Anyone have a dog with separation anxiety?

Macdaddy4738

Macdaddy4738

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2005
Relatively new development with mine, and its gotten bad fast.

She has destroyed everything in her kennel, and has removed 4 of the bars on the front door. She was never like this previously.

She is in the kennel from around 8 am till 1 pm, has about an hour out side of it, then back to the kennel from 2 till 5. Honestly that's not bad considering some dogs are in there for 12 hours or more.

What do I do to fix this? Leaving her outside is not an option, and letting her roam around the house results in destruction as well.
 
Mom has found a herbal sub for meds for my shutz. I will see what it is and post up. Couple of drops on her water bowl. The vet said it was very safe...
 
Our dog has this. Although she is not crated during the day when we are not there. She literally gets sad when we leave. When she sees us getting ready...she lays in the floor with her head down and whines. She does not tear things up though, we make sure she has LOTS of toys to chew on and play with. My advice is to train her. This is what we did with our pit. She was a little destructive at first, but we just learned to put everything up and if she did anything bad, she would get yelled at and put in her kennel as punishment. After a couple of times, she was cured. She still to this day hasn't ONCE destroyed anything that wasn't her toy. You gotta understand that dogs get really bored and usually the only thing that takes away from that is getting into mischief.
Just work with her and it will be get better.
 
Macdaddy4738 said:
Relatively new development with mine, and its gotten bad fast.

She has destroyed everything in her kennel, and has removed 4 of the bars on the front door. She was never like this previously.

She is in the kennel from around 8 am till 1 pm, has about an hour out side of it, then back to the kennel from 2 till 5. Honestly that's not bad considering some dogs are in there for 12 hours or more.

What do I do to fix this? Leaving her outside is not an option, and letting her roam around the house results in destruction as well.
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could you spend that much time locked up in a small box without some mental problems.we don't even do that to crimnals for murder. just can't understand how any one can do this to a animal.
 
  • Don't make a big deal out of arrivals and departures. For example, when you arrive home, ignore your dog for the first few minutes then calmly pet him.
    Leave your dog with an article of clothing that smells like you, such as an old T-shirt that you've slept in recently.
  • Establish a safety cue—a word or action that you use every time you leave that tells your dog you'll be back.
  • Consider using an over-the-counter calming product that may reduce fearfulness in dogs.
Create a "safe place" to limit your dog's ability to be destructive. A safe place should:
  • Confine loosely rather than strictly (a room with a window and distractions rather than total isolation)
  • Contain busy toys for distraction
 
Best thing to do is suck it up and buy an outside kennel...
 
witchdoctor said:
could you spend that much time locked up in a small box without some mental problems.we don't even do that to crimnals for murder. just can't understand how any one can do this to a animal.
Click to expand...
I totally understand your point, but sometimes leaving animals out spells disaster. But I agree, even if you can confine them to one room or block off certain spots of the house. Being in a kennel probably sucks....My brother in law breeds pits and they are all stuck in Kennels all the time, although they go out in the back yard alot to exercise, I still hate to see it. But with him having 6 of them, it would be crazy to let them all run amuck through the house.
 
Your recent move and change in her schedule are likely what's caused the change in behavior. Exercise her by taking her on regular walks every day. Just being outside isn't enough for most dogs, they need the mental stimulation as much as the physical expenditure of energy to keep them calm and better behaved.

We had this problem, but found out that Java had been kept like a hamster for about six months before she was rehomed by the rescue... will never understand why they adopted a puppy out to a family with small children in the first place. Anyway, we got her at 8 months old and were told she was "crate trained." She chewed the bars off a wire crate. We did everything Redleg87 says in his first reply... limited her to a couple of rooms with only her own toys and access to windows. It helped a lot, but she would still sometimes pee by the door and would chew anything accidentally left out. Honestly what fixed her was getting Porter but that RARELY WORKS. The two of them still will occasionally tear up something (the dogs have literally eaten 'homework') accidentally left out.

I'm home on maternity leave, but when I am working they get a mile-long walk at lunch and at least another mile (usually 2 or 2.5) in the evenings. Right now, they usually get time in the yard throwing balls and sticks a couple of times during the day and then at least a mile or 1.5-mile walk in the evenings.
 
Redleg87 said:
  • Don't make a big deal out of arrivals and departures. For example, when you arrive home, ignore your dog for the first few minutes then calmly pet him.
    Leave your dog with an article of clothing that smells like you, such as an old T-shirt that you've slept in recently.
  • Establish a safety cue—a word or action that you use every time you leave that tells your dog you'll be back.
  • Consider using an over-the-counter calming product that may reduce fearfulness in dogs.
Create a "safe place" to limit your dog's ability to be destructive. A safe place should:

  • Confine loosely rather than strictly (a room with a window and distractions rather than total isolation)
  • Contain busy toys for distraction
Click to expand...

this works
 
Also, when you leave.. if the dog starts flipping out.. don't walk back in. When you leave.. LEAVE. It only further agitates the dog. my buddy had a dog that would flip the @#$K out when he left.. howling..shitting.. etc.. When you leave.. just leave...
 
I've dealt quite a bit with that dog that had extreme anxiety. PM me if you want some more tips...
 
Pack animals..... If you are the leader of the pack, when you leave the dog knows you are in charge & will be back. If the dog is the leader of the pack, the dog is worried when you leave with out his permission. Study up on how dogs behave & treat like a dog. Treating dogs like humans will not work as they only know how to be dogs. :)
 
Ours used to have this. What we did to get rid of it recommended by some trainers we know:

- don't make coming/going a big deal.
- put the kennel in a room where they can see around/out
- put them in the kennel, & leave like normal, then come back a few minutes later. Keep doing this extending the time your gone each time. It confirms for them that you will be coming back.
- keep them on a schedule
- let then get plenty of exercise
 
Well I got home from lunch today and she had escaped the kennel. I knew it was only a matter of time, figured it would probably be next week.

She seemed fine. She didn't flip out when she saw me like she does when I come home and she is actually in the kennel. I dunno if thats because she knew she did something bad, or just because her real reason for flipping out was being confined.

I guess I'll close off portions of the house I dont want her in, and see if that changes anything.
 
My boy had separation anxiety bad. What I did to cure it took a whole weekend but it worked great. Got up early on a Saturday & took him for a walk. Came home from the walk & fed him. After he ate I told him to "watch the house" then walked out the door & went to the side of the garage so he couldn't see me. I stayed out there for 5 minutes then came back in the house. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to him when I came back in. After about 5 minutes in the house I told him to watch the house and went outside again, but this time for 10 minutes. I did this all day on Saturday & kept doubling the time I was outside. If he got excited & ate something or tore something up I'd start back over. Did the same thing on Sunday starting where we left off on Saturday. By the end of the weekend he got to the point where he understood that when I left, I'd be back. Took all weekend but worked like a charm. My neighbors thought I was nuts hanging out by the side of my garage all weekend. :)
 
I honestly think, for some dogs, the crate is like being cornered... they have no means of knowing what is out there and no means of "escape."
 
trailhugger said:
I honestly think, for some dogs, the crate is like being cornered... they have no means of knowing what is out there and no means of "escape."
Click to expand...

Well the thing was she was fine in it for a year or so, no issues no matter how long she was in it. Now she flips out.
 
It depends on the dog, some are fine in the crate. I still think your issues have a lot to do with moving and your schedule changing, too.
 
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