I have a 7 month old beagle. The problem is that she hates being left without me. When i go out i leave her for up to 3 hours at the most in her cage, she cries for nearly all that time. I do that maybe three times a week. The rest of the time she comes with me. I take her to work with me as i work from my mothers home, and i wouldn't like to leave her as i am out for approx 8 hours a day. Today i wanted to go out for an hour so i left her with my mother and her dogs. When i got back she said that she had been awful. She had been running around crying and scratching the door, she would not sit down. Previously she has done this for a few hours when i have been out. I'm worried that she is far to attatched to me, what if i want to leave her for a weekend ?
Should i start taking her to the kennels for the day, or just a few hours at first as no-one else will look after her for me as she is such hard work. I want her to get used to being on her own a bit, so she stops being so posessive over me. Has anyone got any ideas, as i need to get some routine as i don't want the problem to get worse as she gets older ?

Hi Beagle,
I think you're going to have to start "cooling" your relationship with your pup. Is she with you all the time when you're in the house? If so, try having her away from you for a while, maybe putting a child-gate across a doorway so that she can see you but not get to you. Don't make a big deal of it - just get on with something for 10 minutes or so, then as long as she's quiet, go back in with her but don't fuss her - let her know that you come and go and it's no big deal. It'll take time, but it works in the end. Good luck! :)

Beagles who'd have them? unfortunately they are pack animals and you're part of her pack. I know some people on CD don't like her but I suggest Jan Fennell's book The Dog Listener. Essentially teaching your dog you are the pack leader and that you can come and go as you please. She needs to learn not to worry about you. The problem is beagles are sooo stubborn. Out of all our dogs the beagle was the one that took the longest to settle at night when we first bought her home.

I think you need to seperate her from you for short periods in the day. Start with putting her in a cage in the same room and ignoring her and slowly move the cage away so it's in another room. Make sure you ignore her when she is crying because if she learns crying works then she'll do it all the more.

Good Luck with your pup

Shirley

Will a dog outgrow this with age ?
I guess what I'm asking is that will a dog get better at being left alone when it has outgrown puppy age .
I worry about my pup being too dependant . He's only 17 weeks old and hates being left alone . We have a crate and when we have tried to leave him for 10 minutes or so ( to get him used to it) he screams the house down . This happens whether he can see us or not .
Although I work , my partner is always there except for the odd hour or so when he has to nip out to the shop etc .
If we leave him to go into another room and he cannot follow he also cries and gets upset .
Lel

Get him used to being alone for short periods now.. ignore the screaming, and when it stops return to the room/open cage and praise...

What i always did was leave them alone with a treat - some say this is a good idea, some say bad, but it works on both the dogs... they know then that i am going out but that i will also come back again

Its not going to kill him to be seperated from you for 30 mins per day... a bit of time to yourself maybe! Staffords can get v v v destructive over seperation anxiety, and/or boredom - so get him used to it, and give him something to do ... you never know he might grow to like it.. both of mine will disappear for some "down time" every few days, and we wont see them for a coupl eof hours at a time

Alex

I would say that if you continue giving in then a pup will most definately not groe out of over dependence but this wil become a set habit, as dogs are creatures of hyabit. that is why you must start as you mean to go on with anything with a puppy.

I have found some Spaniles very possesive, and I fostered a Welsh Springer male bred by a friend. He had extreme seperation anxiety, and had lived in a home that was Open plan and was never left. His litter sister was very laid back and quite independant, aqs that is how she was brought up.

He dug gouges in my wall and floor and panted like a whelping bitch when he was put to bed at night in the kitchen with my own bitches for company. I was only the other side of the door in a sleeping bag.

I gradually (having warned the neighbours) brought him round by totatlly ignoring him when he cried or sought interaction. When he eventually settled for a few minutes I weould go over give him a half hearted pat,and continue ignoring. I also used the NILIF program on him once he stopped the panic stricken behaviour, and by the time he went to his new home he could be left with a chew for an hour or so!

maybe i am being thick: but please could somebody explain what a create is and is it only used in the USA

Hi Sammie,
Crates are becoming very popular in the UK too, for use as a private "den" for your dog. The door can be closed to contain a pup when you're housetraining, or you have to go out for a while - otherwise the door is kept open and the dog can come and go freely, just as its bed. Their great bonus is that they are a familiar place for your dog if you stay at a hotel, or friend's house, etc.

Hope this helps.

thanxs for the info

Thankyou for all the advice everyone. I'm going to try some of the suggestions. We absolutely spoil her and that is probably the main problem. If i go anywhere i think of reasons why we should take her, instead of leaving her. I have just bought a Kong which she absolutely loves, so i'm going to try that next time i go out. Its her beagle nature that causes alot of problems, she is so intelligent and needs to continously occupied unless she gets bored, but the kong is a marvellous invention as she needs stimulating toys to keep her interest, rather than just something to chew.

A kong stuffed with food is ideal for a beagle. Also have you tried the activity ball that you can put food into and they have to roll it around to get it out. We used to put our beagle's dinner in it to keep her occupied for 10 minutes. Any thing for a short break.