Rescue Dog - Separation Anxiety

[Paddo Pup]

Hi there. Sorry if this topic has been thrashed already!

I have read everything I can find on these forums regarding separation anxiety and it has been really helpful!

I just wanted to know a little more about dogs who have been prescribed Reconcile/Prozac and what to expect.

We adopted our little 2 year old terrier cross rescue dog 5 months ago and discovered she had spearation anxiety within the first few weeks. We have since had sessions with dog trainers, been to obedience school, been crating her and made sure she is at home alone for minimal times a week but she urinates inside, cries, scratches, paces and pants when she is by herself. We went to the vet and as a last resort have put her on Reconcile to combine with her training as we received a complaint from a neighbour threating to contact strata (we have permission to have our dog in the building as long as she does not distrub others). She has plenty of space and toys, we leave her a bone etc when we go out and never leave her for more than 4-5 hours at a time. She often comes to work with me too.

She has been on the medication for 4 weeks now and she just seems out of sorts. She doesnt play as often and now growls and refuses to socialise with other small dogs she was previously very friendly with. She also spends a fair bit of time hiding under the bed. I have also noticed she seems to be licking herself around her bottom to the point of bleeding. I have also noticed her shaking which is said to be a side effect.

We absolutely adore our dog and will never give her up and are trying to be the pack leaders and do all the right things but I am wondering if there is something esle we can do better?

Any help greatly appreciated!

[Nekhbet]

If it was my dog I would weigh up quality of life. I had a rescue dog that was worst then this with his SA. Nothing would calm him and no cage could hold him. It was a hard decision but he was suffering terribly (standing on the other side of a bench where he couldn't see you would incite screaming and thrashing)

http://animalbehaviour.com/ Robert Holmes does come reccomended, I know he is in Victoria but can read your vets reports and give you an opinion on what he thinks is the best course of action. He is a veterinary behaviorist and works with both behavioral modification and pharmaceuticals. I dont know what the trainer has done with you but your dog needs to be in behavioral training while on the medication otherwise things will not change.

[Guest lavendergirl]

Hello Paddo

I also have a little rescue dog with separation anxiety so I sympathise totally with your situation. We have been working on his issues for over a year now and it is ongoing. He is not on medication though so sorry I cannot offer any insight into that aspect. Is your vet well versed in the various medications used to treat anxiety conditions? I thought Clonicalm was the first drug of choice to treat separation anxiety and Reconcile has more instances of side effects such as you describe. Is your neighbour complaining about barking? If you have not done so it is worthwhile having a chat to her if appropriate to explain that you are working on strategies to lessen the barking. Have you tried a Thundershirt or Anxiety Wrap? I have not had success with them myself but some people have. I have found some of the following tips helpful from Larry Lachman. You may find some or all of them of some help. Good luck - it is a long process that requires much dedication and patience.

Lachman recommends owners implement a separation anxiety program that includes the following practices.

* Keep arrivals and departures low-key. When arriving home, only give the dog attention after he is calm.

* Do not respond when the dog demands attention. Ignore attention-seeking behaviors.

* Only give attention during times when the dog is not actively seeking attention, such as when lying down calmly.

* Reduce the contrast: most separation-anxious dogs cannot tolerate the either-or conditions of attention when the owner is home vs. no attention when the owner leaves. Reduce the contrast by picking two days out of week when you are home. Ignore the dog for 6 to 8 hours on those days, matching the time you are away at work. Limit attention to only feeding or letting the dog out to potty during this time. The dog will learn: "what's the big deal when my owner is gone; even when he's home, he still sometimes ignores me."

* Practice fire drills -- go out, return, sit, play a game, go out. Vary the time you are gone.

* A half-hour before you leave, take the dog for a vigorous 15 minute leash walk. Have the dog heel at your side and sit every 30 paces. This helps channel pent-up tension.

* Counter-condition the dog to see departures as good. Fifteen minutes before leaving, confine the dog in one area of the home (a safe zone). Provide the dog with super-good, long-lasting treats such as sterilized bones or treat-filled Kongs. Put on a continuous-play tape recording of your voice calmly reading a magazine. Play the tape sometimes when you are home so dog does not associate tape only with your departure.

* Make off-limits chew objects undesirable. To do this, you can use hair spray. First coat a Q-tip and have dog approach it. It will taste bad when he licks it. Then liberally spray the hair spray on couch cushions, wood molding and other places the dog chewed before. The spray's smell and taste will repel the dog.

If the dog barks to express his separation anxiety, add the following to your program:

* Do not give the dog any attention for any type of vocalization, not even eye contact.

* Reduce dog's visual access to things he will bark at.

* Catch him in the act of barking. Say OFF! and use a startle technique (such as a loud clap, spraying water at the dog with a spray bottle, or creating an unpleasant, interruptive noise). After the dog has stopped barking, wait one to five minutes and begin to reward the dog's quiet behavior.

