seperation anxiety

[RustyG 0]

i got my dog, and it turns out i am about the 3rd or 4th owner, i think he was with the rpsca for a while as well, he is well over a year now and is not kennaled. He is very well behaved and seems quite emotionaly balenced, but whenever i leave his sight he starts whinning, he doesnt seem to stop (or so my work mates say), just gets louder and more high pitched. Recently tho he has been getting so worked up that he has started throwing up, he has also started to destroy things (car seats etc) i have tried a radio, bones toys etc nothin seems to work, he doesnt even touch toys or treats that i leave him. I reacon it is because he was mistreated as a puppy (hence the RSPCA gettin involved) I need to sort it out, as i cant take him on site with me any more and he has to stay at my yard whilst i am out, but he is realy pissin off all the staff in the office and yard.

Does any one have any ideas?

Thanks

RustyG

Edited June 3, 2009 by RustyG

[farmer 1 0]

i got my dog, and it turns out i am about the 3rd or 4th owner, i think he was with the rpsca for a while as well, he is well over a year now and is not kennaled. He is very well behaved and seems quite emotionaly balenced, but whenever i leave his sight he starts whinning, he doesnt seem to stop (or so my work mates say), just gets louder and more high pitched. Recently tho he has been getting so worked up that he has started throwing up, he has also started to destroy things (car seats etc) i have tried a radio, bones toys etc nothin seems to work, he doesnt even touch toys or treats that i leave him. I reacon it is because he was mistreated as a puppy (hence the RSPCA gettin involved) I need to sort it out, as i cant take him on site with me any more and he has to stay at my yard whilst i am out, but he is realy pissin off all the staff in the office and yard.

Does any one have any ideas?

Thanks

RustyG

hi mate i have a dog with same problem as soon as he is on his own he smashes the run to bits . i have even tryed a bark collar, the thing that seems too work for him is a nother dog as company. as soon as i take the pup out he goes mad . could you borrow a mates dog too try and see if it helps .all best farmer

[farmer 1 0]

i got my dog, and it turns out i am about the 3rd or 4th owner, i think he was with the rpsca for a while as well, he is well over a year now and is not kennaled. He is very well behaved and seems quite emotionaly balenced, but whenever i leave his sight he starts whinning, he doesnt seem to stop (or so my work mates say), just gets louder and more high pitched. Recently tho he has been getting so worked up that he has started throwing up, he has also started to destroy things (car seats etc) i have tried a radio, bones toys etc nothin seems to work, he doesnt even touch toys or treats that i leave him. I reacon it is because he was mistreated as a puppy (hence the RSPCA gettin involved) I need to sort it out, as i cant take him on site with me any more and he has to stay at my yard whilst i am out, but he is realy pissin off all the staff in the office and yard.

Does any one have any ideas?

Thanks

RustyG

hi mate i have a dog with same problem as soon as he is on his own he smashes the run to bits . i have even tryed a bark collar, the thing that seems too work for him is a nother dog as company. as soon as i take the pup out he goes mad . could you borrow a mates dog too try and see if it helps .all best farmer

[RustyG 0]

i got my dog, and it turns out i am about the 3rd or 4th owner, i think he was with the rpsca for a while as well, he is well over a year now and is not kennaled. He is very well behaved and seems quite emotionaly balenced, but whenever i leave his sight he starts whinning, he doesnt seem to stop (or so my work mates say), just gets louder and more high pitched. Recently tho he has been getting so worked up that he has started throwing up, he has also started to destroy things (car seats etc) i have tried a radio, bones toys etc nothin seems to work, he doesnt even touch toys or treats that i leave him. I reacon it is because he was mistreated as a puppy (hence the RSPCA gettin involved) I need to sort it out, as i cant take him on site with me any more and he has to stay at my yard whilst i am out, but he is realy pissin off all the staff in the office and yard.

Does any one have any ideas?

Thanks

RustyG

hi mate i have a dog with same problem as soon as he is on his own he smashes the run to bits . i have even tryed a bark collar, the thing that seems too work for him is a nother dog as company. as soon as i take the pup out he goes mad . could you borrow a mates dog too try and see if it helps .all best farmer

 

 

cheers farmer mate, i hav put him with my mates dog when he was a pup, he still used to yelp but not as much, looks like ive got the perfect excuse to get another mut, any one got a bull cross free to a good working home? lol

[amitchell 0]

Hi

I know exactly what you mean.

Mine was the same,though now she is getting better at 16 months - shed also had 4 previous owners by 6 months(!). I ended up buying 2 crates, one for home and one for workshop and REALLY gradually getting her used to them, now she doesnt mind being left for a few hours and cant eat the seats...!

My 1st mistake was to only buy one for the workshop - it only started to work once I had one at home as well, nice and comfy inside and blankets over the top, leave the door open, put some treats inside for him to find and only start shutting it for a few seconds at a time once the dog likes it in there, building up the time, go out the room, come back in etc, etc...also got one of those kong things from pet shop you put food inside which she only gets when she s being shut in...get him used to being shut in and still able to see whats going on at first...

