Separation Anxiety

[crazydoglady]

I have a 3 year old Bull Arab who we have been working with for over 12 months to try to settle her while we are at work. My partner didn't work for the first two years of her life and then he went back. This big change in her life triggered her anxiety. We have everything but a behaviourist. Every single tool on the market from collars to muzzles to training and doggy day care. The problem is, there is no way I can afford someone until after Christmas. I was wondering if anyone had any other tips until we are in a position to get a professional? We have had notes in the letterbox and a complaint from the council. Since then we really have tried and I am at my wits end. I feel bad leaving her as it is, and her anxiety is giving me anxiety! She is due for a 6 month checkup on her cruiciate ligimate surgery soon, so I will be talking to the vet again. I would like to add another dog to the house, but I don't know if its a good idea until this is sorted. She has been left alone with my sister in laws dog, outside, and she didn't make a sound all night. We checked with all the neighbours.

Any tips or help at all is appreciated.

[crazydoglady]

I take it no one has any other ideas. Thanks for reading anyway. We will keep trying with her until we can get a professional. Wish us luck!

[ChristineX]

looking at what you have posted, your dog may need canine company. My female Irish Terrier does. Can you 'borrow' a dog for a while? Could someone maybe need a dog babysat for a while, ie while they are in hospital, overseas, have allergic family to stay? Maybe an elderly dog- if yours doesnt need a play companion- could work?

Just some thoughts.

[crazydoglady]

These are my thoughts too. My partner is dead against another dog at the moment, I have wanted a second for a long time. She loves being with her girlfriend, a doberman of the same age, and is so good when they are together. The other dog will have to be young and want to play. She is big and can be rough so an older dog would not be a good idea.

My concern is, if we do get a second dog, can this behaviour rub off on the new addition? Will I then be doubling our problem? I have always had dogs, but this is the first time I have had to deal with a dog with anxiety so its all new to me.

[Weasels]

How about enquiring about fostering a dog in rescue?

The people at the rescue should provide you with support to choose an appropriate dog and manage any issues, or at least tell you if they think adding another dog is a bad idea.

Edit - when you say you have tried training, what did you try specifically?

Edited November 20, 2011 by Weasels

[crazydoglady]

We tried doing our leaving routine but not leaving, over and over. Pretending to leave then coming straight back, over and over. We even had a shock collar with a remote. We would pretend to leave but just stand out the front with the remote for when she barked. A tightly wound jumper, like a compression wrap.

Did you have another suggestion?

I have a large cat that would not like dogs coming and going all the time. Just getting him used to one dog will be bad enough. I thought about fostering. I would probably really like it. But, my grumpy old man would not, lol.

[Guest lavendergirl]

I can sympathise with your situation as I too have a little dog with separation anxiety and it can be a long and painful process to find something that works. Some behaviourists don't necessarily recommend another dog as that may even increase the stress - not saying it would not work for you. Does he like chew toys or is he food motivated. What I find has helped a little is to use food as a distraction when I want to leave the house. I feed him out of "puzzle balls", frozen kongs etc that he has to work at to get the food. He gets quite excited when these come out and it re-directs his attention from the fact that I am leaving. Mind you, this only keeps him occupied until the food runs out! He is still a "work in progress". I find the staged leavings etc to be very tiring and I don't really like the idea of the collars at this stage. As a last resort medication may be of assistance. Good luck with finding something that works for him.

[Weasels]

The leaving and the compression wrap are good strategies, but the shock collar may have made things worse I fear

For example, if I was having a panic attack, and someone would come up and smack me in the back of the head randomly, this would only increase my anxiety rather than decrease it. Probably doubly so if I couldn't work out where it was coming from.

As always, professional advice is best, but here's what I do with my 2 (my girl had SA when I first got her):

- Never leave them alone without a walk/run first

- Always leave them with something to do, e.g. a bone, a frozen kong, a treat ball or a pigs ear. Preferably something they love that they don't get at any other time.

- I make sure I give them the above food treat before I start gathering up my keys etc. so they don't get wound up as I am leaving. On a good morning, they don't even look up when I go.

- I make sure they have a quiet, cosy place to sleep the day away, in my case that's inside on the couches. Plus there are plenty of toys around in case they wake up and want to squeak something.

- I've added a 'cue' word when I leave, which means "I'm going, but I'll be back" (I'm not sure how effective this is, but I keep it up anyway). Mine is "be good!"

If you go down the bones etc. path, you could start by giving her the treat, going out, then coming back before she finishes it. Then gradually increasing the time to just after she's finished etc.

Another tip I received but didn't implement myself was having times when you are at home but the dog can't get to you, like putting up a baby gate so they can still see you but have to get used to being by themself. Or failing that, just ignoring the dog for certain periods of the day when you are home.

I think that the most important thing with SA is treating the cause rather than managing the symptoms. Trying to get the dog to think you leaving is a good thing, or at least has it's benefits

It's a tough problem, but it sounds like you are commited to helping your girl

[Aidan3]

We tried doing our leaving routine but not leaving, over and over. Pretending to leave then coming straight back, over and over.

How was she responding to this? If she was relaxed, then you came back - that is good. If she was starting to panic, then you came back - that is bad.

Here is an article I wrote: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1556

There is an exercise at the end called "The Calming Yo-Yo" which I think you should try. Just follow the instructions exactly, they are deceptively simple.

[crazydoglady]

Thank you everyone for replying. We will try to implement these ideas as soon as we can. I just want her to be happy and it upsets me to leave her and I worry about her all day because I know she is stressing.

Looks like a clicker is the next investment!