My dog cries and howls from when I leave till I get back

Try leaving him with an old shirt or something that smell like you. Sometimes that works.

Thanks I will try that.

He's suffering from separation anxiety. It's something that many dogs go through, can be fixed, but it won't be easy.

I'm going to PM some of the other dog experts that have more experience with this than I do. I'm afraid I'm not much help, I've never had a dog that went through this.

Sorry this is just a cut and paste but I wrote this a while ago for questions just like this one, hopefully it helps

Separation anxiety.

Does your dog cry when you leave the room? Urinate only when you leave the house?
These are a few signs that your dog may be suffering from Separation Anxiety.

Some dogs do not like being left alone and some will think you are leaving them permanently and not coming back. Here are a few tips to help fix this problem.

When you leave, no matter how long for always have fresh water available. Toys are also a wonderful training tool as it will keep the dog distracted, I use kong toys stuffed with yummy food as a cure for boredom, having special toys or treats that the dog gets only when you go out are also a wonderful idea.

When training my own dogs for separation anxiety I first distract my dogs with their favourite toy and then exit my house through the front door.
I only leave for a minute or two, just long enough so that the dog does not bark or cry.
I then re-enter the house and give them praise for not crying.

Next time I go out I leave for a few more minutes, again only entering the house if the dog is not crying and giving praise.

Increase the amount of time you leave for and always come back before the dog starts crying (you will learn how long that threshold is pretty quickly)

This teaches the dog that you are going to come back and they are not being left alone forever.


Another technique is to not "baby" the dog.
Some dogs become overly attached to their owner and don't even like their owner being out of their line of sight, in this case the training needs to begin before you start going out

Start paying less attention to the dog, when he pushes for attention, don't give it to him
If he wants to be petted, make him wait.
As harsh as it sounds it is the only way to get the dog to start becoming less dependant on you.

After you have trained the dog to be less clingy you can move onto things like leaving the dog in the living room while you have a shower, or leaving him inside while you are out hanging up washing on the clothesline.

Thanks

Thanks u will give this a try.

I disagree.

If she were working 8 hours a day, and crating the dog for that entire time, then I'd suggest a caretaker. Not to be there the full 8 hours, but to come over to let the puppy have a potty break, take the puppy for a walk and a play. But, that's not what's going on with this OP.

Your suggestion is by far not the only way out, and no, her dog won't continue howling if she doesn't get a caretaker. As for violence, I'd like to see where you came up with that. Do you have any studies that prove this theory? Not something you found on the internet, an actual study done by actual dog experts, and published in a reputable forum.

I would highly suggest that the OP follows Shazzy's advice. When it comes to separation anxiety she knows her stuff, and she's proven that she knows her stuff.

Thanks alty I am going to take shazzys advice and also get him to some puppy classes. I have only had him 8weeks and he was a rescue dog so dont know what happened to him b4 he came to me. He is going in to get neutered tomorrow so after he has recovered The mission will start i have had dogs all my life and never had this prob. I will let u all know how I get on he's a clever wee guy so hopefully he will pick it up quickly thanks again alty and shazzy xx

We'd love pictures. That's pretty much what we charge for our advice.

I hope it all goes well. Keep us posted.