Home Alone 2 – Travis Goes Solo. The next stage after accustoming Travis to a crate was to leave him on his own in the house for a short period.

It can seem as if you are velcroed to your puppy at first. Dogs are social animals and, in their feral state, would never be completely alone. It takes time to build your relationship with your puppy so that he can be sure that you will provide a safe place for him to live and protect him if he is frightened.

Although around 70% of the world’s dogs are feral, the remaining 30% or so that live in human homes need to learn to fit in with human timetables and sometimes that means being on their own. I built up Travis’ tolerance to being on his own inside the house and he soon paid little attention when I went in and out or needed to be in another room for a while. This has the added bonus that he does not regard me going in and out of the front door or picking up the lead as a trigger for excitement – although there is plenty of other things that have that effect!

It’s normal for dogs to feel a little anxious when they are first left on their own; true separation disorder is nowhere near as common but is much more serious and needs help from a behaviourist. As with all training, it is important to go at the pace that matches your dog’s temperament and developmental stage.

Travis has been crated at shows and in friend’s houses and he had a great start with his breeder so he has not only always had positive associations with the crate, he had been used to being in a crate in a variety of situations. So being crated in the house for the first time just meant that he settled down happily (with his stuffed Kong) and paid no heed to me leaving. He was asleep when I came back and perfectly relaxed, the Kong having assisted in making positive associations and in creating calming chewing and licking behaviours. Home Alone 2 – no sweat!

Now we need to embark on training to enable him to be free-ranging in the house on his own.

Next week: E is for Etiquette 

If you need help accustoming your dog to a crate, check out R+Dog Training Puppy Start Right Courses and post-puppy Courses. You can also contact me to book a behavioural consultation if you think that you have a more serious separation-related problem.