Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

I need help with my dog's separation anxiety

Collapse
X
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • I need help with my dog's separation anxiety

    Help! I have an 11 month old male dane. I can't leave him home alone and even when I leave him with someone in the house, he freaks out when I'm not around. He cries,paces, and tries to escape out of windows. I love him but this is becoming a big issue,family doesn't want to doggysit and want me to get rid of him. Anyone with suggestions on how to treat his separation anxiety????

  • #2
    first off, please dont just "get rid of him" that is not a solution to the problem and would be very unfair to him. Do you crate him if there is no one to dogsit for you? Does he get a kong or other treat filled toy to occupy him when you leave? Have you tried stepping out for a minute (literally) then going back inside and gradually increase the time your gone in small increments? Have you cunsulted with a behaviorist to get some help? Has he always been this way or is it a sudden onset of anxiety?
    I went through a pretty severe case of separation anxiety with my girl, it started when we moved to a different apartment. She was in a new place, left by herself while I was at work. It lasted months and I went through a few couches. I give her three kongs every day when I leave to keep her occupied longer and Inow have Nala to keep her company. She is totally fine now. You have to address this with sincerity because he is not doing it on purpose.
    ~Kelsey, mom to~
    Kumah-merle Great Dane 4 years
    Nala-fawn Great Dane 2 months
    Cece- Calico 4 years
    Sammy- Black Domestic Long Hair 3 years
    Tyke- 4 months

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by SolGarcia View Post
      Help! I have an 11 month old male dane. I can't leave him home alone and even when I leave him with someone in the house, he freaks out when I'm not around. He cries,paces, and tries to escape out of windows. I love him but this is becoming a big issue,family doesn't want to doggysit and want me to get rid of him. Anyone with suggestions on how to treat his separation anxiety????
      You might try giving him a shirt you've been wearing when you leave. If he has a bit of clothing that smells like you, it may help keep him calm.
      Also, if you can, taking him out for a long walk or play session before leaving might help too. Give him a chance to get out as much energy as possible before you leave.
      My Diego actually just ripped off a piece of doorway trim while I was at work last night, so I'll be following the responses here too. I agree with the other reply that getting them used to alone time in small increments would probably work best.

      Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

      Comment


      • #4
        If you are anxious while getting ready to leave, then he will read your anxiety and he will also become anxious. If you also do the same routine getting ready to leave ... pick up the car keys from the same table ... turn off lights and lock doors in the same order, then he already knows you are leaving an he will start to stress. IF YOU SAY GOODBYE AND TELL HIM YOU LOVE HIM as you are leaving and looking worried as you are saying it, then he knows you are leaving and he will start to stress. Try mixing it up. Just walk out the door. Then return in 2 or 3 minutes and ignore him. Act like it is a "non-issue". You don't have to give kisses and say goodbye. You don't have to have a big hello either. That's for our benefit, not theirs. Just practice quietly leaving and returning like it's no big thing, 2 min, then 12, then out and back in again, then 10, then 2min, then 30 ... you get the picture; throughout the day or week, not all in a row. Eventually he won't know if you are leaving for 2minutes, or 2 hours .... but he learns that you will always return. Like the other poster said, drain his energy with exercise or play first. A tired dog is usually a better behaved dog.
        sigpicCelle: 7/1/14, my current problem child
        Chance: 9/3/05, the stray kitten that Jena brought home
        Jena: 6/2/99 - 10/6/09 R.l.P. my heart dog (merle GD)

        Comment


        • #5
          First and foremost, WEAR HIM OUT before you leave. My Fergus has pretty bad SA, and for the longest time being utterly exhausted was the only thing that kept him from totally spazzing when I left. Next I suggest finding a behaviorist in your area. Desensitizing is not always the solution, depending on the type of anxiety. I've been dealing with a behaviorist in an attempt to get Ferg's anxiety under control with less medication. We had a good long discussion about how they address different types of anxiety. You might even talk to your vet about some meds if he is really bad. We (my vet, Ferg, and I) have been through several meds. Initially we tried buspar which didn't work, then xanax which made him less anxious but manic. He was on clomicalm (clomepramizine) for nearly a year but it recently started to lose effectiveness (and was god awful expensive) so she switched him to fluoxetine (prozac). We are still in the process of weaning off the clomicalm and onto the prozac, but it LOOKS like he is responding well to it, and is once again calm when I leave him at home.

          Another thing to consider is another pet. Maybe not a dog, because one dog could likely teach another some nasty habits, then you'd have 2 freaking out when you left, but a cat? Any companionship might help. Fergus does infinitely better when he is left with our other Dane. We call our Eisen Shark "Ferg's emotional support shark" lol. That option is most certainly something I would discuss with a qualified behaviorist first though. Sorry for the novel!
          sigpic
          Fergus
          SC Dinnie Stone Guardian, CGC
          Eisen Shark
          C Shadows On The Sun, CGC

          Comment


          • #6
            I would contact a certified veterinary behaviorist. Your normal vet probably knows of one in your area or you can look up one in the online directory. http://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org...-directory.php

            A behaviorist is not a "trainer". They are a vet who specialized in animal behavior in vet school. These people are the best at dealing with serious behavioral problems.

