Wheaten Terrier Puppy Separation Anxiety Questions

Hi all,

My partner and I recently picked up a now 8 week old wheaten terrier puppy. His name is Bear and he is amazing. The only issue we are having with him is when we leave. He is totally fine is his crate when we are in the room with him, and is sleeping all night without winning or crying in his crate. When we leave the apartment however it's a different story. We will whine/cry for the entire time and a handful of times has gone potty in his crate. When we get back he is so freaked out and then passes out immediately which makes me believe he is frantic the whole time we are gone. I am curious if this is a common issue with the breed, and if anyone had any advice with what they did when they had their wheaten puppy. Any help would be amazing.

How long are you leaving him?

No puppy likes to be alone.

At 8 weeks he has had the company of his mum and siblings all his life then not only finds himself in a new place, but also he's alone for the first time in his life.

If you can, try to make your departures for a very short time and gradually increase the duration.

Your little guy is probably so confused at the moment and he needs a little bit of help to get used to being alone

We have been leaving him from alone for roughly 30 minutes for the shortest and 2 hours for the longest. We have left him alone probably 5 times since we have had him and it's been the same result. We have been told that he will eventually be able to calm himself down, but we have just been worried. We didn't know if this was a common issue with the breed potentially and just something we have to work him through. We have both had puppies previously but none of them have been this frantic in the crate alone so its very new and heartbreaking territory

I agree with Chris, you need to begin with short absences, and gradually extend the length. Certainly 2 hours is a very long time for a baby who has only just left his Mum and littermates. Do you leave a radio or tv on for comforting background sounds? Have you made his crate into a snuggly den that he enjoys using? Soft toys and bedding, and covering the top and sides can help.