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Hello, I recently got a new puppy. She’s a beautiful almost 3 month Sheppard mix. She is sweet and loving and super smart. In the 2 weeks I’ve had her I’ve been able to teach her so much, but I’m having real trouble with what I’m guessing is separation anxiety. I’ve been crate training and while she doesn’t seem to have any aversion to the crate itself, she simply will not tolerate being out of my presence while in it. The second I am out of her sight, even if she isn’t in the crate and I just go into another room that’s gated off, she starts crying. That very quickly will escalate to howling which just doesn’t stop. The past 2 times I’ve crated her and left the room to try and get her used to it, she urinated in the crate. This is distressing because she is very far along in potty training and sleeps the night in the crate without going. (The crate is at the foot of my bed and elevated at night so she can see me). This is concerning to me because I live alone and at some point I will have to return to work. I have a neighbor who will be able to come take her out and play with her for a bit but she will have to spend sometime on her own and I can’t have her howling the entire time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Is this still to be expected at this age and is she likely to grow out of it? It seems very extreme. She literally sounds like she’s being tortured which breaks my heart. Wondering if this is something I might need professional help with. Thank you for reading and any help you can offer.