Cheetah Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 One of my friends who has never owned a dog before, but has been looking through shelters for the past month or two for one - has finally gotten a dog! Problem: this dog (Luka, a labX) has severe separation anxiety. When my friend got Luka, the shelter did say that he had separation anxiety; however, they did not make a huge deal of it. Since Luka had been there for a few weeks, I think they were happy to finally get rid of him. He is a great dog (both my friend and I volunteer and interacted with him at the shelter before she got him); however, my friend's family was unprepared to deal with such a huge behavioral problem. This dog is a true "velcro dog" and he will get up from a dead sleep in the middle of the night to follow my friend (Yuki) to the bathroom. He will also panic and destroy everything if he is left alone for more than 30 seconds! I sent Yuki a bunch of information (that I found online) about teaching a dog to overcome separation anxiety; however, all of the methods described appear to be extremely time consuming and difficult for a first time owner to handle! Yuki's mom is home all day, and she has been attempting to use some of the methods I found online to teach the dog that it is okay to be alone. After about 20 minutes, I think he was able to increase his time from 30 seconds to 2 minutes! But...it will be much longer before the dog will be able to be left home alone! In order for the training to work - the dog can not be left home alone at any time, under any circumstances, while it is being trained! My friend's family did not truly understand what they were getting themselves into when they got this dog (they only got him two days ago) nor did they realize how severe the anxiety was. I also don't think that the shelter should have given them the dog until they explained all the time that would be required to help him overcome this behavioral problem. After my friend got Luka, she called the shelter for help in dealing with his separation anxiety. That was when she found out that Luka had been owned by a single (I assume older) woman who almost never left her house - that explains how he got such severe separation anxiety. They also said that she said that he could be left alone for up to around 3 hours....right... My friend is worried that this poor dog is going to wear his teeth down to the nerve the way he chews at the kennel bars. He also will bark within 2 minutes if he is put in the crate - even if someone is standing right there. I think the shelter also said that he could possibly resort to self destruction (chewing on his legs, etc) :o I don't think that Yuki's mom is going to be able to put up with this much longer - her family was prepared to deal with a dog that would require moderate training - but not a severe behavioral problem! My question is this: Would it be better for Yuki's family to persevere and keep working with this dog for another couple of weeks, then see where it gets them? OR should they just return the dog to shelter instead of allowing it to bond with them, then be even further traumified when it is send back to the shelter? I honestly don't think that this is the right dog for them...and I think it will probably end up back at the shelter either way. I feel so bad for this dog because he is such a loving dog, but can't bear to be left alone! I think that he will most likely end up being passed from shelter to shelter until he is eventually euthanized.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullygirl29532 Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 I know some people are gonna :2gunfire: me for saying this but they could try a doggie valium. Not a long term fix but it will help for a little while. Just long enough for the training to kick in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheetah Posted January 16, 2003 Author Share Posted January 16, 2003 hmm...I don't know anything about doggie valium, I guess that's something that would have to be talked over to the vet. :-? Also, good news - it looks as though my friend's family is committed to making the training work. My friend's mom was obviously not happy about changing her schedule around - but the point is that at least it seems that Luka now has a good chance for a permanent home! Besides the anxiety - he is a very NICE dog, fairly well behaved, good with people, and blending in well with the family so far (besides the fact that he is mostly attached to my friend in particular) Also, instead of leaving him home today, my friend's mother took him in the car with her. However, he got sick twice! Do you guys know if there are any medications for car sickness or does it work better for the dog to just get used to frequent car rides? I've mentioned dogo to my friend and she's thinking about joining - maybe then she can ask all her questions herself, and I'm sure she'll have a lot of them within the next few months! