Hi everyone, I’m hoping for some guidance because my anxiety is through the roof as we get closer to my due date.
We have a 7-month-old Australian Bernedoodle puppy who has become extremely clingy. For context, we did crate train her for the first 6 months — consistently — but no matter what we tried (routine, high-value treats, covering the crate, calming aids, moving the crate, etc.) she absolutely hated it. She would cry and bark nonstop, to the point where none of us were sleeping. She did eventually get to the point where was okay in the crate, and would only cry from 5am onwards, but randomly reverted and started crying all night again. So we eventually stopped and let her sleep with us once she was potty trained.
Now she sleeps on top of us — literally on our heads or our pillows. It’s annoying but manageable for now. The bigger problem is that I’m 6 months pregnant, and once the baby arrives I cannot have the puppy in our room for safety reasons, sleep, and noise. She also hates being alone in any room and will bark or cry if we try to put her somewhere else, even briefly.
Crate training is off the table because we know how distressed she gets, so that’s not a route we want to reattempt. Ideally, I’d love to transition her to sleeping on a dog bed outside our room, or even in our guest room with our 12-year-old dog (who also currently sleeps with us but will probably transition out just fine).
Has anyone dealt with a super clingy adolescent dog, especially right before bringing home a newborn? How do we start training her to sleep somewhere else without causing her (and us) a lot of stress? Any tips for separation anxiety, desensitization, or nighttime routines would be so appreciated.
Thank you so much — this has been weighing on me and I’m worried time is running out. 🙏
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