Have I made my puppy antisocial?

[melaniejane84]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum

I just got my little Bullmastiff puppy five days ago and he has been settling in really well. I used to own an adopted dog that suffered terribly from separation anxiety, and because of this, yesterday I started to train my pup to get used to being alone. I put a bed in the kitchen for him, gave him a Kong of peanut butter and closed him in with a baby gate. He didn't whine or anything, just ate his Kong then went to sleep for an hour or so.

But now, today, every time he gets sleepy, which is all the time because he's only 9 weeks old, he goes and sleeps in the kitchen alone.

He has a bed in the living room with us, but only sleeps in it for about 10 minutes before moving.

He had a vet check yesterday and he's perfectly healthy. I'm worried that I may, in one short hour, have trained my puppy to be antisocial? He still likes to play and have cuddles though.

I'd like you opinions

 

[CeeCee]

I don't think you have at all. I think he's associating good things like peanut butter and relaxation with that space. I would say he's already demonstrating what you want - the ability to be content by himself.

...My 2 cents.

 

[Jadotha]

I agree with CeeCee. We've started all of our puppies off with a bed in the kitchen, until they are reliably housebroken. Our experience has been that they love to play and interact, but appreciate their own 'quiet space' -- and they have all developed into 'Velcro' dogs, lol.

 

[melaniejane84]

Thanks guys, that makes me feel a bit better This is Toby.

 

[LLJohnson10]

Aww, cute little puppy!

 

[Harrygto]

great looking pup

 

[cmachalias]

Really cute puppy! I wouldn't worry, from
What I understand puppies are amazingly intuitive about when they need anap and if he has been romping around or playing then he will do exactly that

 

[CeeCee]

He is adorable!!!

 

[melaniejane84]

He's adorable when he's asleep... but then he wakes up and eats my house. So easy to teach him tricks, so hard to teach him to behave :angel2devil:

 

[musicdeb]

Toby is adorable. Does Toby have a crate? I recommend crate training so he can call that his own room to sleep and decompress. You will appreciate the crate when he gets a little older.

 

[Amero]

Don't worry bout that, seems perfectly normal get a crate though, makes a huge difference. FYI one of my kids told me with my BM that my dog had narcolepsy when he was that age lol. said it pretty matter of factly too, was hilarious.

 

[Jakesmum]

Toby is adorable!!!! I agree with the last two posts, get a crate or kennel. It saved our sanity and our house when Jake was a pup. I was so proud of him the first time he went and put himself to bed in his crate. We don't use it much anymore but still have it set up for him, he will occasionally go and lay in it if I am vacuuming or there is too much commotion in the house and he needs his quiet space. Also he went through phases where we thought he was being antisocial and would lay in the bedroom or his crate rather than be with the family, I didn't worry too much about it and he is such a love bug (and a therapy dog now, we go to the local hospital every two weeks to visit with the patients).

 

[Karinacee]

hi i have a 5month bm and she has a crate, and a bed in the house..but most of the time prefers to sleep on the kitchen floor. i think she likes it because it for the cooling effect - that may be a factor also w your beautiful pup

 

[Siloh]

I agree that this is probably a good sign--the pup is successfully learning to put itself to bed in a quiet space. I also agree a crate would be beneficial for a multitude of reasons, but one among them is that you will be able to have a mobile place for him that is his safe space, so you can use the effect of the kitchen anywhere you put the crate.


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