Alone Time
Lots of dogs don't know how to be on their own. Often they have an unhealthy over attachment to their owners. This is a stressful problem for both dog and owner. There are usually problems associated with this stress, like excessive barking, chewing, and destructiveness as the dog tries to relieve his anxiety. There are lots of ways that you can teach your dog to be alone and be content.
Puppies that have had a good start in life can suddenly seem to stress when they are left alone, and often this is because their owners give them too much freedom too soon. Puppies who don't really know how to act or how to be alone will often relieve their anxiety by chewing on something. This becomes the dog's way of relieving stress when he is alone. If there is no one there to supervise or he is not confined to a crate, he often uses his mouth throughout the house, causing lots of expensive destruction.
If you have a dog that barks in his crate, try covering it with a blanket, putting on soft classical music, and leaving a stuffed Kong toy with him to keep him occupied. In the warmer months you can even freeze the Kong (stuff it with dog food and peanut butter) before you leave it with your dog.
When your Golden puppy hits the seven- to nine-month mark, he can have longer bouts of freedom. Someone should still be watching him. At about twelve to fifteen months, you can ease up on the supervision, but he's still not ready to have free run of the house when you are out. A good way to judge whether or not your Golden is ready for more freedom is to leave him loose in the house for short periods of time, maybe while you work in the yard or mail a letter. If he is into trouble upon your return, you'll know he's not ready for complete freedom. Be stingy with freedom. Your Golden has to earn it by proving that he can be alone without destroying anything.
Is it cruel to crate my dog?
No. Crating and gating dogs and limiting their freedom is a way to say you love them enough to set limits on where they can be in your home.
The behaviorist Ian Dunbar, D.V.M., recommends that all dogs be taught to be alone by leaving them with their dinner/breakfast stuffed into a Kong toy. They will spend their day unpacking the Kong that you have stuffed with their dog food and peanut butter and leave the furniture alone. The use of crates, gates, and pens is essential when training your Golden to be alone, as you can determine just how much room to give him and make certain areas of your home off limits. Here are more tips for helping your dog to like being on his own:
Rotate his supply of toys on a weekly basis so that he always has something different.
Leave him with his Kong only when you are leaving and not when you are home.
If you work from home, crate or confine him away from you for several hours a day.
Don't spend all your waking moments petting and having him follow you everywhere.
Crate him for several hours a day on the weekends, too.
If you work a long day, hire a dog walker to come in and break up the day or consider a doggy day-care service at least once a week.
Practice leaving without an overemotional goodbye.
