I Have An Anxious Doggy

[7464]

Cody is anxious. He's not a big barker, he doesn't destroy things, he's not an escape artist. He's just plain sad.

I leave for work at ugly o'clock every morning (before sunrise) and the others living here do their thing. Sometimes they go out, sometimes they go away and sometimes they stay home.

Cody frets. He carries a toy around, (he is never, ever far from a teddy, I think they're his security blankets) whenever he thinks someone is going away he picks a teddy up and won't let it go until he knows what's happening. Whether he's in the car or behind the gate watching who ever it is drive away.

When I get home in the afternoon I don't go nuts with cuddles right away, I let him in and we sit down, sometimes I don't let him in right away so he doesn't go nuts if I change the routine.

Any ideas for stopping him from being sad?

[Teebs]

Quit work

smuggle him to work with you?

:D

[7464]

I'd love to quit work but it will only happen if they agree to pay me anyway. :D

Smuggling him in would be a bad move, broken glass everywhere. He'd need ear plugs, goggles, 4 gauntlets, a leather coat & 4 steel capped boots. Hmm, he'd probably need a leather tail cover too.

[Teebs]

I am sure we can get all that stuff for him, DOLers are pretty smart people!! :D

[2tollers]

Lots of toys (kong stuffed with food). Hire a dog walker to take him out during the day.

[7464]

I am sure we can get all that stuff for him, DOLers are pretty smart people!! :D

Hopefully he can go on the pay roll too. He'd do a good job. Or maybe he wouldn't but I'm sure he wouldn't say he'd done his job when it was glaringly obvious that he hadn't (a vent for another day).

[Teebs]

Lots of toys (kong stuffed with food). Hire a dog walker to take him out during the day.

Hi Nic,

:D

I am a dog walker - wanna pay me to walk him every day? If you pay travel money, i will walk him for free

[7464]

Lots of toys (kong stuffed with food). Hire a dog walker to take him out during the day.

I stuff a kong for him some times. He has heaps of toys and a backyard full of sticks (his favourite object besides his teddies). He's got sleeping down to a T. He gets a nice bone every second day too.

He's fine while he's on his own (well, as far as we know - he's not a barker, the neighbours don't complain & he doesn't destroy things or dig to China), he's just extremely clingy when we are home and angsty when he thinks someone is going away.

Apparantly also, when I am at work he comes down and waits at the gate for periods throughout the day.

[2tollers]

Maybe you should ask Troy to move this topic to the training thread. You might get some advice in there from people who've had experience with this type of behaviour.

Cody looks like such a sweetie. :D

[7464]

Maybe you should ask Troy to move this topic to the training thread. You might get some advice in there from people who've had experience with this type of behaviour.

Good idea, I'll do that.

Cody looks like such a sweetie. :D

Thanks, he really is the best dog.

[nanna]

Hi Nic,

One thing that we've done with Shiva is to make a treasure hunt for her every morning when we leave for work. She now gets really excited when we leave (in a good way!) and it keeps her occupied while we're actually leaving so she doesn't seem to notice us go.

It doesn't have to be complicated - we do things like dry food scattered around the garden, chicken necks or lamb flaps in empty cereal/tissue boxes, dry food in empty soft drink bottles, yoghurt tubs with a bit of left over yoghurt etc etc. And we make her wait on the deck as we run out and hide them (on chairs, in tree branches, under toys/buckets etc). It doesn't take long to do and is a good way to reuse your recyclables (as long as you don't mind collecting shredded bits of cardboard from all over your lawn )

We've found it to be much more effective for keeping Shiva occupied during the period while we're leaving than just giving her a kong or a bone. Obviously we don't know what she's like once the 'hunt' is over, but I think it gives her a bit of mental stimulation and at least we feel better about leaving her as she's not at the gate looking sooky!

Might be a bit harder when people are coming and going during the day though....

Good luck!

[lokelani]

Poor Cody

After being to the behaviourist about Bos, we are now currently training to be 'calm'. I literally have to do excercises with him (basic stuff like sit, wait, stay etc) but I am not allowed to praise him until he is in a calm state. Then I have to escalate the excercises to include jumping, clapping etc, in different rooms in the house and then down the track, out in the open (I will be making sure no one is around! ) Eventually it will get to the point where I can leave him for short bursts without him carrying on like a pork chop!

He is also on Endep to help calm him down, which in turn helps him to learn a bit easier without being anxious. Im not sure how any of this can help you with Cody, because I think Bosco has gone beyond the stage of madness :p , but I have a booklet on phobias and anxiety here if you ever want to borrow it? Its actually quite interesting, the behaviourist put it together for me when I first went in.

