will get better. Offer her a favorite toy, blanket, etc to see if that helps. Maybe a crate...small and comfy, would comfort her when you're away

Perhaps (and without being there, I can't tell for sure) Loki keeps crying because he gets your attention. You do not need to stay with him, nor does he need something to keep him occupied at night. He needs to learn that nighttime is for sleeping. Once you are sure that all of his needs have been attended to, put him in his crate and walk away . . . and stay away! Do not go back, yell, try to soothe, etc. Once he realizes that his noise won't get the desired result, he'll stop. However, he may get worse temporarily. This does not mean that the tactic isn't working. On the contrary, it means that what he was doing before no longer gets the desired result, so he's ramping up the behavior in the hopes that more will be better. Stand your ground! He will eventually learn for himself that nothing is going to work, so he may as well go to sleep.

Young puppies like this are often anxious about being left alone, even if they're just in a crate across the room. You can help him learn to enjoy being in his crate by giving him a special long-lasting treat each time you put him in - something like a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter works very well for many puppies. This will help to keep him busy and encourage him to settle, and will also teach him to associate good things with being in his crate.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is not atypical but rather typical behavior for a puppy. I recommend that you ignore her while she does it and she will eventually learn that her crying will not lead you to go get her which is better as she will become more independent. Best of luck!

Trooper is such a cutie! :) I would recommend leaving him in a crate or dog-proofed room where he can't get into anything dangerous. Give him something to keep him busy while you're gone, such as a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter, and be aware that you may need to clean up if he has an accident while you're away - an 8-week-old puppy often can't "hold it" for very long in between potty breaks.

Just give it more time. He is getting used to a new place away from constant company of other puppies. It may take several more days or even weeks for him to learn to sleep through the night. You may need to take Leo outside at least once in the middle of the night. A good rule of thumb for how long puppies can "hold it" is the age in months plus 1. Leo is 2 months old, so you should only expect him to hold it for 3 or 4 hours. Set an alarm and wake up to take him outside on a leash. No play time, no talking, just outside and walk in circles until he goes then straight back into his kennel. Good luck! Puppies are a lot of work but so worth it!