Try covering your pup's crate when he should be settling there for a start. I also think you might find it worthwhile to invest in Susan Garrett's Crate Games if covering the crate doesn't work. Never reward barking by giving a treat while barking is going on. It can be really hard to time rewarding quiet if you only have a quiet second or two so be very careful.

 

IIRC Pinot is 12-13 weeks old and has been in your house about 2.5 weeks, is that right? Well, take a deep breath, relax yourself, because everything you describe sounds normal for a 3 month old poodle puppy. They're highly energetic and crave attention. Poodle puppies are difficult, expert level dogs, and even long time dog owners are challenged by a poodle puppy.

The only part that concerns me is this:

He's turning into a monster before our very eyes.

Ouch. This isn't about Pinot, it's about your attitude towards your dog. Every one of us has been there, tired and frustrated by the constant demands of a young poodle, and we all got through it and are here to help others. Catherine gives good advice above, and there will be more to come, but the first thing we need to do is reframe your experiences to accurately represent the behaviors you want to encourage, develop, and train.

 

but a switch flipped yesterday on my first day out of the house.

Your answer is right there! 👆🏻 That, and he's still adjusting to his life with you... 👇🏼

Whenever we stand up or walk or raise our arms, his head shoots up. If we walk over toward him, he's up on his four feet, or standing up on the playpen.

You left him for the first time, which shook up life as he knew it.... which he was still adapting to. It's very normal for a pup to be attached and to wonder where you're going. Especially, I'd think, when you're in such a small space to begin with.

I am not suggesting you not leave at all. Nor am I saying you should be a statue. Rather, see it from his eyes? His life was upended to come and live with you, and he's still working out the patterns of his life. You shook up a pattern.

The comments above are spot on. Don't reprimand or yell. He wasn't barking to be a brat or a monster... very important to watch how you label, as Liz said.

Covering the crate became crucial for my girl. Her crate is in the main living area of the house. At almost a year, I sometimes still have to enforce naps and cover the crate if there is too much moving stimuli distracting her.

Two weeks is hardly enough time for a puppy to adjust to living with you. He's still settling in. You just prematurely gathered, "This is it!" You're in for plenty of ups and downs. It's the nature of raising any littles.

 

It’s harder in an apartment. In my house, if puppy has what they need and I need to do something, they’re going to have to bark. I don’t know if you have that same freedom or if you will have noise complaints. Your puppy is a baby and his barking and whining is like a human baby crying. You wouldn’t reprimand that, would you? And sometimes, baby is gonna have to cry if that means self-care for mom and dad. Every time your husband stands up to leave the room and then sits back down because puppy barks, it reinforces that “barking means my people stay with me”. It is unnatural for babies to stay alone, but they will adjust.
I agree about negative labels, but I will say that sometimes just lightheartedly acknowledging the difficulty makes it easier to handle. We would sing “Super Starla, probably gonna bite you!” when she was in her super landshark phase. We still have holey clothes to prove how difficult she was. Phoebe we called “Terrible dog!” And “brat!!” but these things were said with love. She really wasn’t much fun as a puppy… but it helped us and our kids to acknowledge that she was not super easy, and the dog has no idea that what you’re saying isn’t that nice if your tone is nice.

 

Yes, thank you everyone. I added that last "monster" comment in a fit of panic. He's not a monster; he's a normal puppy. We keep reminding ourselves: he's young, he's an infant, he's learning. But it's really frustrating when we need to get work done, too. A can work from home indefinitely, but we also need to be able to go to the bathroom, to do the dishes, to go get the mail. We were just looking ahead at our lives and fearing we'd be held hostage by this puppy. But, deep breaths and a reset.

We're covering his crate now. We'll let him bark it out and try to reward quiet in those few seconds when he's not barking or whining. He'll learn - he's a smart one! But we need to be calm and consistent and positive, as much as possible.

Previously, we let him have his naps in the playpen right next to me. I think that was a mistake. He should have taken his naps in a covered crate in the bedroom. A and I can work in the living room. That way, he has quiet and separation and we can get things done when he's sleeping instead of tiptoeing around the apartment for fear of waking him.

We also signed up for Puppy Prep School, which is a 3 day/week daycare in the neighborhood with other first-round vaccinated puppies. Drop him off at 8a and pick him up at 5p. They do some training, some free play, some nap time, and some alone time in pens. I think this will be good for him, too. It'll certainly be good for us, since we just need some time to ourselves to reset and have the patience and goodwill to help him through this transition. If we're stressed out about work, we won't be in the right place to give him the love and support and structure he needs.

Thank you for the suggestions and the support. I think we were really shocked at how different he was yesterday from the calm, quiet puppy we had the first two weeks. I saw someone else had a PDF on how to train separation, working for 5 - 10 seconds at a time over several months finally working up to 5 hours. We'll get there - we just got scared and panicked. Thank you again!

 

 

Whew. Ok. Let's move forward.

The moment he came home, you started training him. You didn't know it, but you were setting his expectations from the very first time you interacted. And for those first two weeks, you were always around. As @BennieJets said, it was a huge change for you to be gone all day. You may not have realized how different that looks from his point of view, but it evidently was an enormous change for Pinot (and A, by the way).

