shih tzu puppy barking question?

[Simona .]

hello

well i've had my shih tzu puppy for about a week. 10 weeks old. he's gorgeous. he's quiet, he's learnt sit and stay relatively well. i know he knows what it means coz i'll just randomly say it and he'll do it =) etc and he's started sleeping at night without crying etc.

there's always someone home we never leave him by himself. if im at uni and my mums home doing house-wifey stuff he'll just wander around and find a toy to play with. so it's not like he's obsessed with being right next to someone (although he does follow me around a bit)

anyway. today we were doing some spring cleaning and i put him outside ( my dad was there as well and sometimes he goes out in the yard by himself so its not like he's scared) anyway i did this so he wouldnt get in the way incase we forgot and accidently stepped on him.

the moment i put him outside and didnt follow him he whined a few times and then started barking. i dont like this. i know he's a puppy. but he needs to learn to be alone at least for a little bit. he'll never be alone for hours but i mean 1 hour or half an hour shouldnt kill him. he had toys etc.

how do i make him not be scared of being alone, and how do i make him stop barking. i read you first should teach him to bark on command but i dont know how to do that especially since other than this occassion he never barks or anything.

what should i do?

i dont want him to grow up with this kind of problem coz it's pretty big. i dont want a dog that barks incessantly or has problems being alone for a little while.

[Kermit23]

Look into some obedience classes for your new puppy. This behavior could lead to other problems in the near future.

[Liz Claro]

If you put him outdoors alone, and with good reason I'd say, and he whines/barks, just walk away and don't return to him until after he has stopped barking. You can also give him something to play with or a Kong toy stuffed with his meal.

[Baby]

those doggies are so cute!