Separation Anxiety

[bethk]

 

We have had our dog, Taz, since March 2005. He is a lovely dog, he fits in perfectly. The only problem is he cannot be left for any period of time, without becoming distressed. It has got to the point where a member of the family has to look after him whilst we are at work & school for three days a week. We have tried the closing & opening doors method (we have glass doors) & also the picking up keys, putting coat on etc & nothing seems to be working.

 

We have had various techniques & methods suggested to us by people including; getting another dog/trying Taz out alone with a friends/family's dog, to see how he is & if he improves & also getting a behaviourist, would any of these improve him? We cannot go anywhere alone without knowing he will be distressed when we arrive home, even if he is alone for five minutes.

 

He shows many syptoms of separation anxiety, including:

• Slobbering down windows & doors.
  
• Scratching at the doors.
  
• Whining.
  
• He has sometimes wee'd & poo'd.
  
• Knocking things off surfaces, tables etc.
  

Does anyone have any experience of SA or knows any methods which may reduce it?

 

Thank you.

Edited December 20, 2006 by bethk

[cackie]

Hello sorry sorry to hear Taz is still suffering from SA 18 months after you have got him. Is he a rescue dog? Do you know his history? My little Lurcher girl Abeni was 4 months old when she came to us. From day one she suffered from SA It was very frustrating at times but in the end we got a DAP diffuser and a cage. The cage made her feel secure and after a careful introduction to it she was glad to get in the cage whenever we went out and even used it as her bed when we were there. She is now 3 years old and doesn't mind being left all day. She is still clingy with me when I am at home, following me from room to room though but I'm sure thats just because she afraid of missing something.

 

Can I ask, what do you do when you return? Do you make a big fuss of Taz? Do you know for certain that hes distressed the whole time you're away? I might be worth setting up a web cam to see what he gets up to whilst you're out.

[K9Fran]

The problem with SA is that you have to be consistent if retraining your dog to approach the situation differently - so you should only leave him alone for the shortest of periods which are totally under your control - and this may mean starting off by simply teaching him to stay relaxed on his bed........

 

Have you been told about a DAP defuser? This can be helpful in cases of SA, but may need to be part of a multi pronged approach.

[bethk]

 

Thank you for your replies!

 

We have tried the DAP diffuser before, unfortunately there wasn't any change in his behaviour.

 

The web cam idea is great, will look further into setting it up etc.

 

About history etc, should have put before so here's a bit of information:

 

We visited a small local rescue, looking for a dog to join our family. They didn't have any dogs which were suitable at the time, but took our information so they could contact us if a suitable match came in to the kennels. Shortly after, we recieved a call from them, stating that they may have found a suitable match.

He didn't actually come into the kennels, but his owner couldn't keep him because he were fighting with the other dog in the household.

 

All the information we were given was that, he was wary of men, good with cats, and most other dogs, and that he had never (in 7 years) visited a vet. We weren't given any information on how he was to be left alone.

 

Hope this helps & thanks

Edited December 21, 2006 by bethk

[bethk]

 

Anyone got anymore ideas please?

[cycas]

How is he generally with other dogs?

 

Both of mine have a bit of seperation anxiety, one of them quite badly - I cannot leave him on his own at all, he howls and gets very distressed - but luckily they are OK to be left together.

 

I've also been working on the whole in-out-in-out thing and I think it does help, but you need to keep going at it and going at it until it drives you almost mad! Fortunately ( ) I am very badly organised so I naturally tend to forget things and have to run back to them when I am going out.

 

It is a big step to get a second dog though, particularly as you already know that he had to be returned because he didn't get on with another dog.

 

When you say 'it has got to the point..' in your first post, do you feel that the anxiety has actually got worse? Does he follow you round the house, for example?

 

Definitely try the webcam so you can see if he just reacts badly when you first leave, or if it is something that goes on as he is alone.

 

Do you leave him with a stuffed kong or a chew or any activity toys to divert his attention? Mine always get a tripe stick when I go out: I've found by experiment that tripe is SO stinky and disgusting that they just can't bear to not eat it, even if other distractions aren't so appealing.

[bethk]

Thanks Cycas.

 

Yes, unfortunately, the separation anxiety has gradually got worse.