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullygirl29532 Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 a friend of mine had a rott that got car sickness they had to buy a safty harness so she could ride in the front seat and it cleared it right up. i'm not sure if you could give them over the counter motion sickness meds for humans or if it would work. ask a vet about that one. but i'm sure about the riding in the front seat curing car sickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corgilady Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 doggy valium = clomicalm......... works fairly well, atleast for me........has to build up in their system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcobbin Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 ok..since everyone helped me find a calming agent for Wanker on the wedding day, i owe .02 cents to the forum!! i've put other posts up about a shepherd i used to have named beatrice. i got her from the humane society after she was found in a 5 X 4 cage, covered in bleeding mange, starving to death, with a broken back leg, and one back leg that had been broken at some earlier time and had healed crooked. when i got B, i found out that she had been bought by a couple who, when they separated, put her in the cage. the wife took the papers so the husband couldn't sell her for any real amount of money, and the husband kept her to keep his wife from having her. :chainsaw1: neighbors said they had only seen her out of the cage twice in the year, and that the man didn't even open the cage to feed and water her (when that happened). so, i took her in, and though she was timid, she soon became one of the most attentive, protective, and loving dogs i've ever known. she never did allow men in the house, however, unless i personally opened the door and said "come in". HOWEVER, she did develop severe separation anxiety. i suppose everytime i left the house, she thought i was never coming back, which scared her to death. eventually, she ate my couch (no, not tore it up, ...ATE it, there were not scraps!), pulled up the carpet by the front door, tore all the blinds of the windows, and shredded clothes from my closet. i couldn't bear to part with her, because i could only think what she would go through if ANOTHER person threw her away. so as a last ditched effort, i took her to the vet, who referred me to a pet therapist. i used several calming techniques taught to me by the therapist, but i must say that the clomicalm did wonders!! within 2 months of starting treatment, she not only curbed her bad behaviors, but stopped most of them completely. i know some will disagree with me in using this, but i can honestly say that without it, i couldn't have kept her, and no one would have taken her. so it all worked out. so, because of my experience, i would recommend it. but, i would talk with a vet about how that medication may affect your friends' particular breed, and if possible, have them speak to a pet therapist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 My doggy valium is ace-something...Hobbit knows what I'm talking about. Human angel dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Thanks for the suggestions on the valium...it sounds very effective. I will definitely relay this info to my friend and tell her to ask her vet about it. I already told her about the car harness and everything...so we'll see how it goes. Also, she is planning on getting a username later today or tomorrow, so welcome her and be patient with her questions! (I'm sure you all will :) ) I think she was going to post a few pics of Luka too - this dog is adorable -so look forward to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheetah Posted January 16, 2003 Author Share Posted January 16, 2003 sorry, that was me, forgot to login :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luka-pop Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Hi! That's my dog that everybody's been so helpful about! Thanks! Let me clarify what cheetah said, cuz it's not all correct. You see, at the shelter, we were screened and accepted, but nobody actually knew the severity of his problem because at the shelter, there were so many different volunteers taking care of him, that he never got attached to one person. Makes sense, right? Anyways, he will willingly go into his crate when it's time for bed, but the crate needs to be by my bed. I'm moving it farther away every night, and i'm at about 4 feet right now. His training has moved on from 10 seconds of separation, to 30, to 45. He'll leave my side and wander off these days. Now that he's getting used to us, he's more playful and mischievous. He'll follow me around everywhere when I'm home, but when I'm at school, he'll follow my mom. Today, he was left alone with my dad, and he soiled the house. He was prolly nervous cuz it seems as though he was abused by an alcoholic man (no, my dad's not alcoholic, but he growled at my dad and two alcoholics who visited him at the shelter, and he ran away from my mom when she sprayed perfume with alcohol in it). By the way, he didn't live with an elderly, but with a lady and her husband. We all want to have some freedom outside of the house, but we're afraid he'll hurt hiimself during our absence. We're going to the vet's on Wed, so I'll ask about the valium and his motion sickness. I was thinking about pet therapy or an animal behaviorist, but I don't want it to be a waste of $. If he absolutely will not stay home alone, we won't give it back o the shelter cuz he'll get put down, but we may give him to a nursing home. He's gentle and quiet enough, and with a little trining, he could be a therapy dog for tthe elderly. Still, any help with this dog to weaken the velcro attachment would be great! Always appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 I am going thru the same thing. :o There are 2 books at dogandcatbooks.com to help. Home alone is one of them. It is a long and time consuming thing. my dog is on alpromazon- Xanax, that I get from the pharmacy. Be very careful not to create other problems in your training. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.