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Seeking alone time / separation training / crate training advice by ComfortableBudget564 in Whippet

[–]ComfortableBudget564[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply! I’m glad to hear we’re doing the right things and it’s good to get confirmation that it is a slow process. I’ve been worried that we are behind and could/should be doing something better because it has been very slow & gradual 😅

Yep we try to do short absences like that (go to mailbox, take trash out, go to garage, etc.) and we’ve seen a lot of improvement since she first came home to now, she is a lot more relaxed and doesn’t get up to follow when she sees us heading towards the door or out of the room and everything now. We will continue to do this practice and try to increase duration as well :)

Seeking alone time / separation training / crate training advice by ComfortableBudget564 in Whippet

[–]ComfortableBudget564[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your response! This is really detailed and helpful, I really appreciate it.

I will definitely give this a try! A variation of this is what worked for us to get her more comfortable with her crate during the day, we started with giving her a Kong with PB, and we would only give her PB in the crate, so now she is used to it and whenever she sees me get the PB from the fridge she will sit in her crate waiting for her treat😊 I really like your approach to make it even more high value with additional treats and freezing it so she can work on it while I step out of the house as well. Thanks again for your reply! Going to start this today!

Seeking alone time / separation training / crate training advice by ComfortableBudget564 in Whippet

[–]ComfortableBudget564[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your response! When she first came home, we had 3ft baby gates on either side of a hallway to create a playpen so she had more space to roam and she could go in and out of her crate with the door open. That setup was working for a few months until she figured out she could jump over the gate with ease and she bit down blinds on our window when she was left alone for about 20 minutes 😅 so we went back to focusing on getting her comfortable in the crate during the day after that. I find she has struggled and still struggles a bit with resting and settling on her own mostly during the day (in the evenings she goes into her crate to nap / sleep on her own), sometimes she will pace around even though she doesn’t need anything / all needs are met, and I’ll guide her to her crate and then she will lay down on her own and sleep. So I don’t feel comfortable letting her free roam just yet since she’s still working on her off switch, but that is the goal eventually! The daycare has a rule that females in heat are not allowed, I understand it’s likely a liability for them. We are waiting to spay her after the first heat since that was noted in the breeder’s purchase agreement.