 

Firstly, I have to admit, he is unneutered. When we got him, his teeth were hurrendous & he had to have a big operation to have eight of them out. We've also been told that at eight he is too old. But, he will probably be done soon - I know he should have sooner.

 

He is good with other dogs, when out & about, and when we had a friends female dog around he was thrilled!

We find generally he is better with female dogs, and we came to the conclusion that the reason he was fighting in his previous home, was because they were both probably entire males & were put in a room together at night.

 

The kong & food-related ideas are great. But, he isn't food motivated at all, and is extremely fussy.

 

Just edited to say: Yes, he follows us everywhere & cant be in a room alone or even with one person, if the other person is in a separate room. (if that makes sense )

 

Thank you once again.

 

Beth

Edited December 24, 2006 by bethk

[cycas]

Definitely look at the neutering thing again. 8 is far from being too old, as long as he's otherwise healthy and if you do decide to get another dog as a companion for him, it will really give you a lot more options. Most of the Oldies Club dogs come in older than that and they all get their knackers whipped off as soon as the vet says it's safe to do so.

 

Is he toy-motivated at all, if treats don't please him? Extra-special squeaky toy to kill or something like that?

 

With the following from room to room thing, I've found that one way to deal with that is to spend while doing extremely boring things that involve walking from room to room - sorting laundry or stuff like that - the dog is allowed to be with you, but you don't look at him or speak to him (which I know is quite hard, the temptation is to talk to the dog, but that reinforces the clinginess).

 

Mine got bored after a while of that and went off to find their comfy beds: next step after that was for me to pop into the garden and try to get them to snooze through me opening the door.

 

It does sound as though a friend would help!

[supafrisk]

I was once told that an item of your clothing placed on the other side of a closed door helps as they can still smell you, dunno if it works though

[bethk]

I do feel bad that he hasn't already been neutered, how much is it to neuter?

 

He isnt really toy motivated, well he has certain toys he likes, but he ignores everything else, and only concentrates on us coming back.

 

I think a friend is the answer really, and I think that if we fostered for a while to see if he improved, that would help. (Obviously it wouldnt be seeing if it works then chucking the dog out, because I'd already like to foster, it's just my mum at the mo!) It's just, if adopting another dog didn't work, then there would be two dogs for the relative to look after, and I think she's already a bit miffed that shes having to have him 3 days a week (Because she cant go out either.) Dont get me wrong, we absolutely ADORE Taz, our life wouldnt be the same without him.

 

Thanks

 

Beth

 

I was once told that an item of your clothing placed on the other side of a closed door helps as they can still smell you, dunno if it works though

 

Theres a massive pile of washing anyway

 

Thanks though!

Edited December 24, 2006 by bethk

[cycas]

Neutering is cheaper for boys - ask your vet, but it should be under a hundred pounds I think, unless he's a giant breed.

[bethk]

He's definately not a massive breed ! He's just below knee-height. Do you think fostering a dog would be a good idea to see how he goes?

 

Beth

 

EDITED TO SAY: He's the one in my picture, although you cant tell his size from it.

Edited December 24, 2006 by bethk

[cycas]

It's worth a try - you probably do need a fairly solid laid back kind of dog as the 'other dog', and of course your other circumstances might not be suitable.

 

If you fancy fostering an older dog, you could drop Cindy a line on [email protected] and she will give you all the info.

 

I forgot to say: you'll probably have to sort out the neutering first though, whoever you foster for. Un-neutered dogs are more likely to get into trouble, so I believe most rescues prefer to only use foster homes where the other dogs are neutered.

Edited December 24, 2006 by cycas

[bethk]

Yes, I'm aware that he would need to be neutered first.

 

Thank you for all your help will definately discuss it.

 

Beth

[bethk]

We are definately considering getting Taz neutered asap.

 

Does anyone think he would calm down when left alone if he was neutered?

 

Sadly, he has got worse - my mum won't even consider another dog yet, and we really don't know what to do. The relative who is looking after him 3 days a week has also asked if someone else can look after him 1 or 2 days as it's just too much for her - not being able to go out - she has every right to complain, he is our dog. When we got him, though, we had no idea he would be like this. Although, we do sympathise that it is our responsibility - as a dog owner - to overcome any problems Taz may have - But unfortunately, nothing yet suggested has worked . . .

 

Beth

Edited January 3, 2007 by bethk