My Dog Suffers From Separation Anxiety, We Need Help!?
Question by chesh: My dog suffers from Separation Anxiety, we need help!?
I have a four year old greyhound that we rescued just about a year ago. We were told he had a small seperation anxiety problem. That ended up being far from the truth. Mom and I cannot leave him home alone at all. Not even for five minutes. He knows how to collapse crates and worse of all he knows how to breaks windows. He has broken out of a car window and broke a window in our house. My mom and I are at wits ends, we refuse to give him up for he is our family.
we have also tried to whole ignoring thing but it just never worked with him. We have also tried medical treatment. So pretty much one of us has to stay home with him or he has to come with us. Is there anyone that can help?
So, a behavorist would go down to the very bottom of the issue? Like figure what is making him go all wonky in the head? Oh and also if just one of us leaves the house he will do the whole whinning and pacing behavior.
We do have a corgi living with us but he has own domiance (sp?) issues that we are currently working on (he has come a long way in a month).
One last question, how much would a behaviorist run on average?
Oh and we have used Rescue Remedy. We gave him three times the dose he needed and it seemed to make things worse acctually. Even bendryl did not work. Nor the meds the vet gave him.
Best answer:
Answer by Kedge
If you’ve tryed everything and failed but you dont want to give him up you have three options-
Get him a mate (may or may not work)
Get him a babysitter (although you cant have a babysitter on call 24/7 so that might not always work)
Hire a dog behaviourist (they’ll get to the source of the problem, probably your best bet)
Good luck!!!!!
Answer by pierced_chick123
I have an excellent site for you I’ll post what they suggest and leave you the link as well
Try to make your arrivals and departures very boring and low-key. Don’t make a big fuss over saying hello and goodbye. Be very casual and up-beat.
Try to make interactions with your dog on your terms, not his. You pet him, treat him, or play with him when you want, and not when he asks for it.
Get your dog used to your getting-ready-to-leave cues, like picking up keys and jacket. Go through these actions repeatedly during the time when you’re staying home, without actually leaving. If your dog has already learned to associate his fears with your departure cues, it will take a lot of repetitions before the dog will get it.
Give your dog more exercise. A tired dog is a good dog! A dog can sleep most of the day if he’s tired enough. Most young dogs could use 20-100 minutes of full-speed running per day. Increase your dog’s exercise. Don’t forget mental exercise, like training, exploring new places, encountering new smells, and social interaction with other dogs. Taking your dog to a park where he can run and play with others may be crucial. (Find dog parks around San Jose here.)
Give your dog something to do while you’re gone! What does your dog do all day- wait around for you to come home? Give your dog a hobby. Jean Donaldson calls the solution to a lot of dog problems “work-to-eat” programs. Stuff a Kong or a hollow prepared bone, fill up a Buster Cube or Roll-A-Treat, scatter the dog’s food in the grass or hide several chew treats around the house (see the Merchandise page for a description of some of these items). A dog that is working for goodies is not barking or chewing, and a dog that is eating is not as stressed!
Don’t draw attention to forbidden objects just before leaving – in other words, don’t straighten up or point out the items that you don’t want the dog to chew. Your dog might misinterpret your attention and give those objects his attention just because of it. In a similar way, punishing your dog afterwards for destruction he’s done will probably not help – it will not reduce your dog’s anxiety, show him a better way to deal with it, or give him an alternative behavior. He might not even connect the punishment with the action he did to cause the destruction. (Don’t confuse a dog’s “appeasement display”, developed to stop threats of aggression, with a “guilty look” that implies a promise that your dog won’t do it again. See the Body Language pages for more information.)
Consider crating your dog. Some dogs are more comfortable when confined to a small “den”. Make sure your dog can “hold it” for as long as you need him to, and provide plenty of exercise so that his main activity in the crate is sleeping. You might just want to consider leaving your dog in one room (rather than giving him the run of the house), and maybe leaving a radio on and an article of clothing that smells like you in the next room. Warning: Some dogs are a lot less comfortable confined to a crate when alone. Make sure your dog is comfortable and secure.
Consider taking your dog to doggie daycare or to a friend’s house (or to work or on errands with you), so that he is not actually alone, while you train your dog to deal with being alone. Remember, dogs are pack animals that want to be with others; being a “lone wolf” can be dangerous in the wild, as well as lonely. Note that for many dogs who have bonded strongly with people, having another dog (or other pet) around will not be sufficient.
If you have serious separation anxiety…
Serious separation anxiety is indicated by a dog who does major property damage (chews holes through walls), injures himself in his anxiety (scratches or rubs paws or nose raw in digging or chewing), or stresses himself to the point of exhaustion during your absence. While stop-gap measures, like keeping the dog with you or with another person, will help while you train, you will need to spend a lot of time teaching this type of dog that he can survive being alone.
Start by making sure your dog is getting enough exercise, including mental exercise (usually satisfied with some training and the chance to interact with other dogs or explore new places). Before you can retrain your dog (and it may take weeks or longer), arrange for the dog to not be alone – get a pet sitter, join a doggy daycare, or leave your dog with a friend who’s home all day.
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