Separation Anxiety

[DjEclipse]

We just got a new puppy, he is almost 10 weeks old now. he is doing very well at walking on a lieche, learning to sit, come (haven't tried stay yet),he is great with other people ETC.

The one problem he has really bad is Separation anxiety. The first few days we got him he would whine even when eating, and playing.

he is always at your feet or following you where ever you go.

Now he wines when ever he is alone for more then 1-2minutes. He will start barking, crying etc. We are trying to crate train him and he will wine on and off the entire time is in tin the crate, same thing if we put him outside and we're not around him.

The only time he is in the crate for a long period of time is over night and while we are at work. the longest he is in there with out a pee/ po brake is 3hrs. he is doing pretty good with not going in his crate or in the house (accidents still happen).

We were told to just let him cry it out which we are doing, we never go to him until he has settled down and quiet for at least 1min.

The question is, is this normal? It's been almost 2 weeks of letting him cry it out and he doesn't seem to be improving.

Thanks.

Here are som pics of Ollie at 8 weeks when we first got him

he's ntoa giant puppy, that is a mini tennis ball

 

[LB2007]

Awwwww maybe you got him too early, he didnt have enough time wiht him mommy and litter mates. what is he? He is adorable, I just want to bite him up

 

[DjEclipse]

Awwwww maybe you got him too early, he didnt have enough time wiht him mommy and litter mates. what is he? He is adorable, I just want to bite him up

He is a Coton de Tulear. I am allergic to most dogs and we are in the city and don't have the room for a large dog. He will be 15-20lbs and is hyopalregetic (sp?).

We got him at 8 weeks.

He was never crate trained by the breeder. She pretty much let the dogs run the house, left the back door open to a huge yard so he was allowed to run and play with all his puppy mates, and all the other dogs she had there.

He was trained to go on newspaper in the house and that's it.

 

[Doberluv]

Dogs don't like to be alone, especially pups. They are hard wired to be with other living things, be it other dogs or humans. It's natural for him to wine and cry when you disappear. However, this may not be full blown separation anxiety, which tends to cause a dog to become distructive, panicked and displaying some really over-the-top behavior. At this point, if he's wining and crying a little bit, I'd practice with very short sessions of being separated (less than the time it takes for him to get too upset) and only return when he's quiet and calm. Otherwise ignore his protests. Don't reinforce that behavior or the insecure feeling by making a fuss or going to him while he's crying. This is not abnormal for a pup of your pup's age. He's still very, very young. He is adorable, by the way. Such cute pictures.

If this turns into a real separation anxiety, it would be wise to arm yourself ahead of time with things you can do to prevent and treat it. Jean Donaldson's book, Culture Clash has a very good section on separation anxiety. It's a book that I highly, highly recommend for everyone. I just wish I had read it a long time ago. It will help you understand dog behavior a lot better and find out specifics on all kinds of things. Excellent. There are other good books too, but this one is my all time fav.

I also recommend doing away with the newspapers and training him to go outside. It is not too late at all. Read the sticky in the training forum called something like, "House breaking w/o being mean." Pay special attention to Mordy's post. If you are consistant and diligent, you can potty train your pup to go outside.

 

[DjEclipse]

Dogs don't like to be alone, especially pups. They are hard wired to be with other living things, be it other dogs or humans. It's natural for him to wine and cry when you disappear. However, this may not be full blown separation anxiety, which tends to cause a dog to become distructive, panicked and displaying some really over-the-top behavior. At this point, if he's wining and crying a little bit, I'd practice with very short sessions of being separated (less than the time it takes for him to get too upset) and only return when he's quiet and calm. Otherwise ignore his protests. Don't reinforce that behavior or the insecure feeling by making a fuss or going to him while he's crying. This is not abnormal for a pup of your pup's age. He's still very, very young. He is adorable, by the way. Such cute pictures.

Thanks, I took the first pic last night with my phone. we were trying to get him to go to the bathroom and as usual he just lies on the ground when we are with him in the dog run. So I figured I may as well try to get a cute pic of him while he's down there.

What is over the top behavior? He sometimes chews cage, jumps, barks, and actually moves the crate. he has also started digging in his crate when he gets really worked up.

My only worry that this isn't normal puppy crate training behavior, and how long does it usually take to get him to settle down and relax (1 week more, 2?)

I can get some video of what he is doing in his crate if that helps.

I'll also check out the book Culture Clash on my next trip to Chapters, thanks for the recommendation.

I also recommend doing away with the newspapers and training him to go outside. It is not too late at all. Read the sticky in the training forum called something like, "House breaking w/o being mean." Pay special attention to Mordy's post. If you are consistant and diligent, you can potty train your pup to go outside.

I read that thread last week when I found the forum . We ahve eliminated the paper and he only goes outside, aside form a few in house mistakes. Basically when ever he comes out of the crate he gets some water and goes out side right away. If he doesn't go at that time, we bring him in and watch for the poo/pee dance, then it's right out side.

He is being stubourne, and doesn't like to go when we are with him in the dog run (it's 10' x 4'), all he does is sit at our feet, or follow us around. When we leave him alone in there he will cry and cary on, but eventually he will go to the bathroom. Sometimes though he gets so worked up he doesn't go to the bathroom at all.

I read here that walking him, getting things moving in there gets him to go to the bathroom. It usually works, but now he's going on the walks and not where we want him to go (in the dog run).

 

[malmo]

Where did you get Ollie from? If he was raised in a cage or without his momma, he may have trouble understanding what you want from him with respect to potty. It's not impossible to overcome, but would take longer and more patience.

When he goes potty, are you treating and rewarding? My neighbors would laugh at me with Milo because I carried on like he had just scored a touchdown. We had a potty dance and everything.

He loved to go potty. It was so rewarding.

Is that his crate in the background of the picture? It looks a little too big for him and might not be "snug" enough for him to feel safe. YOu might put pillows, box, or blankets in the back of the crate to make it feel smaller. This will also help with potty/crate issues.

 

[DjEclipse]

Where did you get Ollie from? If he was raised in a cage or without his momma, he may have trouble understanding what you want from him with respect to potty. It's not impossible to overcome, but would take longer and more patience.

When he goes potty, are you treating and rewarding? My neighbors would laugh at me with Milo because I carried on like he had just scored a touchdown. We had a potty dance and everything.

He loved to go potty. It was so rewarding.

I am in Canada, we got him from a breeder north of Toronto.

he was raised with his momma, and was never separated from his brothers and sisters. he was also always around other dogs. They were allowed to pretty much run free in the house and were always around the breeder. I assume this is where the separation anxiety comes from.

We do make a big deal out of it when he does go to the bathroom in the right place, especially poo. It's sometimes hard to see if he is going pee as it looks like he is stretching and I can;t really tell. my GF is better at knowing the pee stance, lol Maybe more of a production will get him to go as soon as he gets out there in stead of the usual 20min wait.

We didn't like the paper idea as it says to them that it's ok to going the house.

 

[Doberluv]

Yeah....full blown anxiety might include excessive chewing, digging, frantic, panicked, sometimes even chewing on themselves until they're sore, throwing themselves at the cage door or a window (in the case of a dog who is left loose in the house), screaming type of behavior.... A little digging or chewing isn't necessarily due to sheer panic, but sometimes boredom, frustration, some anxiety. It's hard to say at what point it goes from being unhappy and frustrated to a full blown anxiety attack. At any rate, whatever it is, there are techniques to improve the situation as is discussed in Culture Clash, among other books. It is often the case that this book isn't in stock in book stores. You have to order it or look online. I've ordered many books through Dogwise.com.

Dogs vary on how long it takes for them to get comfortable with something. Some take longer and some catch right on. So, it is really impossible to say. So much depends on how it is handled and the dog's own temperament. Just hang in there. And be sure and not reinforce him for the behavior you don't want by talking to him, looking at him, letting him out of the crate while he is carrying on etc. That will perpetuate it.

You have to go with him and stand near him every time he goes out to potty and watch and make sure he goes. Give him a small tid bit of hot dog or other equally good treat immediately upon finishing and praise him. He has to be shown that going outside is the best place ever....the most wonderful place to go. I would be happy, at this point if he goes on his walks and not in his pen. It does help to walk around and get things moving. I hope you read that sticky thread on potty training I mentioned. It will give you lots of great tips. Prevention of accidents inside is really important. Once he goes a few times inside, that becomes the correct place to go in his mind. He's still guessing for some time where the best place is to go. He doesn't know our values about wrecking our carpets and things. LOL.

 

[Herschel]

Does he get treats in the crate? Toys?

Do not sit next to the crate and try to comfort him. Just make it a nice place for him and let him figure it out on his own. If that means putting him in there with some treats and leaving him for an hour, do it. He'll get the point soon enough and he'll learn to have a good time.

 

[Doberluv]

LOL. I was just re-reading my post to see if I could think of anything else and I saw I spelled whine like a Merlot or Cabarnet....I see I am not the only one who had a senior moment. LOL!

Herschel, that's good advice. The only exception I can think of would be when starting a puppy out in crate training where it helps to sit near the crate and read a book or something before leaving and then just gradually increasing the distance and duration away from puppy. But in some cases, the pup is pretty OK with the crate itself but just flat out doesn't want to be alone. And they do need to learn to be able to tolerate it. There are some neat tips in the book, Culture Clash. It would take me ages to reiterate all that. And heaven knows, my posts are agognizingly too long as it is usually. LOL.

 

[DjEclipse]

LOL. I was just re-reading my post to see if I could think of anything else and I saw I spelled whine like a Merlot or Cabarnet....I see I am not the only one who had a senior moment. LOL!

That's ok, as you have seen I can't spell/ type at all

Herschel, that's good advice. The only exception I can think of would be when starting a puppy out in crate training where it helps to sit near the crate and read a book or something before leaving and then just gradually increasing the distance and duration away from puppy. But in some cases, the pup is pretty OK with the crate itself but just flat out doesn't want to be alone. And they do need to learn to be able to tolerate it. There are some neat tips in the book, Culture Clash. It would take me ages to reiterate all that. And heaven knows, my posts are agognizingly too long as it is usually. LOL.

I appreciate the long posts, they are very helpful.

Here is the update

There were a lot of times where the barking/ crying were so bad that both of us were seriously thinking about looking for a new home for Ollie, we couldn't get any sleep, we were getting sick, we were a mess.

But we stuck through it and over the past few days he finally seems to enjoy the crate and not cry/ wine half as much as before.

I think the main factor in this was he now has a lot of teeth and was really occupied with this chew stick I gave him.

He loved it. But I am a stupid Dog owner and ddin't relize it wasn't something puppies should have. So now I have to find an alternative to give him in the crate. He doesn't seem to like plastic or nylon, only things he can chew and taste good.

Also my GF went away for a few days and he was way more attached to her, I believe this complete separation form her helped him to actually focus on being in the crate and having fun. As soon as she came back he started to wine a little more, but still not as much as before.

Thanks to everyone who replied to this post, if there are any more tips or things we should look for in the future feel free to post them as I'm sure we still have a lot to learn.

Thanks again for the help/ support

 

[Doberluv]

You're doing fine. Puppies are a challenge, just like raising a human child. They go through stages and what seems like monumental behavior problems is most often really just normal puppy behavior. He's really very young and all these weird things in human culture are things he has to learn and adjust to. Patience, showing him the ropes and his maturing will help him through it all.

 

[DjEclipse]

You're doing fine. Puppies are a challenge, just like raising a human child. They go through stages and what seems like monumental behavior problems is most often really just normal puppy behavior. He's really very young and all these weird things in human culture are things he has to learn and adjust to. Patience, showing him the ropes and his maturing will help him through it all.

Tanks, we're trying We finally found a better dog food for him (Orijen pippy formula), the price of the dog food is never an issue, it was just that we walked into the pet stores and had no clue what to get. Now though the help of the forum and the suggestion of our dog trainer we found something that doesn't have 50% filler.