Teaching puppy/dog how to handle being alone

I am looking for some experienced heads to give me some advice on the best way/s to help teach my pup how to cope with being home alone.

I have been home with my 8 week old for the last week and my wife will be home for the next week then we will be back to work.

I work full time, the wife part time 5 days a week.

Over the last week we have gone out each day slowly increasing our time out of the house. Today we went for a 30k ride and we were out for about 4 hours. She was having a bit of a cry when we got home but she was Ok.

Other than spending more time out each day is there something else we can be doing?

We have puppy training starting tomorrow night for some socialisation.

Perfect! You are doing all the right things. This is what i did and now my 2yr old is home alone 5 days a week while we both work fulltime, we make sure hes well exercised and tonnes of attention when we're home. We soon learnt to move anything in sight we didnt want chewed as no matter how many toys treats etc we left chewing our stuff was his fave

When you leave, throw a handful of treats for her to find. That'll keep her occupied during the 'oh no they're leaving' moment, and also build a positive association with you going. Also leave a stuffed Kong or something to give her something to do.

Then, when you get home, don't make a fuss of her for a few minutes. The idea is that leaving is good, returning is nothing to pine for.

As Bek says, though, it sounds like you're off to a good start.

Thanks for the advice, really appreciated.

PS: I can't believe how sharp her teeth are and how much power are in those little jaws

I can't really offer an other advice than that given and what you're already doing but it sounds like you're on track

I've been following the above advice, this forum is fantastic!!
Bellas 12 weeks now and I started leaving her for a small amount of time, gradually increasing it. She can now stay on her own for a couple of hours and is fine

LizP wrote:When you leave, throw a handful of treats for her to find. That'll keep her occupied during the 'oh no they're leaving' moment, and also build a positive association with you going. Also leave a stuffed Kong or something to give her something to do.

Then, when you get home, don't make a fuss of her for a few minutes. The idea is that leaving is good, returning is nothing to pine for.

As Bek says, though, it sounds like you're off to a good start.

I concur, just make sure the treats don't go under the furniture when you toss them. We still use this method on occasion with Suki. Also exercise is key so they are more likely to sleep

Id also keep cables out the way and any destructibles out of the pups way may be an idea to limit the pup to one room and use babygates/puppygates to keep the pup out other rooms for chewing nylabones and frozen veg is good for chewing.

Razor sharp!!

Exercise is def key, great point Lee!

The handful of treats was a great idea, worked really well - thanks Liz!

Welcome as always, Ange. Glad it's helped.

Sorry to be negative, I'm sure that all the advice is sound and will be helpful but do you think it's fair to have a pup if you're going to leave it for hours on its own? Could you get a dog-walker to break up the poor baby's day?

Most dogs can cope fine with being left for several hours, and as Dave says his wife only works part time so it's not the whole day. If we were talking full time work for both parties I'd agree with getting a dog walker, but I'm sure part time for a few hours is fine provided Rosie's reactions are being monitored, as they are

My boy is home alone while we work full time and hes perfectly fine (happy healthy well balanced). Of course I'd love to stay home with him but its not an option at the moment. Just saying