[Kelly71010]

I have a 5 month old Pomeranian and every time that I leave him alone even if it is only for 10 minutes he goes crazy. He cry's and barks very loudly. I live in an apartment building so I'm afraid that my neighbors may say something or complain to the landlord. Also I don't my puppy to be getting hurt or stressed out for barking so long. I need to know how to stop it. I play with him for about 30 minutes before I go out anywhere so that he is tired but still he continues to bark for at least 10 minutes straight (that is how long I waited outside my window). I also leave the radio on. I bought him one of those kong toys like the vet said. I don't make a big fuss when I leave or come home also like the vet said. NOTHING WORKS. I need tons of help because I am going to start working this week so he is going to have to be home for a few hours on his own. Anyone have any advice please help me:(

[GlindaofOz]

My friend has the same problem with her Yorkie. Our friends mother told her that she has to do what new parents have to do which is allow the "baby" to cry and learn to self soothe. If every time the puppy barks like a maniac and cries and you come back into the house then you are rewarding the dogs behavior with positive reinforcement. From now on leave the house and leave. Don't stand outside the door just go. The dog will eventually get tired of crying and barking and give it up.

[labman]

How long have you had the dog? Long enough that if ''Let it bark'' was going to work, it would have? Are you crating it? A crate can give a dog the added security it needs to quietly wait for the owner to return. It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home, other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select
A crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
Anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any
Bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
Do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
Itself.

I had an interesting conversation yesterday with my daughter, the new mother and no slouch as a dog trainer. She was contrasting the advice for a crying infant of quickly responding to assure the baby it is in a safe environment, and don't reinforce a whining puppy by giving it attention.

[katieperez]

Have you had him since he was a baby? If so, is this something that he's always done or did it just start? With him still being so young, you may be able to nip this in the bud before it get so out of hand you need doggie downers to help cope with his separation anxiety. Glinda makes a good point, you shouldn't give in to his cries. The radio and kong are good too so keep that up. I'd give it a little more time before I went back to the vet to discuss some alternate methods, such as the pills. But only as a last resort, you really want to try to avoid that as much as possible.