SEPARATION ANXIETY

[jessieholsinger]

Hey all here-

yall have been so much help for me now i am asking for a friend- she has two 7month old part lab/pitbull mixes and they stay in the basement area where they have a playroom with kennels. They will not allow them to go upstairs at all and so when they are out of the kennels and everyone is around one of the girls will get in my co-workers lap and fall asleep and then when everyone is not around they go NUTS in their kennels and she is afraid she will hurt herself. What would you guys suggest? She is going to try a doggie daycare where Stealth goes but what else......

I know Stealth had that problem but with him he had access to the whole house.....and we would put him in the kennel while we were around to kinda let him know it is okay for him to be in there but.........


Jessie

[thornbirdskkk]

I have experienced seperation anxiety with my 12 year old lab.golden retriever mix, he has destroyed my wall to wall carpet in my bedroom to the point of shredding it right down to the bare sub floor!! Then proceeded to scratch and tear apart my box spring!!! It is terrible!! My vet gave me ACE!! Don't ever give that to a dog! It was horrible. I gave him one pill and he couldn't even stand up straight , it was like looking at the pictures of the cows with mad cow disease!! I felt horribe, I can't even imagine what he must of thought was happening to him. I'm looking for the same advice. I have never crated either of my dogs, so that is out of the question for me. Good luck to her, it's horrible.

[jessieholsinger]

I started having that problem with Stealth when he was younger. He is in his kennel during the day and sleeps with us at night.........but while he was in the kennel while we were home we really did not talk to him and acknowledge him because it would allow him a way out and we just let him bark and when he was good either sitting in the kennel or even laying down we would allow him back out and give him a treat and even when we got him to go into the kennel we would give him a treat......now all we do is Stealth Kennel as a command and he goes in there and lays down! I have his kennel set up in the living room and turn the tv on to cartoons for him so that way he knows what is going on at all times....and he is really happy and the only time he freaks out with me is when i clean and he knows we are home.......I know some say that the kennel is cruel however if you get a big enough one and you help them to know it is okay they will start treating it like a safe house.......I know Stealth now goes in his kennel to take naps on weekends and when were are home at night and he even goes in there during thunderstorms.......

The problem i have with giving my friend advise on the 2 dogs is the fact they do not allow them in the main part of the house......

[thornbirdskkk]

I don't understand that. I have a friend that bought a dog and keeps it outside all the time, never allowed in the house. What is the point of having a dog if you can't enjoy them in your home to make them part of your home! I love having my dogs in the house, they are like my kids. except for that dog smell on these humid days, but nothing a good rug shampooing, a couple candles burning can't handle.

[jessieholsinger]

I don't understand that either.......I could not have it anyother way. when we watch movies Stealth is either laying on my lap or on the recliner with my husband.......

[courtnek]

seperation anxietycan be trained out, but it takes time and patience.

you'd need to do this on a 4-5 day time off schedule, cuz it needs to be done every day without fail.

put up/away everything you dont want destroyed, first off.

then...say goodbye to the dog, but thats IT...no fuss, no hugs, nothing.
just goodbye, see ya later...

leave the house. come back in 3 minutes later. again, no fuss. just hi! how was your day? make the dog sit and then treat.

15 minutes later, do it again. and again. and again. once you've said goodbye, DONT turn around and look back at the dog. goodbye is it.
upon re-entering, sit and treat. keep extending the times you are away by 5 minutes at a time. then into day 2 of the procedure, leave things that you dont mind being destroyed (old pillows, whatever) and practice some more. keep extending the absense time. if something gets destroyed, immediately pick it up, show it to the dog and say "bad dog"
this is not the same as housebreaking. they know they shouldnt destroy stuff, and its not necessary to do so. make sure while you are gone there is a safe chew toy there. after the bad dog, look away and dont greet or say anything else. ignore him completely. 5 minutes later call him to you and give him an acceptable chew toy, and praise him when he takes it and chews on it.

then do another round of obedience training, and treating. you are both teaching him that destruction is bad, obedience is good, and he will enjpy the attention and the treats fromproper behavior. as you extend the time, you get him used to the idea that you are always coming back. this is actually a three-for-all...they are learning three different things with one lesson. now this is IMPORTANT. make absolutely certain what you say when you leave and what you say when you return is the same EVERY TIME. upon hearing those words, he will eventually learn that leaving doesnt mean gone for good. with acceptable chew toys and this training, he will get accustomed to your being gone.

now please dont get upset, but most dogs suffer SA because they are TOO attached to us, which means he's getting way more attention and is higher up in the pack level then he should be. with an adopted abused dog this is very common. no one has ever been this nice to them before.

dont reassure when afraid. dont intervene for every little thing. try to remember, hard as it is, that this is a dog, not a person, and they dont respond to the same reassurances and comforting that people do.

if I can help, let me know.

8)

p.s. when gone, leave the tv/radio on. the sound often soothes...