Has taken me a while but I wish Id done it sooner, seemed odd to put a dog in a cage but now I think they re brilliant, I think the theory is if they cant pace around they dont get so stressed...

I also thought about getting another dog but worried that she would set the other one off as well so gonna leave that till Im happy she s a bit more sorted out. Bought one crate off ebay £40 I think then got the second one free off Gumtree.

It all seemed like a massive palava but seems to be doing the trick now, whether thats due to her growing up and realising I will come back sooner or later or the crate Im not sure, but at least the sofa is safe!

Good luck!

[Hannah4181 260]

Ok Seperation Anxiety is a very distressing place for a dog to be in. In the dogs head when you leave him he thinks that the "pack" has abandoned him and in wolf society this would leave him open to attack and danger. The dog creates noise in an attempt to find the pack, when this fails the stress levels rise and the destructive behaviour presents.

 

The good news is that it is relatively easy to overcome, the bad news is it takes hard work an dedication to achieve.

 

 

To start sit in a room with your dog, if he is the sort that needs to be close/touching you then stop this straight away, move away from him everytime he attempts to get close. Don't make any noise or make eye contact when you move, just get up and go.

 

When the dog has settled away from you for 10 mins or more praise him, call him to you, give praise then ignore. The aim of this is to get the dog less attached to you in the house.

 

When you are going to leave the dog, he will have picked up on your worry that he's going to create and will know all the signs that your going to leave. Does he start to get excited/stressed as soon as you reach or your shoes/coat?

 

This next bit is very important. . . . . . . if you want this to work you have to do this properly and consistently.

 

If you need to leave the house at say 4pm, at 3.45pm go and get your coat.shoes etc on then sit in the same room that you would normally leave the dog in when out, read a book, use your phone, do something for 15 mins that is relaxed and does not involve the dog. The aim here is to make your exit no big deal, your going, you'll be back, it's fine. The dog needs to learn that when you leave your relaxed so he'll pick up on your feelings. Throughout the 15 mins resort back to ignoring the dog completely, no eye contact, nothing. You want him laying down, relaxed and chilled when you leave. This wont happen over night and you may need to extend the 15 mins if the dog is really bad.

 

When he's relaxed, get your stuff, get up and go, say nothing, don't look at him just go.

 

Now when you 1st start your training you will need to go out the door and wait the other side of it, it needs to be a solid door that the dog cant see through. Once the door is shut as soon as the dog starts making a noise, kick the door, make it quite loud, it needs to work as a distraction. When you 1st start this you will probably be kicking the door alot, make sure it's strong!! The aim here is to interrupt the dogs distress cries the second he makes them, if done properly, the time between "squeaks, howls, barks" should decrease. When you 1st start this, 5 mins of kicking and interrupting is enough, as soon as you've kicked and 5 mins is up, walk confidently back into the room . . . . TOTALLY IGNORE the dog, go back to reading the paper or whatever you were doing before you left. If the dog attempts to jump up, get attention in anyway, push him down without saying anything, and move yourself away.

Once the dog calms down and goes and settles, leave him 5 mins then call him to you and praise for a short time and then ignore.

 

The exercise above will initially be time consuming and frustrating, it will work but you must do it exactly as i've said or its useless. Try to do this 3/4 times a day if at all possible.

 

The ignoring exercise on your return from leaving the dog is very very important, never make a fuss of him when you get it, all this will do is emphasis that he was right to be so stressed and worried when you left. The dog will learn and will get better, he will slowly realise that when you get home it's not a big deal and you'll praise him when he's calm and relaxed.

 

With the praising always call him to you for praise, never go to him.

 

In the short term obviously you cant allow the dog to wreck things so the idea above of a cage is a good 1, feed him in it and have ample toys and bones etc. If your using the cage when you return, open it but still ignore. When you leave, put him in shut the door, no voice commands, praise anything.

 

This whole process is more a way of life and if the dog has had a very hard time it may be that you have to ignore him when you get in and before you go forever, i ignore mine most times just because it enforces that i am the pack leader.

 

The door kicking exercise should be built upon in terms of time, increase the time and hopefully if the dog responds then the kicking will reduce. Another idea is to fill some coke cans with stones and give them to work friends and neighbours, if the dog starts when your not there, get them to throw 1 at the door, to reinforce that correction. People may think this is over the top but i'm sure the neighbour would rather that than a dog creating for hours on end!

 

I've covered the basics and it will work if you and whoever lives in the house follows it. I'm not saying it's easy but in the long run being a few weeks of hard work is worth it to have a happy, well balanced dog that you can leave alone. You will probably notice when you start this that the dog will appear tired and listless , he may sleep a lot more than normal. This is to be expected, dogs with a bad case of seperation anxiety don't often sleep enough and once they start to relax will be exhausted!

 

I hope this helps, if there is anything else i can do PM me.

[RustyG 0]

thanks a lot every one! i will give these things a try!