help please!!

[lilgrlnifer]

hi guyss ! im new to this site, and i need help with my chihuahua puppy please! my baby is 4 months old, and she has major issues about being alone. I am a college student, so i have to go to class during the day. i usually dont leave for more than 2-3 hours at a time, but every time i leave, sophie goes crazy and barks and cries utnil i get back. ive been trying to crate her, so when i leave, i just put her in her crate. recently, i've noticed that she always pees in her crate every time i leave... maybe from anxiety? how can i make her not so sad and anxious when she has to be byherself? is crating just not a good idea? i tried a couple times to just leave her in a gated off area, but she still cries and barks, and just tries to escape. everyone says that they get used to it, but i've had her for 2 months now and she still hasnt "gotten used to it" i dont know what to do! besides peeing in her crate when i leave her, she is a perfect angel when it comes to being housetrained and her behavior. suggestions?

also, shud i let her sleep with me? she always wants to sleep with me, but i dont know if that is bad? i try to make her sleep in her bed, which she will do if shes REALLY tired, but when she wakes up in the middle of the night to go pee, she'll refuse to go back in.. what should i do?

Suggestions anyone? please help! thanks!!

Jennifer

p.s. i also uploaded a picture of my sophie =)

[DragonLady]

Dogs are pack animals and need to be with other members of the pack,(that is you). She is also a baby and babies need their mommies, (again that is you). You need to let her sleep with you to bond with you and she needs to have constant attention or she may begin to turn her anxiety to agression. This is a living being with needs and fears, your job is to keep her safe and love her.

As a baby she will need to go potty nearly every hour. She cannot hold her bladder too much longer than that. She will not have matured enought to hold her needs until she is at least 6 months old.

When you crate her leave the TV on, if you get the animal planet channel even better. If you do not have a TV maybe you can record your voice talking to her and soothing her. Make sure she has some toys that she can chew on. Do not leave raw hide as they can chew off a section and choke to death on it. Chew hooves are good for a teething pup as well as bones from the pet stores.

Never give cooked chicken bones to your dog as they can splinter and puncture the intestines.

Always make sure she has food and water. If the pup is very anxious and stressed she can go into hypoglycemic shock. This is a drop in her blood sugar that can be fatal. Puppies that are tiny like Chihuahuas can have this sugar drop from playing too hard, missing a meal, or just from being afraid.

The symptoms are wobbly movements, uninterested in food or play, limp and not responding to your touch or responding very weakly. You need to give the puppy some sugar water, or syrup, or Nutri-Cal and rush the pup to the vet. It cannot wait until morning, as the pup could be dead by then. This is another reason to let her sleep in your room with you.

[tasha]

To add to this message, I hate to start a new thread when there is already this one, but my little boy does the same thing - he goes absolutely nuts if I am not right next to him. We got him about a week ago so I understand him needing to adjust to changes and such but he goes insane if I leave him even for a few minutes.
For example, I got out of the car to get gas and he immediately tried to follow me, I closed the door so instead he got in the driver's seat and cried and cried even though he could plainly see me through the car window.
I don't know what to do to soothe him. I don't currently work so I'm able to be with him all day, but I will be starting a new job in a couple of months and I want to make sure he's okay while I'm gone.
If I don't get any replies I'll post this to a new thread cause it's kinda far down on the list but I really need some help!

p.s. he does sleep with me at night.

[DragonLady]

These are babies and any child would do the same thing. LOL I have a son who was sitting in a high chair next to me while I did dishes. He wailed the whole time.

You have to reward good behavior, so if he doesn't cry give him a treat. If he starts to cry give him a shush, and if he stops give him a treat. This is a lot of repetition, but it does work in the long run.

As long as you are consistant, they will grow out of it.

[lilgrlnifer]

hey tasha, are you crate training her? cuz i decided not to crate train sophie anymore and just let her have my room. she seems to be a lot better that way when i leave her alone. As for just going crazy when im still there, sophie is A LOT better now. she used to be like yours and go crazy even when she could see me, but as long as im in sight, shes ok. i think she just sorta got used to it. She still gets reallly anxious when im leaving though, and when i come back she sometimes barks and jumps a lot. BUt i talked to a trainer about it too, and she says that you just have to be persistant in sayin "off" when she jumps, and being realy low key with coming and going, so its not a big deal. and when u do leave her, do like "practice" sessions, where u leave the room for 10 seconds and then come back and if shes good and quiet give him a treat. and then add on to the time. basically just let him know you're coming back. i did that with sophie, and now it takes a little longer before she starts barking when i leave haha but im working on it! i hope this info helps =)

and yeha, i decided to just let her sleep with me cuz shes just too cute and it makes me sad when she cries, and she jsut wants to sleep with mommy =P

[tasha]

No I don't have a crate for him. It seems that he is just upset when he can't be right next to me. For example, we're moving and I put boxes in front of the dining room so he can't get into it, so he can't sneak in there and potty. I went behind the boxes but he could still clearly see me standing up, they are just one box high, enough that he can't get over. He went crazy! Like someone was hurting him or something. He pretty much has to be ON ME or else know that he can be on me if he wants or he just goes crazy.

