Seeking advice on how to enable my 10 week old Vizsla puppy to settle when left alone (and I mean for enough time for me to have a shower or go to the supermarket, not hours on end).
He’s crate trained with no problems at night. In the day he’s based in the open plan living area and we attach his crate to a good sized playpen. This is where we feed him, have his water bowl, his toys and a grass tray to toilet on (although we take him outside usually). Most of the time the doors are open. We close them when we are making dinner etc and he is generally fine as long as he can see us and we’re not sitting on the couch.
I initially timed self care etc around his naps (possibly a bad move in hindsight) and usually returned before he woke. When not I found him frantically barking and clawing at his crate door/playpen sides. When tired he can usually be settled with a Kong and he’ll go to sleep once I sneak off but no treats or toys left can distract him from being distressed and barking when he wakes up if there is no-one there. Our puppy trainer said to initially ignore him on our return until he starts to calm but he seems to get worse! Today I waited without making any noise when he woke but he was still barking an hour later. When we let him out he’ll jump and run around us for a short time but then be happy playing by himself in the open living area or garden.
Very confused reading about separation anxiety v attention seeking behaviour and lots of conflicting advice. We love our pup and just want to make sure we’re doing what’s best for him so any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!!
