Hi I have an 8 week old lab that we have had for 2 weeks. for the first two weeks she slept perfectly through the night with only 5 minutes whining at the beginning of the night. now she is starting to cry for longer and longer each night. and also as soon as you leave to go into another room.
she seems to be going backwards.
we have started to leave her on her own for mornings while we're at work buit she's had at least one of us there all afternoon and evening.

Is this just because she's just a baby???
or am I doing something wrong and making her clingy????

I have read somewhere that lab puppies go through something like a 'fear' period round about 8 weeks old - I really don't have any experience of this, as I say it was just something I had read. If it is the case though I would assume that she will grow out of it but I don't know that best way to deal with it at the time.

Sorry this hasn't been very helpful!

Hi all.

That is true about labs and '8 week fear anxiety'.

Just remember your pup is only a baby..they will miss their mum and litter mates and be adjusting to new surroundings.

Mu lab pup is nearly 14 weeks and I when I got him at 8 weeks he was crying all the time when anyone left him. We kept him with us for as much as possible, he even slept in our room at night. We gradually taught him by increasing the time he was left alone and leaving him for a while when we were at home. He must get used to being on his own. But now he can be left on his own and cries for only a minute or too.

Why don't you try leaving him on his own when you are both at home for an hour or so. Let him see you...but don't go to him when he starts to cry. It will take a few weeks for the pup to adjust...but don't worry he's just a baby and your his surrogate mum.

Hope this helps a bit
Claire
xxx

It's not just Labradors, most puppies will go through a similar 'fear impact' stage, and how they are handled at this stage can affect the rest of their lives.

Hi

I don't have experience of Labs, but I can tell you how I trained Willis, my GD.

Basically, I taught him to stay on his own when he was tired. This was really effective as 1. he learned to go to his bed when he was tired and 2. he learned to stay on his own because he hardly noticed we weren't there.

Because, when they are so little they sleep most of the time we did it like this: when he woke up we would play with him for 5 mins, then outside for a wee then back inside for some very gentle playing and then food...and then place him in bed when he looked sleepy. He would go out like a light, we would leave the room, he would wake up, and only after he had cried for a little bit and let us know he was awake would we let him out. He never even noticed us *leaving* just arriving back. He had toys in there, a jumper with my scent, a blanket and a hot water bottle all day every day for the first few weeks.

He's 5 months old now and can be left for 4 or 5 hours if I need to - no damage. But mostly I am at home all the time working, so I reinforce it by making him go to his bed after he has eaten on his own for an hour or so, once a day (gives us a break too!!) :)

HTH
Chloe

Hi i had the same problem and it may not work but this is what i did.He screamed for hours at night for 3 nights i put up with it but the forth night i couldnt take any more so up he came to our room for two nights once he realized we were only sleeping and he had to sleep anyway back down he went and from then on he has been wonderful a slight whimper for 5 mins and he then settled until i got up he doesnt even wake me for his breakfast excellent try it it may help