Some thoughts:
1) Check out the Pandemic Puppy Primer for an introduction on training Impulse Control and Separation Anxiety.
2) Clicker training. I think clicker training is great for a new puppy. It's fun, the pups pick it up quickly, and most owners do as well. You can start by training a marker word (like "Yes!") and their name. You will need to work on timing (everyone needs to work on timing when they begin.
3) Enforced rest time in a covered crate, as @lily cd re suggested.
4) Tethering. It's been covered on several threads recently, but tethering for the first few months can be helpful for keeping a pup close by (when not in his crate or playpen).

I hope today is off to a better start.

 

Have you read Ian Dunbar’s Before & After Getting Your Puppy? If not, you can get a physical copy from any book seller (my preference) or read it online for free:

https://www.dogstardaily.com/files/BEFORE%20You%20Get%20Your%20Puppy.pdf

https://www.dogstardaily.com/files/downloads/AFTER_You_Get_Your_Puppy.pdf

I recommend following this method as best you can, with some flexibility, yes, but also as much consistency as you can manage. Putting your puppy in a covered crate to cry it out is likely to make it an unhappy place for him. Even if he shuts down and accepts it now, he may push back in adolescence. Teaching him what to do in there—and that it’s a place where nice things happen, where he can relax and feel safe—should be your priority. Dr. Dunbar will help you with that.

 

Lots of good thoughts and advice in previous posts. I’m guessing this would be in books and other training places but distractions and fun things in the crate really do help. A lot! Covering the crate when you can’t be with puppy seriously helps too. Have you tried Kongs and other safe chew toys in the crate? A well stuffed Kong, especially if stuffed and frozen can buy some time for sure, as can safe toys smeared with a bit of peanut butter! Both of my boys loved stuff like that in their crates. It may not give you hours but it would give you some time for the quick tasks and it teaches puppy that the crate is a great place.

Also, I found background noise helps such as tv or music. That’s especially helpful when pups/dogs need to be left alone. You definitely do not want to reward barking with yummy stuff, toys, being let out of the crate or any kind of attention. These things should happen only when quiet, even it for a few seconds. Reward when quiet. Toys and Kongs were placed in the crate before puppy went inside so the crate became very inviting.

It’s a learning time for puppy but with training and practice with being left alone it will get better. Puppies are just little baby dogs. Tethering is a great way to get some stuff done. I also used baby gates a lot. If I needed to work in the kitchen I would put a baby gate up so puppy was close to me and safe yet has a touch of freedom. I could get stuff done while puppy plays with toys, works on a chew and also naps because puppy can see me. I often moved from room to room with puppy as
needed.😊 I think having several approaches in your puppy tool belt is very helpful. Sometimes it’s crate time, sometimes it’s tethering time, etc Puppies are a lot of hard work and during those early weeks humans don’t get much done, for sure! They do grow up though and while poodles tend to have FOMO you do get to a place where you actually can get stuff done. 😊

 

Something that helped a lot with Galen and Ritter was to get them onto a schedule. At 8:30 AM every day the puppy was in his crate ready for his breakfast and his morning nap, and I was in front of my computer reading my email. At 10:00 he was out in the yard for a pee break, then back into the crate for morning nap part II. Lunch and an extended play session at 11:30, then back into the crate for an afternoon nap while I conducted my afternoon conference calls. Once the puppy realized this was how the day went, it became a lot easier for me to go to the bathroom or go make a mug of tea. The puppy understood I would be right back, and he also understood he was expected to keep napping in his crate.

I'm not using a crate any more, but the dogs are still sticking to this schedule for the most part. Ritter and Galen have both just come into my office and settled down for naps.

 

I have an almost 5 month this old standard. He came home with us at month 4. He was fine in the crate at night, but barked like crazy if I left the room. I tried ”quiet”, ignoring, leaving for short (5 minutes) and returning, tried a water gun, and nothing worked. I was at my wits end as I thought I could never leave the house. Somewhere in week 3, he suddenly caught on. We may leave, but we come back. Being in the crate is not an issue at all now. I think he is getting more adjusted and confident each day, and by some miracle, that includes being in a crate while we are home or while we are away without barking. So, hang in there. It will happen.

 

Welcome, @joandesan I’m glad things are going better for your pup. I hope you’ll start an introduction thread with some pics for us.

You’re past this now, but for anyone else wanting to try the incremental approach, start with seconds, not minutes. Five minutes is an eternity to a puppy who is hardwired to keep his eyes on his protectors for his survival.

And while I understand it’s easy to feel desperate in those early puppy days, you don’t want to do anything to make your pup fearful of his crate. This includes loud noises, unexpected streams of water, etc.

I found it very helpful to anchor Peggy on a blanket with a yummy chew and then go about my daily chores. I would fold laundry for ten minutes in the same room with her, and then duck out to drop a pile in the next room and come right back. After doing this enough times, she didn’t even glance up when I left or returned. That’s how I knew I could extend the time a little. And then a little more.

Once you lay that foundation, you can progress quite quickly. But you need that solid foundation first. Trust that your efforts will pay off.