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anyone have a problem with a dog with separation anxiety?

anyone have a problem with a dog with separation anxiety?

Old 08-01-2011, 07:05 AM
  #21  
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I have a dachshund who has had a terrible problem ever since I got her as a tiny puppy. She simply cannot be left alone, even for just a few minutes, because she urinates on the carpet in front of the door and also is totally traumatized. I tried shutting her into the kitchen and also crating but she deficated all over the crate and herself. Poor thing. I have tried all of the recommended methods and nothing has helped. I now have to either take her with me everywhere or leave her with my mother. She is definitely a special needs child, in more ways than one, but I adore her. You and the dog have my sympathies. It must be hard for them to be so terrified.
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Old 08-01-2011, 07:05 AM
  #22  
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Originally Posted by gypsyquilter
your in for a long journey, there are no magic or quick fixes - stay way from meds of any kind. Try crate training. start with small increments of time, make the crate a fun and safe place (i.e., start with 10 minutes at a time with a snack - i use kongs that have been filled and frozen with peanut butter. Then move to 20, then 30, then 40, then an hour, then two. always make the crate a safe fun place, not a punishment place. try having your pup sleep in there at night. my two new pups are almost a year old and they still sleep in the crate.

It takes time and lots and lots of patience. good luck!
All of that exactly. Can add one more thing. Leave a radio or CD on. You may want to try different types of music, talk radio, nature sounds - see what works best.
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Old 08-01-2011, 07:07 AM
  #23  
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Our neighbors dog has it, so we keep him at our house most of the time so he is with us or if we are not home he is with our dogs, Jack has to be around the pack all the time, he is also very attached to my husband so if Jack sees my husband and can not get to him he barks and cries....
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Old 08-01-2011, 07:37 AM
  #24  
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We had a dog in Hawaii that was used to going to work everyday with my husband. His family came to visit and we were gone all day site seeing and each day the dog would chew up something. It was a mess. My daughter is going thru this w/her kitten now; except the kitten would pee all over the place. They put her in the kennel a few times and now she's being good. Pets are like kids; same issues and tons of different ways to hopefully fix the problems; it's just figuring out which solution works for that particular one. Good luck
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Old 08-01-2011, 07:51 AM
  #25  
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If you find a cure, please share... my puppy, 'Funny Girl', now 2 yrs. has torn up the linoleum kitchen floor, throw rugs, countless doggie beds, and so-called indestrutible doggie toys...it's no wonder I now call her 'Devil Doggie', but no matter what she does/has done, I still love her and will keep trying to overlook her bad habits...Naomi PS She's only 20-25 lbs. but thinks she's a BIG Dog!!!lol
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Old 08-01-2011, 07:57 AM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by New Quilter
If you find a cure, please share... my puppy, 'Funny Girl', now 2 yrs. has torn up the linoleum kitchen floor, throw rugs, countless doggie beds, and so-called indestrutible doggie toys...it's no wonder I now call her 'Devil Doggie', but no matter what she does/has done, I still love her and will keep trying to overlook her bad habits...Naomi PS She's only 20-25 lbs. but thinks she's a BIG Dog!!!lol
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I feel for all of the pet owners who go thru this. Pets are like kids and no matter what we love them. My son's Akita when he was a puppy was like yours when my son left the house. He tore the blinds off the windows; carpet off of the floor; you name it. My son locked him in the bathroom; the dog got out, tore up the house and went back in the bathroom and closed the door. My son was shocked by his dog and the house when he came home. The dog lives with me now and he's older and really good. The only time he's done the door was when I locked my puppy who was in heat in the bathroom and came home and the Akita (male) was in the bathroom w/her; door closed. Thank goodness I had put her in the kennel in the bathroom or we'd have pups from a 20 lbs eskimo and a 200 lb Akita. I hope you find the key to help your dog.
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Old 08-01-2011, 08:01 AM
  #27  
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My black lab would go crazy and mess all over the house because she was so distraught when left alone. We got her a crate and put a blanket over the top and one side and gave her treats when she went in. She got very comfortable in it and thinks of it as her den. Now whenever we're ready to go out she either goes in there by herself and waits for us to close the door or will go in if we say 'house'. We always give her a treat when she does either of those, and is very good in there while we're away. We made it a game and gave her lots of praise, started leaving her only for short periods and worked our way up to 8 hours or so. In the beginning we didn't put blankets or pads in the crate in case she chewed them out of stress, and nothing she could choke on. I leave a 'Kong' chew toy in there now in case she gets bored, but I think she sleeps most of the time.
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Old 08-01-2011, 08:52 AM
  #28  
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One of our dogs had such a problem with separation anxiety that she chewed up the door jams, broke through the window and door screens, tried to chew the chain link fencing (if we tried to contain her). Learned early on to just let her outside and then she did pretty well. We just couldn't leave her in the house, caged up or gated on the veranda. Ahhhh my poor baby....put her to sleep last November at the ripe age of 17 years old.....a long life for a Chocolate Lab.
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Old 08-01-2011, 08:59 AM
  #29  
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My Arlo whom we adopted at 2 had terrible anxiety when we left him at home even just for an hour or so. When we returned we found that he had been running through the house "throwing things." He damaged some things that I valued but we were able to deal with it. Here is what worked for us.

I had a "talk" with him just before we left him alone. This may sound weird to some, but I told him that we would be back, petted him, told him he needed to take care of things while we were gone and gave him a treat. He watched me with his big eyes, got very calm and quiet, and didn't try to beat us out of the door when I did this. In a fairly short time he understood that we would always come back to him and the tearing up the house stopped.

I still do this if I spot him getting anxious if we are about to leave and it seems he understands. As many of you will remember, we found that he had been shot with birdshot before we adopted him (We still get angry thinking about it.) so he had reason to be fearful.

This worked for us, but no matter what you try remember that it will not be resolved immediately so be patient.

And good luck!
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Old 08-01-2011, 11:04 AM
  #30  
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we adopted a stray and turned out he had S/A I would talk to him be fore I left, giving him a treat or a toy to chew, and then play with him when I got back. I did this everytime I left the house. I know this is the opposite of what others say,but it worked for us
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