Separation anxiety in Dogs

[sooz22]

Thanks for the advice....we are going to look at 'Poppy' today and we know she frets a bit but dont know how bad it is...so would like to be prepared.

[Freebie]

I am doing a dog behaviour course at the moment, don't know if my gibberings will help but I have read recently that seperation anxiety in some dogs is not because they miss you or pine for your company - it is because they believe they think they are in charge of you and panic when you vanish or leave them in the same way a mother would panic whilst losing a young toddler in meadowhall. Jan Fennels "amichien bonding" (in the dog listener) tells of a four/five step routine which puts your dog back in a subordinate role in the household. This apparently makes a happier and more stable dog. Not tried it personally but I work in a rescue and I know people that have used it and it seems to work. May be worth a try anyway as they are not nasty methods and might help.

[Strix]

Ah, Sooz - that means sitting on knees is going to have to stop! Whilst humans regard it as a 'nurture' position, therefore perceive the dog in a subordinate roll, there is no equivalent position for a dog family, so sitting on knees is an elevation in the pack

 

I managed to pretty much cure King of his separation anxiety in the 8 days we had him, but we had to be cruel to be kind. But he got squeally if he didn't have physical contact with you. Every time he kicked off making a noise he was 'excluded' and as soon as he was quiet he was 'returned to the pack'. In practice this meant that we had a baby gate fitted such that the door could still close - so standing by the door opening and closing it rather than lugging the dog in and out

 

The same principle was applied using a cage and a blanket

 

Poppy is no where near as much of a problem in this respect, so she won't need such drastic measures

 

Can you post some specifics about what kicks her off when you've had her a couple of days?

[Adz]

I second what Strix has said we have used the baby gate, crate and blanket/mat on the floor as well as little contact, time out and no sofa or bed unless invited on.

In 3 weeks Ruby now goes through the night in a crate downstairs on her own, can cope without us in the room, does not follow me everywhere can be left for up to 4 hours without messing in her dog crate while we are out.

When she first came it was terrible literally you could not shut a door behind without her weeing or poohing straight away and the same with the crate soiling as soon as she was put in it. she now gets in the crate by choice and even takes her toys in it for a nap. I think that now she knows she can be without us and cope things have improved. We also get ready to go out and then sit quietly ignoring the dogs for 20 mins we then get up and leave without saying anything. Apparantly by waiting 20 mins you are with them during the destructive period when they become distressed. You being there by passes it they know you are going but are calm by the time you leave. since doing this we have had no mess. We also don't greet our dogs when we come in we wait until they are quiet and about 10 mins later we call them to us for a fuss again this seems to help, us coming home is not a big deal just a part of everyday life.

 

Oh and we have a dap and my mum swears by them for her dogs, one of them sits in front of it when he is feeling stressed and it definately seems to help him

[sooz22]

Ok Poppys first night was a disaster....we put her in her cage and shut the cage in the hall and shut our bedroom door.

 

All night all we had was constant whining ascending to yapping and then descending to whimpering. i think i got about two hours sleep, she never stopped.

 

Last night and the night before we placed her in her cage (she knows 'bed') with a tshirt of Phils and my Tracksuit bottoms. We left the bedroom door open but the cage still n the hall with the door open. she came to check n us about foru times but was sent back to bed each time. No whimpering at all and she came in the room at about 8 and was alowed to stay until we got up.

 

However leaving her home alone is a different matter....she whimpers and whines and howls.....

[Greenlady]

I can recommened a book called "The Dog Lisenter" by Jan Fennel.

She is really good and her techniques are clear and easy to understand. she also explains what the dog is thinking and how it sees the environment around it.

[Lotti]

Aw sooz...

 

She's a lovely dog Takara was a bit frightened of her though

 

freebie - yes, in some dogs that is the case but Poppy is pretty subordinate from what I saw of her the other day and as she doesn't know sooz and Phill all that well I'd be surprised if she felt responsible for them already...

[sooz22]

Well some people have commented on how attatched she is to us already...she is very responsive to our commands and dosnt stray far from us at all.

 

Apart from the whining she is an absolute gem, so well behaved, great with every other living thing and ultra affectionate. We are going to try leaving her for small periods of time. Should she be in the crate for these? It has also been sugested that we leave her a stuffed toy?

[sooz22]

heres my gorgeous girl

 

[Lotti]

sooz - what do you mean by a stuffed toy? A stuffed kong is a good idea, if she's anything like Takara a stuffed cuddly will be very skinny when you get back and there will be wadding everywhere!

 

I would put her in a crate - just because if it's only a short period of time, she'll learn to just sleep when you're out anyway and you don't want to get back to a chewed wall or find she's damaged herself somehow whilst worrying. If you leave her a stuffed kong, then if she doesn't go to sleep, she can work at that instead of worrying about where you are