the other day our dog woke up and thought no one was home and ran thru the house screaming and crying so I need some ideas how to deal with it thanks

They sell dog snacks that help calm dogs. One is "chilling chews". These help....natural ingredient's.

When our lab was a pup he had seperation anxiety -- ate couches, chairs, pretty much anything else that couldn't run away. I gave him st. johns wort - it's an herb that is supposed to ease anxiety... didn't cure him, but more days than not I would find my house in tact. Thankfully he grew out of it by the time he was a year old or so. I have also read that crate training your dogs can help ease anxiety - gives them their own little dark cave, but I've never had room in my house for a crate big enough to hold any of my dogs.

We adopted a dog at about age 3, who was house trained etc. We found out quickly he had separation anxiety.
He even chewed up the door frame while we went to the store one day. got out the CAT door { he is 70 lbs or so} when we left him in the garage, we thought we were going somewhere without him. He got out before we could get in the truck.
We tried leaving the light on, tv etc It took 6 months or so before he Outgrew This.
I have no suggestions just sympathy for you.

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!

Our little Tibetan Spaniel "Bug" did that. Unfortunately we found he had a vertebral problem that pained him when he moved in his sleep. Cortisone shots got him thru several episodes.

Does you dog act like that when you really gone?

Not sure if this is much help, but every once in a while my cat will do that - just start crying pitifully, usually while he's in the bedroom and I'm in the living room. I call to him, and tell him it's all right and call him to me, and then he seems okay. Don't know if he just woke up and forgot where he was, or what. It seemed to start out of nowhere and it happened occasionally for a few months. He hasn't done it in a little while. He just sounded insecure, and I went forward on that basis.

You could try the Feliway pheromones for dogs; helps create calmness. Here is a link to one on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Farnam-Comfort...ws/B000J3HZWE/

I have 2 suggestions based on the experience with my dogs.

1. I gave antidepressants

2. I got another dog for a companion.

I now have 4 dogs and they do fine, but I had to lose a couch before I arrived at this solution.

The crate training is a wonderful idea. My dh is opposed to crates so we have more dogs. Still works.

Go to thundershirt,com! They are $36.00 any size. They work for all types of a
Anxiety! I have one for my lil girl and it works great. If she's real bad I adds pheromone spray.

I would definitely go with teaching your dog to crate. It's also a very handy and safe way to transport your dog in your vehicle. My dog gets worried when I take her crate out of my van. She will go in and hope that I remember to reload!

As a rescuer of a breed that frequently has separation anxiety- I second the thundershirts. I would also go to the health food store and look for a product (for humans) called Rescue Remedy. It is a Bach Flower Essence. It really helps the nervous dogs. Put a few drops in his water, or just soak a treat with a couple of drops.

Yes, I agree No magic cure.
Mine would get terrible anxiety if I had to leave town, by the time I got home the anxiety turned to bad depression. One trick I found that helps is leaving the TV on. Bedroom lights on, leaving the house as if I didn't leave at all. There was a lot less mess to clean up when I did it that way. I ended up just getting another dog. Oh, how he hated that dog when I brought him in. Dirty looks, beg hogging, competion on who could sit in my lap more. Just crazyness, but in the end they were the best of buds. And know I know, when they tore up my kitchen it was a team effort!
That was some time ago, my old dog is now 15 (still gets in te trash) but no more panic attacks when the door shuts.

there is a technique that really helps them get over this but it is time consuming - you have to get ready to go out as normal - don't talk to the dog - go out and come back about 10 mins later - next time extend the time by about 5 mins - obviously this has to be done over a period of time not all in one day!! when you get back each time ignore the dog for a few minutes - get your shoes off hang your coat and then make a fuss of the dog it does work but as I said it is a lengthy process but no crates involved and you end up with a happy dog cos even if you crate them they are still in distress!!

This is the method used by that British woman dog trainer <<senior moment>> Victoria?? on her tv show "It's me or the Dog"?? Good luck to both you and your puppy!

I ditto the Rescue Remedy and the crate training. My Australian Shepherd mix has terrible fear of thunderstorms and being in his crate (with a blanket thrown over for coziness) works better than anything else.... Crates should never be used as punishment; my guys get treats to get in them when it's a weird time----like anytime but bedtime. They grow to love them. Remember that dogs come from wolves, who lived in dark caves.