            You can also help by reading the book "Don't leave me!" by Nicole Wilde and "I'll be home soon" by Patricia McConnell.

            You can also look into D.A.P. emitters. I recommend the one that is like a glade plug in for maximum effectiveness. And, as others have said, make sure your dog is getting enough exercise.

            The easy solution is always "just get rid of him". People who are not animal advocates will tell you this. Don't listen to them. When you got a dog you signed a contract with that dog to be there for them no matter what. Don't give up.
            sigpic

            Comment


            • #7
              If you haven't tried kenneling, which your post seems to indicate you haven't based on your description of the problem, YOU SHOULD DO THIS IMMEDIATELY. Good dog owners kennel their dogs when they can't be around, (usually until the dog is good and grown up, trained, and settled into the routine and rules of the house..) BAD DOG OWNERS THINK KENNELS ARE EVIL CRUEL CAGES AND BECAUSE THEY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND WORK WITH DOGS' GENETIC MAKEUP, SHOULD NOT HAVE DOGS.

              A kennel is the dog's den, and it should be just the right size for them to stand and turn around and have a good cushion , especially for danes with their bony joints. (I prefer the folding wire type with the slide out metal tray. My girl has a 4" high density foam pad covered with cotton duck cloth, both from Joann Fabrics, along with a small no-sew fleece blanket in hers - COMFY!!) Dogs are naturally denning animals, and if your dog doesn't have a den of course he is anxious when you go away. The kennel may even need to have a cover or visual block to help him feel secure. Ideally it should be placed in the home where the dog can see the majority of family activity at least at first.

              This is the first thing you should try, before you try ANY of the other suggestions. Put his food by the open door to introduce it, next meal is just inside the door, do the same with the water (secured to the side to prevent spills, I made a wire bracket from a hanger for my bucket.) Once he goes in to eat comfortably, shut the door for a few minutes at a time, while you are there. Use treats and train him to "kennel" or "crate" when you tell him to. Start going out the front door for a few minutes and coming back. Use lots of treats, but DO NOT REWARD FUSSING IN THE KENNEL. This whole process should take a weekend, just be sure he has someone to let him out every 4 hours at most for the first week, and please please never kennel more than about 8 hours at a time MAXIMUM, 6 is a good adult routine limit. Once he understands that the kennel is his own personal safe space, he won't fuss and will probably eventually go in there on his own when he sees you getting ready to leave or go to bed, or when he wants to chill out when you are home even. Your problem will be solved with this simple investment, and your home will suffer much less destruction.

              Comment


              • #8
                Lucy had bad separation anxiety. The suggestion of the rescue was to get her a crate, and crate her EVERY SINGLE TIME WE LEFT. For her safety and security, as well as our home's.
                Lucy hated the crate initially. We don't know her history, so maybe she was crated a lot, maybe she'd never used one, who knows? But she hated it. So we spent a few weeks recreating a positive association with the crate. She doesn't play, but she LOVES to be petted and groomed. So I'd go in the crate, call her to me, and just pet or groom her for a few minutes, and slowly increased the time we spent in there. Then I sat outside her crate and just petted her, increasing the time she spent in the crate. Then I closed and locked the door, and left the room, but stayed in her line of sight. Then left her line of sight. Then left the house. All in increasing time increments (once we hit 15 minutes without her panicking, I moved on to the next step- as Econista said, we never rewarded whining). Once I left the house, I started leaving her something to chew on in the crate to help her ease any anxiety, as that seems to be all she enjoys. We did this at the advice of our vet- to make the crate a positive place for her, vs a punishment. He also suggested and prescribed Xanax initially, which helped. We gave it to her 4 times, an hour before we left, and between that and our training, she seemed to adapt to the crate just fine. She doesn't use it much when it's just us at home, but when too many kids are here and she's uncomfortable, she will use it on her own, and she goes into it willingly when I call her to it. I don't think she'll ever love it, but she accepts it and does okay with it. We are hoping that EVENTUALLY, we'll be able to leave her loose in the house when we leave, especially for short periods of time.

                We are also big fans of not reacting to her. If she gets excited when we get home, we let her outside to play and run around as doggies do. But we don't really greet her when we come home, other than to let her out. We don't act sad or worried when crating her, just keep it matter of fact. We are currently working with a trainer, not a behaviorist as I thought he was (my bad for misreading which guy we were signing up with), but that also seems to be helping her out some. She's learning to trust me, and to trust my judgement. The trainer is a BIG advocate of positive reinforcement and counter conditioning- making the experiences that she's nervous of a good thing. Like giving her a treat when she walks past the grill (for some reason, she's terrified of it), or petting her during a thunderstorm (without babying her- just giving the thunderstorm a positive connotation- it thunders, I get petted, thunder must not be so bad!). He loved what we did with the crate, especially since she isn't into treats, that we had to find her commerce and be patient with it.

                You will find a way to work with your dog. Be patient, and look into all the ideas suggested here. Talk to your vet- ours was INVALUABLE about how to help with her anxiety. Lucy is a rescue, but your breeder should be able to give you some tips and tricks, too.
                sigpic
                Lucy, rescued 5/16/15
                Egon 1/7/07-3/22/14- loved and missed

                Comment

                Working...
                X