catandgrant Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Hey guys, Well, caper is now 14 weeks and in almost all respects doing great. His biting has subsided and he is really coming into his own. He's such a gorgeous little cocker!! We now have a bit of an issue. Everytime my other half leaves the house, whether it be for work, to put the garbage out etc, Casper goes crazy. Well, maybe crazy is a bit extreme. He starts off by crying at the door, this then turns to his scratching and crying at the door and then into full blown barking. Until either i distract him somehow or until he comes back into the house. Whenever i leave the house he cries a little but doesnt fret as much as when oh leaves. Any suggestions? We have tried leaving through different doors and I have tried distracting him but to no avail. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R00 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Hey guys,Well, caper is now 14 weeks and in almost all respects doing great. His biting has subsided and he is really coming into his own. He's such a gorgeous little cocker!! We now have a bit of an issue. Everytime my other half leaves the house, whether it be for work, to put the garbage out etc, Casper goes crazy. Well, maybe crazy is a bit extreme. He starts off by crying at the door, this then turns to his scratching and crying at the door and then into full blown barking. Until either i distract him somehow or until he comes back into the house. Whenever i leave the house he cries a little but doesnt fret as much as when oh leaves. Any suggestions? We have tried leaving through different doors and I have tried distracting him but to no avail. Cheers Use the triangle of temptation from K9 , posted at the top. And also don't make a fuss when you arrive home or leave. As I rule I NEVER NEVER say goodbye to my dogs, I just leave. Otherwise you are providing a cue to your dog that will let him know you are going , likewise when you arrive home do not make a fuss as you can reinforce to the dog that ALL IS OK NOW because mum and dad are home, strengthening the dogs feeling that it is bad when you are not around. Finally stop mothering the dog , give him some space and ignore him when you are at home everynow and then. When mine were pups I would just ignore them for ages at a time to teach them to be on their own especially in a family where owners go to work etc. I know it is hard to stop playing with puppies but it is important IMO. - this does not mean neglect your dogs, just give them some space. If you don't nip this in the backside it will turn into a nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Hey guys,Well, caper is now 14 weeks and in almost all respects doing great. His biting has subsided and he is really coming into his own. He's such a gorgeous little cocker!! We now have a bit of an issue. Everytime my other half leaves the house, whether it be for work, to put the garbage out etc, Casper goes crazy. Well, maybe crazy is a bit extreme. He starts off by crying at the door, this then turns to his scratching and crying at the door and then into full blown barking. Until either i distract him somehow or until he comes back into the house. Whenever i leave the house he cries a little but doesnt fret as much as when oh leaves. Any suggestions? We have tried leaving through different doors and I have tried distracting him but to no avail. Cheers Use the triangle of temptation from K9 , posted at the top. And also don't make a fuss when you arrive home or leave. As I rule I NEVER NEVER say goodbye to my dogs, I just leave. Otherwise you are providing a cue to your dog that will let him know you are going , likewise when you arrive home do not make a fuss as you can reinforce to the dog that ALL IS OK NOW because mum and dad are home, strengthening the dogs feeling that it is bad when you are not around. Finally stop mothering the dog , give him some space and ignore him when you are at home everynow and then. When mine were pups I would just ignore them for ages at a time to teach them to be on their own especially in a family where owners go to work etc. I know it is hard to stop playing with puppies but it is important IMO. - this does not mean neglect your dogs, just give them some space. If you don't nip this in the backside it will turn into a nightmare. Good advice. Another thing you can try is to pretend your going out & come back in immediately. Do this a number of times, lengthening the time your gone. As above don't make a fuss or look at him each time you leave & return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 First thing is you need to right down what your hubby does every time he leaves.Make a point of watching & see if there are any cues hes given. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trojanowski Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 (edited) My gsd pup does the excate same thing with my partner! Edited August 11, 2010 by Trojanowski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Given that Casper is very young and this is a highly specific behaviour, if you can deal with it now, it will probably not generalise to other situations. A fast and effective approach to dealing with this sort of highly specific separation anxiety is my Calming Yo Yo exercise which you can find here: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1556 Follow the instructions closely, don't use any corrections or even food. Don't try to rush ahead, Casper should be succeeding at every point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now