[JackieMaya]

I've never had a dog with separation anxiety, but I agree with Court about saying the same thing every time when you leave and when you come back. I've always done that with all of my dogs.

One time when I had to leave Jackie and Maya at the kennel, they took Maya back first, and then when they went to take Jackie back, she didn't want to leave me and was whining and pulling back on the leash. Then I said "Jackie, I have to go to work now," and turned and walked out of her line of sight. Then she was okay and walked right back with them and was fine, because that's what I always say when I leave to go to work.

Everytime I leave for work, I always say "I have to go to work now," and they know that I'll be gone for about 8-9 hours.

If I'm just going to the store or something like that, I say "I won't be gone very long." Then they hang around in the living room and know that I'll be back in a few hours. Those are the two things I say when I leave.

And every time I come home, when I open the door (this is kind of silly), I say "Who's there? Oh, it's Jackie, Maya and Pooh Bear." And if Jackie has something in her mouth (which is 95% of the time when I come home), I say "Look at what Jackie has!" and she gets all wiggly and silly.

So my kids are used to my good-byes and hellos and I think it's a comfort to them to hear the same things and know what they mean.

I always wave hello and good-bye to my pups when they're in the window too (I'm sure my neighbors think I'm nuts), but I don't know if that would be the best thing for a dog with separation anxiety or not.

I also leave a t.v. on when I'm gone (usually on Animal Planet).

[thornbirdskkk]

Is it true that dogs have no sense of time?

[JackieMaya]

[quote name='thornbirdskkk']Is it true that dogs have no sense of time?[/quote]

It sure doesn't seem like it! Sometimes I'll walk out the door and realize I forgot something. When I go back in, it's as if I've been gone for hours! They're just as excited as if I had been gone to work all evening.

[pyrless]

i always wonder about their sense of time, too. Mine sleep all day and when I come home after nine hours half the time they are stretching and yawning (lucky bastards! :D ). So I wonder if they think I just left?

[courtnek]

thats been debated for a long time. this is my theory....

they are more in tune with what is going on around them then we are....

sound. scent. light....

I think that they hear/smell/sense things we dont. When I was in school my mom said my dog would lay down in the foyer 15 minutes before I came home M-F, but never did it on the weekends. I think he could hear the bus, which makes distinctive sounds, when it was far away from the house. I got proof of this when my X used to take my son for rides on the Harley. I could hear the Harley when it was 3 blocks away,I believe Free could hear it sooner.

mine will head for the back door 5 minutes before I get home. I believe they know the sound of my car engine. If I get a ride home from someone else they miss it.

just my take...

8)

[Guest Anonymous]

this problem has gotten way to far with kiani. Our apartment is small, so there's not much room she can go in. Plus I have to keep her tied to the shelving unit next to the door (which is about 15ft long, which is plenty long to get anywhere she can be) or else she run out the door and then it's a game of chase.
I guess I was unaware of it. But now she wimpers, whines, & scratches at the door constantly. I can hear her when I'm sitting in the car. If I leave her in the car for whatever reason, she's supposed to stay in the backseat, but she jumps up front and sticks her head out the window and starts howling. I drive with the windows down all the time, so I know when it's too hot to take her with me. most the time though I try to leave her with my mom, and she sits in front of the door and whimpers the entire time I'm gone. No matter what my mom tries to do to distract her. I buy treats for her all the time, greenies, flossies, all sorts of the merricks dog bones, and whatever else looks interesting. She shows intrest in them at the pet store, but the minute I take her home, it's a couple sniff and nothing else. If I buy her the same treat twice, like greenies (which she did like) she doesn't eat it. And if it's a bone or something that has holes in it, I put some easy cheese in it to entise her. But nothing works. She doesn't even like kongs. I have to knock everything to the edge for her to lick it out. I'm trying everything. Even yummy people food from my plate doesn't entice her to dig it out.
I want to take her with me because I feel like I have the best chance to give her the most exercise possible. If I leave her at home, we generally don't get home until late. Like today, Kari opened HD (which is 6am) now we're visiting her parents house, and we probably won't get home till 11pm. Which isn't fair for her. I don't know about you, but I can't hold pee in for 16-17 hrs a day.
I try correcting her when it comes to the car, but she knows to jump back into the backseat when she sees me coming toward the car or else she gets yelled at. Occasionally I let her sit up front because the back is too cluttered or forwhatever reason. But I only want up front to be when it has to be.

lately, I've just been getting way too frustrated with her. She doesn't seem to listen to me at all. And follows me like a shadow at my mom's. In public, she tries to pull me in any direction possible. One time she did it so hard that she litteraly ran out in front of a car and almost got hit. I don't want to take her out any more, but I have to.

I want to do obedience class, but it's too expensive when you have no money. And everytime I try to give her commands, she comes out of it when I say "good girl". And treats, forget it, she doesn't like anything beside my slim jim... Which is ALL MINE.