As for the stuff to keep him happy while you are out, I dont know. I havnt figured that out myself! The only place I can keep Bos when I am not home is in the run, unless I want a loose dog, or a destroyed house. And when he is in there, he does not play with anything nor use treatballs etc. He waits until I get home to let him out, then he goes nuts :p

Give Cody a bit hug from me and a kiss from Bos

[poodlefan]

Are you sure what you're seeing is a mental condition? Is there a chance that he is suffering from residual low level pain?

Edited May 22, 2008 by poodlefan

[Zhou Xuanyao]

Cody is anxious. He's not a big barker, he doesn't destroy things, he's not an escape artist. He's just plain sad.

When I get home in the afternoon I don't go nuts with cuddles right away, I let him in and we sit down, sometimes I don't let him in right away so he doesn't go nuts if I change the routine.

I dont know. Wish I could help more, but I do have one thing to say.

I tried the above for the same reasons you are im sure. What I found was that it actually seemed to have a negative effect on him, and I switched back to what came natural (for me) and that is ofcourse opening the door the second I get home so he can run around inside like mad and we can have a big happy greeting.

It might sound like a small thing but to the dog its a big deal because his waited for you all day and his reward is that your home. I know the theory behind not doing this but for me I can say with certainty it didnt work. I suggest you try going back to plan A for a couple of weeks (atleast) and see what changes you observe and if his happiness improves, it worked with my dog.

Edited May 22, 2008 by calsonic350z

[7464]

Interesting replies, everyone. I'll be back this afternoon to read properly and think about it some more. Now it's ugly o'clock and I have to go to work.

Are you sure what you're seeing is a mental condition? Is there a chance that he is suffering from residual low level pain?

That's possible. The poor boy has the dodgy hips. I'll look into it further.

[Cody]

Poor baby.

I hope his hips aren't causing him any pain.

[poodlefan]

Interesting replies, everyone. I'll be back this afternoon to read properly and think about it some more. Now it's ugly o'clock and I have to go to work.

Are you sure what you're seeing is a mental condition? Is there a chance that he is suffering from residual low level pain?

That's possible. The poor boy has the dodgy hips. I'll look into it further.

I'd recommend you talk with your vet about it. It may be that something like a monthly Cartrophen shot can improve things. I hope you find a solution. Don't forget that it's getting colder - this is the time of year that arthritis starts to bite. A heated pad for him to sleep on may help also.

[Mooper]

I think part of the issue is that he got used to you being home all the time, and someone has to be the breadwinner, so you've gone to work. Much as Cody would be a good worker, he lacks opposable thumbs.

My uneducated guess is that he's got his nose a little out-of-joint, and it may be a matter of time before he adapts.

I guess a morning walk is out of the question because of your ugly o'clock start and his hip troubles.

During times when others are in the house, can you implore them to spend some time with him? It could be as simple as a game of tug, some grooming, a quick obedience session with treats that would form part of his meal anyway ...

A Buster Cube with kibble works a treat to keep Jack occupied as we leave each morning (once the doofus worked out how to use it ). Cody is smarter, so he'll be fine Jack's kibble should finally run out soon, and then he'll be on an all-raw diet so I'll spread the chicken necks or wings around the yard. A chunky piece of dried liver pushhhhhhed into his Kong will also keep him occupied for ages as he tries to extract it.

Do you still have your clamshell and some spare builder's sand? Maybe burying some goodies in there of a morning will help, too. Try to get the last person leaving the house to do it.

Hope some of that helps ...

[7464]

Interesting replies, everyone. I'll be back this afternoon to read properly and think about it some more. Now it's ugly o'clock and I have to go to work.

Are you sure what you're seeing is a mental condition? Is there a chance that he is suffering from residual low level pain?

That's possible. The poor boy has the dodgy hips. I'll look into it further.

I'd recommend you talk with your vet about it. It may be that something like a monthly Cartrophen shot can improve things. I hope you find a solution. Don't forget that it's getting colder - this is the time of year that arthritis starts to bite. A heated pad for him to sleep on may help also.

He's on cartrophen. He's got his own heating vent nearby too so I don't think he's cold. i know having heat below is different. He's about to get a new bed which is an innerspring mattress so that will be heaps more comfy.

As it is now, when there's no one away on holidays, he's inside on his bed until about 8am. I get up and tuck him in (well, I make sure his teddy is nearby) and leave him on his bed, he doesn't get up to show me to the door.

5am is too early for walkies (for me, too).

Moops, the clam shell pool suffered the effects of the weather and cracked. He now has a patch of lawn on the ground.

Interaction with others while I'm not here might be an issue. He's outside all day unless it's cold or wet. He keeps them company when they work in the garden and they'll talk to him and throw a toy while they're out there but he is a social dog, he likes to be with the people all the time. The neighbours interact with him when they're around, too.