[monty13]

Hi -

My husband and I just got a Schnoodle puppy. He is almost 12 weeks old and we've had him for the past 2 weeks. He sleeps the entire night in the crate by himself and doesn't cry at all when we leave the house. The problem comes in when we're home but leave him in his crate or gated area because we're eating, etc. He howls and whimpers and cries continuously and won't stop. He does it more with myself than my husband. I don't go to him or give him any attention when he does this. But I don't know how to get him to stop. Any advice would be appreciated!

Thank you!

[carolbcac]

He hasn't got the hang of the house rules yet, and sounds like he is spending a lot of time in his crate. As soon as you get home from work, be sure to take some time out to really exercise him and play with him. Before human dinner time, give him his dinner and possibly another potty break and put him in his crate with a special chew toy. Ignore the howling. This is not separation anxiety, this is a demand for attention. When you are finished, let him out of his crate (only when he is quiet!)
He may be getting old enough now to allow him a little more freedom during the day--a larger crate, or possibly a laundry room with windows. At the very minimum I would move his crate to a novel area each day so he has new things to smell and look at.
Remember to reward him only when he is quiet and calm--behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated.