separation anxiety?

[poormurphy]

My parents just got a new dog - an adult female german shephard who has been lost or abandonned and then passed around to a few different homes. She gets really upset when people leave and when she's left alone for more than an hour or two in the house she poops or pees, usually in a room that we don't go into that often. Most of the time she's outdoors most of the day and indoors at night (so it's not that she can't hold it for a couple hours). Does anyone have any suggestions for how to modify this behaviour?
Also, whenever she gets excited she walks in circles with her nose to the ground. Is anyone familiar with this behaviour? We haven't seen a dog do this before but we have never had a shepard before either.
Thanks!

 

[rocco&quiras mama]

well first of.. dont leave her alone.. taking on an older dog with issues is a lot of hard work..
they need to start over.. treat her like a puppy when it comes to training her to be alone.
start of by going out for just 10 sec then come back in ( she needs to be quiet for 5 secs before you go back in ) when she feels comf. being alone for 10 secs ( usually after you have done this many time during a day.. move on to 20 secs.. in not to long she´ll be fine with a few min. Be careful not to move to fast ..as that can result in a huge setback.. before leaving her take her out for a long walk and give her some mental stimulation GS need a lot of it..
also make sure she´s calm and tired.. sit with her for a while, dont make a fuss about leaving.
she might never be fine with being alone for hours but she will get much better.
Good luck.

 

[poeluvr]

..i think kindness in this situation will go far(which you guys are already doing..good job!)

 

[Doberluv]

She's understandably insecure about people leaving her. I think, over time, as your relationship with her develops, she'll overcome some of this anxiety, but may never completely. Developing a trusting relationship is really going to go a long way. I'd recommend doing lots of neat stuff with her, hikes, walks every day, obedience practice every day. That builds a lot of self confidence in a dog. Use gentle, postitive training methods to continue to build trust in you. A dog who has a "job" to do becomes more confident. Spend time with her as much as you can and practice tiny amounts of time away, like Rocco&Quira's mama said, to show her that when you leave, you always return. And again, to reiterate, don't make a fuss about coming or going...keep it low key, like it's no big deal. Be confident yourself and pass that onto your dog. I think, in time, she'll get more confortable.

 

[poormurphy]

Thanks everyone for your responses.
I'm not sure that it's possible to never leave her alone - it's only a problem every now and then anyway, but we will work with leaving her for very short periods and then gradually increasing the time. She's a pretty calm dog most of the time and has bonded pretty well with our family. She gets quite a lot of attention from my (partially retired) parents and frequent (offleash) walks in our fields and the surrounding forrested areas. Obedience is tricky because it's hard to know how to reward her - she isn't very interested in treats or praise (the only thing she really likes a lot is her ball so sometimes we use that). And she technically does have a job, we just haven't yet found a way of letting her know that she should bark when she sees strangers or bears...(=
(It's hard to reward her for doing it well for the above reason, and also because she just never does it.) We're pretty sure we've got a city dog who was taught not to bark by a previous owner...so yes, this is all a pretty big transition for poor Murphy.

 

[FattyBumBlastie]

It takes time, attention, and a lot of love. In January, I adopted a 2 year old American Staffordshire Terrier (popularly known as a pit bull), who had been passed around many, many times from people to shelters and foster homes.

When I first got her, she was friendly, but shy, and cried like crazy whenever I left my home. I could hear her cries from down the hall. I knew she was afraid of being abandoned again. For the first month or so, she would pee in the house, although she was house-broken. In fact, she peed on the kitchen floor the first night I had her.

Whenever I got home from anywhere, she would cry like crazy, try to jump on me, run around in circles, and finally grab her closest toy and thrust it into my hand. She still does this everyday when I get home from work, but she no longer cries like crazy when I leave because she knows I'm coming back! I think it'll just take time and reassurance. I immediately play with Penny as soon as I walk in the door.

Also, as for the barking, I think Penny was abused before I got her. She used to cower everytime I put my arm up to reach for something or pull a light cord. It took a couple of months before she realized I wasn't going to hurt her, and since then, she's gain a lot of confidence and isn't afraid to assert herself and romp around. She'll bark, but only if there's someone at the door or in the hallway making noise.

Good luck! It'll take time, but just keep being positive and Murphy will soon catch on.