Our Red Bone Coon hound had separation anxiety. We were the 5th family to adopt him from the local pound. His origianl owner had left there-twice!
He ran all over the house as we left, tore down gates, blinds, etc.
Funny thing was that when we walked him out to the dog house outside and put him on a 15 ft chain in the shade with water and food, he would walk over to it lie down and look at me like he was saying. "don't you have a place to go?"
He didn't like being left alone, but worse was not being out. He didn't want to "feel" confined. He's gone now. I miss him still. He was a character otherwise.
Good Luck! They still make good pets, sometimes need the extra time you have to spend to help them.

I did 2 things which seem to help, he still loves it when I come home but is not as bad as he was...1. leave a radio on low and 2. I now have 3 cats and one of them is his best friend, sleep, play together etc and he is a 120 lb Rot/Pit mix!

You can also try giving a few drops of Rescue Remedy
(buy this at health food stores) this was used during WWII in England, it calmed down the kids during bombings
It's all nature made from flowers. I used it on my dog and it worked.
NormaBeth

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.

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.

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....

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

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
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

IMO, this works because separation anziety is a lack of confidence. This method tells the dog, in subtle ways, that when you leave, you come back, and since you don't make a big deal about leaving, it must not be a big deal.
They often get their confidence from how WE treat the situation. Act like it's no big deal, the dog will get the idea that it's not.

I'm on a basenji email list, and we were told of a basenji that had separatoion anxiety. If they hadn't lived in a brick house, the dog would have gotten out via a hole in the house.

My thought as well. http://www.thundershirt.com/?utm_med...ce=GAN_k331247

Yep, worked for me! :-D

They make them for grown ups????? Just had to do it:))

Too funny! We just had to have heart to heart talks for reassurance.

I bought myself a mini red poodle last November and this dog is different than any poodle I have had. she is afraid of everyone and doesn't like to ride. I bought her in S Carolina and brought her back to Maine. I was told by my groomer that I needed to take her everywhere with me and let her socialize. I have done that and she has calmed down some but not all the time. She doesn't cry in the car anymore, but still pants quite a bit. She just lays on the floor behind the front seats. She hates being near the windows. If you find a better solution, please let me know.

Even old rescue dogs can be crate trained, but it takes a lot of time and one-on-one contact. Get a good book, some treats, coax your dog into the crate and begin. Sit right next to him/her, constantly petting, talking - occasional treat and keep the dog open (if you can quilt great, but I usually just read a book). Some dogs really take a long time to sit quietly even if you are right there and the door is open. All my dogs have become so crate accustomed, they jostle for who sleeps in it all day long with the door open and free run of the house. I have raised and trained Labs for over 25 years now with an occasional other breed dog. It is not 100% effective - not all dogs can be crate trained, but give it a shot - if it works, your house can look like mine - the cover of "Kennel Beautiful" instead of "House Beautiful" (a LARGE crate is part of our living room furniture). Be grateful it is not a 135 pound Saint Bernard with thunderstorm and separation anxiety (I have one). And Labs are Labs their entire lives - some have to be crated all the time even through adulthood. Or you could end up like me with a $5,000 Lab - what we paid to the fancy animal emergency vet hospital to save his life after he and a buddy ate an entire (one tiny scrap fabric remaining) size extra-large, LL Bean dog bed one day while we were at work and kids at school.......I have never had a Lab yet who was not a voracious chewer for most of their doggie life.

And crate training works FABULOUSLY on house-breaking puppies; dogs do have a natural inclination not to soil their sleeping area.
Nancy
http://miniaturequiltmaker.blogspot.com/

my muttly golden is bad. He was lost in the woods (my brother found him behind a truck stop ni the middle of the night) when he was so small he looked like a stuffed toy! Now, hes a very quite dog, never barks or whines, but if I go in another room pretty soon he follows. I go back, hes right behind me.
If I go to the grocery and leave him home alone, when I pull in the yard I can see him running from window to window in the kitchen, barking. By the time I get to the kitchen, he s already in the living room by my chair like he just woke up - what a sneeky liitle scutter lol sharet

My daughter and her family went on vacation for five days. When they returned and picked up their dogs, one of them had been ill, refusing to eat or drink and vomiting. The vet could not find anything physically wrong with him. When she got him home, it took awhile for him to get to feeling normal again. Seems as though he was grieving for them.

I like what Janedee had to say. And suggest this as a possible solution. We also had a dog who had speraation anxiety. She got that way from being in a crate 12 - 14 hours a day. This happened until she was two years old. Then she was given to this person's mother. She lived with her until she was five then the woman had medical problems and her children started fogetting about the dog again. So she gave her to a rescue. The next two years the dog lived there until I came. I had her for the rest of her life. She had some seperation problems but I took my dogs with me whenever I could. I was known around town as Sharon and her two Samoyeds.