Hi there i have a 20 week old staff have had him nearly 8 weeks,and when even leaving the room to go to kitchen or bathroom he howls and cries really loudly,i haven't been able to leave him alone for 2 minutes yet.Its a nightmare when i want to go somewhere as i have to wait for hubby or kids to come home before i go(neighbour would complain if left to cry) he doesn't just do this with me its with us all and constantly needs to be in someones company..
how to i break this habit,its driving me nuts.
any tips greatly recieved..

thanks in advance

we have a 12 week old staff.  We have had her for 4 weeks.  She cries a lot, especially at 5.30am when she needs to go out.  when we put her in her pen, she cries, but after a while she will settle..................once she is settled, we can go back into the kithen, she will look up, but is then not bothered.

It is hard to leave her when she cries, someti es it goes on for what seems like ages, and she seems to get all distressed .......... its so saddening............ but cruel to be kind I guess as she needs to have confidence that we WILL be coming back, but not on her demand !

Staffies do LOVE people & I know a lot who get stressed when left.

The problem is if you go back to the pup when it cries it will think it is training you to come back, so will cry next time.

You have to leave it & only go back when it is quite!  Sounds cruel but it does work. Leave a stuffed kong with the pup to distract it & maybe a piece of your clothing so it can smell you when you are not there.

Someone else may be along soon with some more advice different to what I have said - but in the end its what works best for you

Jo
xxx

we have a year old Staff that we have had since 5 weeks, her room is the spare bedroom and it has a baby gate across the door. We both took two weeks off when she came to us so for a month once of us was home. But we knew we needed to get her used to being left so we started off leaving her in her room for 10 minutes and gradually over weeks built it up to no more than four hours. She is only in her room when we are in work and as my Husband works shifts he has lots of time off in the week and I'm home at weekends and evenings so she isnt left for long. In fact we see more of the dog
Then she is in her room if we're cooking and eating but apart from that she follows us around even on a short shopping trip. Staffs do not like to be left for long periods and short periods have to be introduced gradually. Consequently we havent had the crying although we have had the 'look' which instantly makes me feel guilty for leaving.
Is it possible hes being left alone to much and you need to start at the beginning and decrease the time slowly? 

I know what you mean by 'the look' - lol.

It means - 'what I am being left again?  you left me last week for an hour! you horrid mummy'

Does the dog cry when you are hoovering etc. Washing machine on, radio on, people talking? Maybe a tape recording of all these things and also banging around upstairs so that the dog can hear you. This may help.:-)

A DAP diffuser from your vet may help; it plugs in like an air freshener, but exudes pheromones which often calm an over anxious dog; the effects seem to vary, but I have found it helpful for some stressful occasions... :)

Lindsay
x

He is not being left alone indoors at all,i only have to leave the room he is in for him to start crying,have today bought a biscuit ball and stuffed it full of treats,i think the problem is he has been to pampered by us.
He has had undivided attention from all 5 of us since we got him,so isnt used to his own company yet-

hi
we have a 7wk old staff and she cries at night. we don't really want to have her in the bedroom if we can get away with it.

Cassie, our 12 week old, cries when we puit her in her pen when she is not ready, but only last 5 mins.  She will then start again if disturbed.

IF she goes in of her own accord, she will NOT be disturbed, will sleep through.

She wakes up at 6.30, and cries, she is let out and goes straight to garden.

My staffie is three now and still cries and howls whenever she wants anything. She literally talks to me! She cries when she needs to go out, come in, be fed, wants to play, have cuddles, she even howls along to MTV. However when she cries for nothing i just ignore her and she soon stops. Its hard when their so young but you'll get there! Good Luck.