I've been trying to train him a little - I go outside the front door and stay for 3 or 5 minutes and if he cries the whole time, I ignore him when I come back inside. If he stops crying, I give him a pat and make him feel good. I try to do this a couple times a day so he knows 1. I AM coming back and 2. It is NOT okay to cry like that, it won't get him attention.

So far it's just random, and almost every time he cries the whole time. I'm not sure that he's getting it.

[Tova_Love]

Gotta love the new pup! I just got my 3 month old chi Thursday. He does so well during the day. I took him to work and he slept most of the day, used the paper like he was supposed to and was so loved by everyone. We got home and he turned into a little ball of terror. Ran around the house, peed on the carpet, and cried all night long. I left him home today and lord it was heart breaking leaving (you could hear him outside of my window crying and mrrring... that's his verson of a howl!). If we weren't so busy this weekend I would have brought him but even though he's well behaved he is still in the way when you're trying to move around him. He's very attached and he cries when he can't see me also. I really hope he grows out of it.

[lilgrlnifer]

tasha, my puppy was exactly like that too when i first got her, but i think they grow out of it over time. I try to make sophie stay at home alone at least once a day so she gets used to it, and it seems to be getting a little better. Just keep ignoring him until he stops crying so he knows that crying and barking wont do anything. I know its heartwrenching to hear them cry but you have to do it for their own good, otherwise if they get too attached, they'll learn to just go crazy everytime you're away. if you are consistant, he will eventually get it. i hope this helps! i tottally understand what you're going through since sophie does the same thing. But it seems that shes learning that i DO come back. Another thing u can do if you're leaving him is leave some treats around the house/room that he's in. or if you're right there behind the boxes, leave a treat on the other side for him to keep him busy before u cross to the other side.

[cosmo254]

Hi everyone, I've just gotten a 3-5 year old female Chihuahua. She is not spayed and fairly young. The folks I got her from had her confined to a small crate from 8 to 10 hours a day in a very cold house (most times less then 60F). Now she is in a warm house. I walk her several times a day (hope to housebreak her). But all she does all day long is sleep. I've tried to get her to play with different dog toys but she just looks at them like "who cares". Shouldn't she have more energy then what she is showing? I'm taking her to my Vet. tomorrow as she hasn't had shots since she was a pup and I'll ask the Vet. if she is in good health or not to make sure there isn't a problem there. She also doesn't like the food I've been trying to feed her and won't eat it unless it is mixed with a little people food. I'm feeding her 1/4 cup of Eukanubu for small breeds twice a day. She was getting pedigree dog food but I guess I made a mistake in trying to change what she is use to. I'm only use to large dogs as my last two were Rottweilers so hope I'm doing the right things with my new Chi. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[brazen125]

lilgrinifer - My Lucky has seperation anixety as well. The advice we were given by a local trainer was to leave often - even just for a few mins... and completely ignore the dog just before you leave and after you come back. When you come back from an outing try waiting until the puppy settles down and then pay lot's of attention to her. It will probably take some time, but eventually she will realize that you aren't leaving her for good. Lucky is much better now, but it did take some time. We will be having a professional dog trainer come to our home on Wednesday and I will see what he says about it and I will let you know any tips he has.

Cosmo - It almost sounds like your chi maybe a little depressed. Sometimes it takes a bit longer for adult dogs and even some puppies to get used to new surrondings. Often dogs will act really down when big changes happen in their lives. When we got our Chi, my terrier started sleeping all day and wouldn't eat - there was nothing physically wrong with her, but she seemed like she was depressed. After a couple of weeks she was back to her normal crazy self.

I am sure she will eventually start showing some interest in playing. She also may be tired because of all the exercise and attention she is getting now compared to her old home. Is there a possibility that she may be pregnant??

As far as the eating goes it may have to do with her getting used to her new surroundings, or she could be a picky eater. It's always a good idea to take her to the vet and make sure there is nothing physically wrong with her, but it sounds like a case of the blues to me. - of course I am not a vet, but from my experiance with dogs I think that is what is going on. If she still won't eat the food after a while you can try finding her something that is good for her, but tastes really good too. Usually the vet will have some suggestions. But if you do that mix the new food with the old, and switch her over bit by bit.

Hope these suggestions help

Lisa, Lucky & Lily