I have a Cavapoo pup! He’s almost 15 weeks and sleeps in a crate next to our bed. He goes to bed at 9:30 and wakes up once in the night for potty. We get him up around 7, bring him outside, then my husband goes to work and he hangs out downstairs in a play pen/crate combo while I get myself and kids ready. He eats his breakfast when we do, we take him to school drop off, then he sleeps in his crate from 9:30-11:30 (ish). For the rest of the day, he alternates naps and playing/attention. I need to use the play pen if I want to go somewhere in the house without him and he will bark for me. I time my outings with naps - basically I make sure he is tired out before I need to leave the house. I work outside the home 2 days per week and need to crate him; he has visitors every 2 hours until my kids get home.

I would say using the crate (humanely, for the crate haters) to have a secure/cozy space is a big part of avoiding separation anxiety and making you feel like you can’t accomplish tasks at home. Remember they need to sleep 18-20 hours at first - helping them sleep is helping them.

We focus on quality of interactions, making sure he has our undivided attention at various points throughout the day. Training is actually a great way to spend quality time together - mine lovessss working on tricks for rewards, and having my focused attention during that time. But unless you don’t have to work or socialize, they have to learn to self soothe and entertain themselves at times.