My Dog has seperation anxiety

Rease

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#1
Help!! My dog has seperation anxiety. He cries so loud and so much when someone leaves him alone that he uses the bathroom in his crate. I'm really getting frustated with this. Does anyone have any ideas of how to correct this problem.
 
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#2
Hi, Rease,

My Bimmer used to cry so loudly if I went anywhere without him that I was almost afraid the neighbors would think he was being abused! I think what got him over it was a combination of realizing that I always came back and (mostly) having a puppy to take care of. Now when he cries at my leaving, it's because he wants a break! (g)

You don't say what kind of dog you have or how old it is. Also, do you work outside your home, or do you just have to leave for the usual running around that plagues all of us?
 
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Van_canucks

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#3
same with my dog

i have a catalola hound /hound(spelling mistake) but he does not pee in the house. My wife and i both work shift work and we just moved to a new city and dont know alot of people so when we both work the same shift (naslund is 5 months old) we leave the sliding door open to a fully fenced backyard and she has the run to the kitchen. we place her kennel on the porch and we leave to work, if she see us leave she whines........ the neighbour says she stops after a hour or so, then she starts back up if she see,s the neighbour in her yard. I cannot leave her in her kennel for 8 hrs+ any ideas or hints to solve this problem of whining? someone told me to get a a shock collar but i dont like that idea! need help dont want the neighbours to hate us
 

Brattina88

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#4
IMO I don't think a dog should be locked up that long without human companionship. I also keep my dogs in the kitchen when I am not present to watch them.
It is important to realize that dogs with separation anxiety are not doing these things to get even with the owner for leaving, out of boredom, or due to lack of obedience training. These dogs are not being destructive out of “spite” or “anger.” They are truly distressed when left behind.
The first step in treating separation anxiety is to break the cycle of anxiety. Every time a dog with separation anxiety becomes anxious when its owner leaves, the distress she feels is reinforced until she becomes absolutely frantic every time she is left alone.
Owners should give the dog an acceptable item to chew, such as a long lasting food treat only when they go out. The goal is to have the dog associate this special treat with the owner's departure. Treats might include hollow bones stuffed with peanut butter or soft cheese, drilled out nylon bones or hollow rubber chew toys such as Kong toys similarly enhanced (place in the freezer before giving it to the dog to make it last longer). Give the bone to the dog about 15 minutes before preparing to depart. The chew toy should be used only as a reward to offset the anxiety triggered by the owner’s departure. Hiding a variety of these delectable food treats throughout the house may occupy the dog so that the owner’s departure is less stressful.
Your dog should not be allowed to sleep in bed with you as this only fosters dependence. In fact, it is best if your dog is not even allowed to sleep in your bedroom. First, you need to train your dog to sleep in her own bed on the floor in your bedroom. She may have to be taken to her bed several times before she gets the message that you really want her to sleep in her own bed.
Seperation anxiety us usually caused by the dog being used to someone being around all of the time, giving the dog a lot of attention, or trama when no one was present in the past.
HTH
;)
 
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Van_canucks

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#5
i do have a cat and the neighbours say she is ok when the cat is in the yard with her but when the cat leaves she gets upset. my dog is kennel trained and sleeps by my bed in her kennel.
 
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#6
Good ideas, Brattina. Especially leaving a "treat hunt" to keep your dog occupied. We tend to forget, too, that dogs are pack animals and aren't meant to spend long periods of time alone. Sometimes it's just a good idea to have two dogs, especially when you've got to be gone for long hours. As Brattina can tell you, they don't even have to be the same type of dog or the same size to be good companions.
 

jake1215

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#7
2 dogs?

I have two dogs of different size and different breed both with different dependencies. The hound dog I have has slowed on her anxiety and is a little easier to control, although sometimes she still tries to bolt out the front door with me. On the other hand I also have a jack russel terrier. Now the jack is a good lovable dog but no matter what I do there is always something he does to show his anxiety to me leaving. I work a numerous amount of jobs and my wife is still in school so we don't have any real set schedule so both dog's have no real idea of a certain time when we are leaving. It seems though the longer it takes me to get ready and leave the house the more trouble is caused, and usually it is the jack that is the one causing the trouble. Earlier today even, I left for work earlier than my wife left for school but before my wife left she stepped out the front door for a couple of minutes to get her shoes out of her car. Both our dogs had been out several times this morning and my wife left for that couple of minutes. In those couple of minutes the jack russel barked a couple of times stopped for a minute then was barking again. When my wife walked through the door she found the hound dog laying exactly where she was laying when my wife left and a fresh pile of crap left by the jack russel in that brief instant that he wasn't barking. Both dogs do go through a lengthy greeting procedure but the hound dog tends to calm it down quicker if she is allowed to give us a hug and we hug back(it is actually rather cute, she can even hug on command). I have often ignored the dogs as I entered the house but often times I can't because they are right there at the front door and try to run off if I can't keep them at bay and pushed back from the door. I have a small backyard and have tried leaving them outside but I got tired of the constant calls from neighbors saying either, we have your dogs, or hey your dogs are loose again, all this because they dig under the fence if left to their own devices outside. Please help me???
 
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Whitedobelover

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#8
tasneem used to be like that... now she knows when mom comes home that i am gonna play with her provided it isnt raining outside. i think treats when you come in and treats when you leave... let the dog know that you arent leaving forever and you love him/her... and you when you come back it is party time :D
 

jake1215

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#9
that works with ginger(the hound dog) but not Tate(Jack Russel) I sometimes just want to chalk it all up to his breed but that only makes me a little more frustrated. I can distract him with a treat when I am leaving but in the end that only calms his barking not any of the other behaviors.
 
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Whitedobelover

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#10
hmmm... what kinda treats ar eyou giving him i was giving mine some mellow mutt and something that tasted like beef liver..
 

jake1215

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#11
have tried from the simple dog cookie to rawhide chewee(which he can devour in a matter of minutes) to leaving a kong filled with cookies(this he has no interest in and ginger takes it away anyways cause she can't get enough of it)
 
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Whitedobelover

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#12
hmmm split them up :D... and give thim treats without ginger around...when you come home take him out and play let him know it is an okay thing.
 
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#13
I work 10 hrs a day too but i engage a walking service who comes arnd 2 times a day to bring her out for 1 hr walk each time and play in the forest with other dogs. When she is home I make sure she has her fave chew toys and I put on the radio as well. I also use the DAP, seems to work quite well for me.
 

jake1215

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#14
The radio works sometimes I thin kbut I am not too sure, and what is a DAP?? By the way Beautiful dog yours too whitedobelover
 
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Whitedobelover

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#15
not sure what dap is lol but thank you for the compliment those are my babie kids....but if they keep up their stupidity today they will be kicked out LOL
 

jake1215

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#16
Every kid does stupid things from time to time right? That's why we enjoy having them around ;-)
 
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#17
DAP diffusers, like comfort zone for dogs, there was a thread here about it so i bought one and I tried it, its works fabulous. It sorts of calm her down when i'm not home.
Thank you for your compliment..she is 1 spoilt brat :p
 

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