I have a yorkie that is a little over a year old. I got him when he was 8 weeks old and for the past 11 months he has always had someone home with him. (My boyfriend and I both finished grad school at slightly different times and then had a layover period before our post-grad jobs started)
We are first time dog owners and probably made some mistakes that has led to him having some separation anxiety. He is not destructive when we leave or anything, he just cries and howls which I watch from a webcam. He also has always gotten very anxious when he knows we are leaving (sit in front of the door, follow me closely). We have routinely left him home alone for 2-3 hours but not much more than that. He also isn't crate trained.
With us both having full time jobs now (as of this week), I am not sure how to deal with starting to leave him home alone for extended periods of time. I can come home at lunch and walk him since I live close to my job. For this first week, I have been sending him to half days of daycare. When I bring him home after daycare he just sleeps until I get home from work, but I don't think daily daycare is really sustainable. It is definitely something I could try weekly but he doesnt seem to like it and its pretty far out of my way.
I am just looking for some advice to ease my dog (and myself) into this new routine. I don't know if anyone has any experience in a similar situation. My boyfriend wants to get another dog as a companion, but I really would rather focus on keeping the one we have healthy and happy. Should I try professional training? crate training? just force him to stay alone a few times until it becomes his new routine? It just breaks my heart knowing he is sad when I am not there.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/agsuef/advice_leaving_1yr_old_yorkie_home_alone/
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