Hi Gav and Jo
we previously purchased from a family an 11mth old cocker who had bundles of energy to the point he would seem to burst with enthusiasm at any time when he saw any adults. he suffered from separation anxeity when we left him and for the first week we could not leave him alone to sleep or leave the house as he would become destructive, bark and howl.
This describes my Bonnee to a tee - we rehomed her when she was 15 month old, and she is a permanent bundle of energy
We say that she gets so excited, she looks as if she is going to jump out of her skin - she desperately tries to sit nicely, but trembles with anticipation and makes high pitched whimpering noises she is just so excited to be alive
To us, it is a very endearing quality that I wouldn't change for the world
We channel her energy through training; at the moment, my daughter is learning freestyle heelwork to music with her and she is a natural
Like all dogs, she was a bit unsettled when she first arrived; despite being used to being left alone for 5+ hours a day, when she arrived with us, she howled and screamed when I left the room
- it took a couple of weeks for her to get used to living in a new home, with a new family - but she certainly doesn't suffer from separation anxiety; she was just behaving like a normal young dog
We had Molo from a puppy; and tbh, Molo was a lot more work - not only did he suffer from the same loneliness and anxiety when he moved to a new home, but the demands of a puppy are incredible and never ending
I lost over a stone in weight in the first few months because I didn't sit down for more than 20 minutes or so at a time; up for wee, in for a play and training, a quick nap and then it starts all over again
I think you need to prepare yourselves for the reality of dog, particularly puppy, ownership - you lives will never be the same again; and you can expect weeks, if not months, of disruption before you begin to settle into a new, dog-focused, routine