Hi all,

I'm new here, but familiar with this forum as it has helped me prepare for this little guy, Koda.

A week has gone by since he came home to me and he's my little velcro dog who loves to climb on my lap or feet for naptime. I am trying not to enable this as I am worried it will get separation anxiety and already showing signs of it already.

Koda is very smart. He knows how to sit, lay down, come, go to crate and stay commands (only when he is in the mood to train that is).

He is still quite timid and scared of dogs. He growls at them if they start sniffing him. However loves to smell the flowers and bird watching. Potty training has not been fun but thanks to this forum, a consistent schedule is helping. I hope there is light at the end of the tunnel!

He currently weighs 3.1kg and is teeny tiny for just 12 weeks old. We are based in Australia.

@jkent Thank you! We are also in a similar situation as he’s a covid puppy. It is reassuring that training is helping and we will try and enforce strict training, a little bit each day. Hopefully he gets that we will never abandon him XD

@elbrant This is very helpful, I will definitely give this a try. I was trying to do the opposite by desensitizing him and opening the front door a few times!

Can I ask how long it took for Doodle to get used to being on her own? Even if my partner leaves on his own and I stay in the room, Koda will start pacing around and whine. Do you think he has FOMO rather than him being anxious of being separated?

Hi all,

Koda is almost 6 months and he's your typical velcro basenji. He follows me everywhere I go and he's good with other people when I need to leave him and run some errands.

Lately he has become very reactive. When I get up and walk over the kitchen, past the front door, he will wake up instantly from his nap and follow me. Every time I open the front door, he will bolt towards it and if I dare leave out the door and leave him behind, he will cry, pace and howl.

I've tried a few options to resolve this separation anxiety issue -

1. I left him in a gated room, with plenty of space, a chicken treat and toys. This resulted in him howling instantly as I left, peed all over the floor, paced around and scratched the baby gate a few times (he knows how to get out if it isn't locked).

2. I turned on the TV and crated him in our bedroom. I pretended to leave and closed the front door behind me. He cried but did not howl for approx. 10 minutes then fell asleep, occasionally waking up to softly cry.

3. I did the same as option 2, but I closed the front door very quietly so that he wasn't aware that I was gone. He slept faster that time, but woke up after 30 minutes and started crying softly. He fell back asleep for 2 hours.

I have a doggy camera to see what he's up to, and leave him with lots of treats.

I was wondering if there was anything else I could do to help with his separation anxiety? Does crating him help? Or is this a puppy thing??

I eventually want to let him loose in the house but not if he keeps acting like Option 1.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

Thank you all 🥰 looking forward for your sound advice as I am sure will need a lot of it in the next few weeks!

@zande Thanks!! Will do this over the weekend

Hi all,

I'm new here, but familiar with this forum as it has helped me prepare for this little guy, Koda.

A week has gone by since he came home to me and he's my little velcro dog who loves to climb on my lap or feet for naptime. I am trying not to enable this as I am worried it will get separation anxiety and already showing signs of it already.

Koda is very smart. He knows how to sit, lay down, come, go to crate and stay commands (only when he is in the mood to train that is).

He is still quite timid and scared of dogs. He growls at them if they start sniffing him. However loves to smell the flowers and bird watching. Potty training has not been fun but thanks to this forum, a consistent schedule is helping. I hope there is light at the end of the tunnel!

He currently weighs 3.1kg and is teeny tiny for just 12 weeks old. We are based in Australia.