My 14 week old choc. lab hates to be left alone! He's crate trained and when we leave for work in the morning he crys so loud we can hear it outside! It breaks my heart. He never used to do this but for the past week it been really bad! Any sugestions?

Sounds like your leaving him too long too fast. 

He is probably like a human baby sleeping a bit less, as he matures, than when you first had him, and is lonely and upset, as he has now become attached to you more firmly each day.

Do you take him for a short walk (at that age 15 minutes on lead is appropriate) before you leave?

When does your pup sitter come in after you leave?  Can you arrange for them to come in sooner, say an hour after ou leave, and then increase the tiem as he settles?

I agree with Brainless - 14 weeks is too young to be left while you go to work. I understand your situation as I work too, but I arranged a substantial time off work when I got my pup and also my daughter took turns to look after it too (summer holidays).  You may need to rethink your plans temporarily. Can you get some time off work? You need to work at leaving your pup for short periods of time initially, building up to more time on own. Do you have a dog walker? I have one who comes in for an hour in the morning and then I raced back home at lunch time for a play and feed. You also need to think up some activities for your pup to play with while you are gone. I put the radio on too for background noise -BBc 4 is good! Stuffed kongs are an excelent way of distracting your pup when you leave. My dog (now 8 months old) can't wait to push me out the door so he can have his kong! I also leave some dried treats in a plastic bottle and it takes him time to work them out. You can also buy some puzzle toys which will keep them amused for hours trying to work the treats out. I am not sure though if your pup needs to be a bit older before you leave him with these things - perhaps try them out while you can supervise him. Have you read the Culture Clash by Jeam Donaldson, I got a copy for Xmas. I'm not sure about her theories but the practical advise is very good. Because you work you need to put in a lot of effort with your pup when you are around as they will crave your attention and will have a lot of energy to work off. Good luck!

Goodness I took Daycare arrangements as a given bearing in mind the young age of the pup and it needing to be let out to tolilet and be fed frequently through the day.

Jacinta if you don't already have someone coming into your pup at regular intervals to give company to, feed and toilet yur pup then you need to asap.

To be honest even if it were an adult dog, with no other company you should have someone come in to break up the day.

Dogs are social creatures and unlike cats solitude is totally alien to their nature, and your pup will be very unhappy left alone.

Dogs oft3en learn to adapt to being left it it is approached carefully, but it is never ideal, and they are happiest with company.

Agree with above.      Your puppy will be upset he is far too young to be left on his own for long periods,how long is he in a crate for? I hope you will be able to wok somthing out so you will have a happy puppy as he gets bigger he is going to need at least an hours excersise twice daily.

Sheila.

Thank you to all who replied. I have a dog walker who comes in twice per day. 1st in the morning about a hour after we leave, then i come home for luch hour, then she comes back during the afternoon. So he is getting out and fed when he needs. But he still seems to be getting more and more upset when we leave. Maybe taking time off is the answer. Again thank you for everyones imput!

Hi Jacinta, taking time off to spend with him could actually make the situation worse!  Do you make a big fuss before you leave?  Do you answer his calls?  Do you keep reassuring him? 
I work full time and when I got my puppy a couple of years ago my partner and I took 2 weeks off each (so 4 in total) I didn't spend all of my time off with my pup, I basically made a point of spending time in a different room - sometimes for a minute (literally) sometimes for 10 then started taking trips to the shops - only after I would go out in the garden and leave her inside for short periods.  What I am trying to say is that I made a point of leaving her for various time periods (not necesarily longer every time either!) so that she would become confident at being left alone.  I never said goodbye...I just went.  Sometimes I just hung around the front garden for a few minutes and then returned, rewarding pup for no fuss or destruction.  I remember a woman at our puppy class who was horrified to learn that I worked full time, said she spends every minute of every day with her pup - at the end of that session the trainer asked if anyone was having any problems that same lady said yes when she goes to do her food shopping her pup eats the kitchen - Think about it, her pup just wasn't used to being left, which was her fault!  Its a fact that whether you work or not at some point the dog has to left alone so you have to do your bit in ensuring it is comfortable in such a situation.
That said excessively long periods without proper attention for any dog are not acceptable!!  I make proper arrangements and my dogs are walked 3 times per day - They are so into a routine now that they sleep between 9 - 1 and then 2 - 5 on weekends which says to me exactly what they do when I am at work ;)
Sarah

Couldn't agree more Rozzer.

This was what my freind did when working.  Whenever she had a new pups I would act as the dog sitter/walker, and the periods the pups were left was built up slowly when she first had them, and then once she was back at work I took over and gradualy reduced the amount of times I went in. 

They did of course have canine company so I was eventualy able to stop going in except when she had to work late or something.

They got an hours walk every day without fail before she left for work once of an appropriate age for that much walking, and the pups I took out for socialisation walks before then.

Hi Brainless - Its hard work this dog ownership isn't it :D

My two go out for their first walk at 7am EVERY day EVERY weather which can be VERY hard work this time of year - Full Afghan coat (say no more) in the rain, snow, leaves sticking etc etc...Then the house needs drying and cleaning after them - Oh and they dont know about Saturdays, Sundays or hangovers :D :D
This is the commitment we have made....

My two go out for their first walk at 7am EVERY day EVERY weather which can be VERY hard work this time of year

This is me except one dog and 6.15 in the morning. Must admit though we had a lie in the other morning until 7 and the man up the road who we usually see with his own dogs knocked on the door to see if we were ok :)

Hi Jacinta

What does the dog walker do with the pup when she's there?  What do you do at lunch time?  Are you playing with him, trying to tire him out?  Or do you just take him out, feed him and put him back?

You need to make sure he gets A LOT of mental and physical stimulation when someone is there, to make up for him being left alone so much.

When are you socialising him?  If he's in the house from morning till night, when you come home it's dark - when is he meeting other people?  Old people, babies, other dogs, livestock, cars, rollerskates, skateboards, cats, going on trains, buses, and so on??

Yep, you forget about lie ins! Mine get walked virtually every day - luckily the Cavs don't mind missing the odd day if it's really horrible, but they generally get walked every day - and then have all the twigs etc pulled out afterwards. 2 Cavs in full show coats and a Yankee - not as big as Afghans, Rozzer, but a similar problem! :-D

Nightmare isn't it Lucy!  I did have some bad weather suits especially made (all in one thingy's) but they cause knots in the worse places where the seams join under the legs front and back - I can literally walk up the road take the coat off and matts galore!!  I have decided that a wet dog is less work than a very matted one :D  I certainly wouldn't need a humidifier for my home either!!
Snow is interesting...The hounds love it, all excited running around until a little ice ball appears on a foot and then its 'I cant walk mum, help me I'm losing my legs.....' :D
All this before work...Good job I dont have human children :D