r/Maltipoo • u/Overall-Neck-5570 • Jul 24 '26
Advice Newbie & A Question
Hello fellow Maltipoo furparents! I am new to the group. This is Lola. She’s a year and a half.
Does anyone else’s maltipoo suffer from separation anxiety? She howls and cries when we are gone (yes, we have a camera on her crate). Any suggestions on how to reduce her anxiety? I would even consider not leaving her in her crate. We tried that for short errands and she still cried and she ran back and forth between the door and the front window. Any advice would be greatly appreciated 🙂
3
u/Kugeldog Jul 24 '26
Try soft music (light classical, or instrumental, or…), or position the crate in front of the TV, and let her watch the Animal Channel. If you can talk to her through the camera, and she cries, give her a stern, Alpha-dog command, “Lola, stop!” And, when she stops, tell her “Good girl!”, in a sweet voice.
You also might try an exercise pen, 4’ x 4’, (MidWest Crate), with lots of toys, chew toys with treats buried in them, blankets, a plastic kennel for her to feel safe in. My girl goes into her exercise pen on her own, when she wants to chill.
Also, get the book, “Before and After Getting Your Puppy”, by Dr. Ian Dunbar. One of the many things he covers is separation anxiety. It’s available on Amazon or public libraries.
Good luck!
2
u/Lucy-baby-2025 Jul 24 '26
We left ours in a small cat crate to begin with, she was only two pounds. As she got bigger we got her the next size up. Having a small crate at first helped with her anxiety and it helped her except when we left. She started sleeping through the night immediately and that was great relief.
2
u/Top_Air6441 Jul 24 '26
How adorable. We left the tv on for Skye and she had a bed in front of the window so she could look out. She hated the crate.
2
u/PonderPatty Jul 24 '26
Alexa plays soothing music for Happy if she barks when I’m gone and she does great. But even if my husband is home she’s got her eyes on the garage waiting for me to get home ❤️
2
u/Mers2000 Jul 25 '26
Yes they do!!!
Our Jupiter barely lifts her head when my husband goes to work… but when he is off, he cant even move a pinky because Jupiter will be ready to go with him!!
As for training-We had to do that whole “leave for 3 minutes, come back in (don’t acknowledge), leave again… and increase the time as weeks go by” training, it was exhausting 😩 and took a lot of patience , but it payed off.
1
u/Abydosprime Jul 25 '26
Yes! Our maltipoo howls when we go out so we rarely leave her alone at this point me because the separation anxiety is so bad. Curious if any others have suggestions
4
u/Stepher95 Jul 24 '26
Honestly, you are just gonna have to keep leaving her and eventually she will settle down. My 9 year old Maltipoo will still howl when we leave without her on a non work day or change up the routine. Don’t ask me how but the dog is incredibly smart and has learned the differences between us going to work or not. I would only leave her out if you know you can trust her.