* Randomly, notice when your dog is not vocalizing in any way. Pass near him, toss a treat and say "good quiet." The dog learns that he gets rewarded for quiet behavior and gets startled for noisy behavior. These discipline techniques are not to be used with great frequency, nor should they be relied on as the sole way to stop barking.

* Set up tape recorder or video recorder to chart the time the barking occurs. Come home for lunch. When you give your separation-anxious dog attention, dole it out in one-second increments.

Part of what contributes to a dog's intolerance of being alone or ignored is that the dog is constantly being petted for long periods. Instead, always have your dog sit before giving attention and then only give your dog 10 seconds of petting at a time. If he wants more, wait until he is not actively seeking it, have him sit again, and give another 10 seconds of petting. Have him earn attention by sitting. Ration attention out in small bits so as to not create an overly dependent dog.

[nawnim]

Hello Paddo

I also have a little rescue dog with separation anxiety so I sympathise totally with your situation. We have been working on his issues for over a year now and it is ongoing. He is not on medication though so sorry I cannot offer any insight into that aspect. Is your vet well versed in the various medications used to treat anxiety conditions? I thought Clonicalm was the first drug of choice to treat separation anxiety and Reconcile has more instances of side effects such as you describe. Is your neighbour complaining about barking? If you have not done so it is worthwhile having a chat to her if appropriate to explain that you are working on strategies to lessen the barking. Have you tried a Thundershirt or Anxiety Wrap? I have not had success with them myself but some people have. I have found some of the following tips helpful from Larry Lachman. You may find some or all of them of some help. Good luck - it is a long process that requires much dedication and patience.

Lachman recommends owners implement a separation anxiety program that includes the following practices.

* Keep arrivals and departures low-key. When arriving home, only give the dog attention after he is calm.

* Do not respond when the dog demands attention. Ignore attention-seeking behaviors.

* Only give attention during times when the dog is not actively seeking attention, such as when lying down calmly.

* Reduce the contrast: most separation-anxious dogs cannot tolerate the either-or conditions of attention when the owner is home vs. no attention when the owner leaves. Reduce the contrast by picking two days out of week when you are home. Ignore the dog for 6 to 8 hours on those days, matching the time you are away at work. Limit attention to only feeding or letting the dog out to potty during this time. The dog will learn: "what's the big deal when my owner is gone; even when he's home, he still sometimes ignores me."

* Practice fire drills -- go out, return, sit, play a game, go out. Vary the time you are gone.

* A half-hour before you leave, take the dog for a vigorous 15 minute leash walk. Have the dog heel at your side and sit every 30 paces. This helps channel pent-up tension.

* Counter-condition the dog to see departures as good. Fifteen minutes before leaving, confine the dog in one area of the home (a safe zone). Provide the dog with super-good, long-lasting treats such as sterilized bones or treat-filled Kongs. Put on a continuous-play tape recording of your voice calmly reading a magazine. Play the tape sometimes when you are home so dog does not associate tape only with your departure.

* Make off-limits chew objects undesirable. To do this, you can use hair spray. First coat a Q-tip and have dog approach it. It will taste bad when he licks it. Then liberally spray the hair spray on couch cushions, wood molding and other places the dog chewed before. The spray's smell and taste will repel the dog.

If the dog barks to express his separation anxiety, add the following to your program:

* Do not give the dog any attention for any type of vocalization, not even eye contact.

* Reduce dog's visual access to things he will bark at.

* Catch him in the act of barking. Say OFF! and use a startle technique (such as a loud clap, spraying water at the dog with a spray bottle, or creating an unpleasant, interruptive noise). After the dog has stopped barking, wait one to five minutes and begin to reward the dog's quiet behavior.

* Randomly, notice when your dog is not vocalizing in any way. Pass near him, toss a treat and say "good quiet." The dog learns that he gets rewarded for quiet behavior and gets startled for noisy behavior. These discipline techniques are not to be used with great frequency, nor should they be relied on as the sole way to stop barking.

* Set up tape recorder or video recorder to chart the time the barking occurs. Come home for lunch. When you give your separation-anxious dog attention, dole it out in one-second increments.

Part of what contributes to a dog's intolerance of being alone or ignored is that the dog is constantly being petted for long periods. Instead, always have your dog sit before giving attention and then only give your dog 10 seconds of petting at a time. If he wants more, wait until he is not actively seeking it, have him sit again, and give another 10 seconds of petting. Have him earn attention by sitting. Ration attention out in small bits so as to not create an overly dependent dog.

What a fantastic post.

[Alkhe]

Yes, lavendergirl that was a great post! Thanks!

I'm not sure about Reconcile either, but my mum has a little dog who is on Clonicalm and has been for about 6 months. He didn't have separation anxiety as much as generalised anxiety which sometimes translates into fear aggression. Rudy didn't experience anything like the side effects you have been describing, and in fact I can't think of any real side effects. It's not like he's a completely changed dog on the medication, but he does seem more relaxed, particularly when we are out. He is still an anxious dog, but nowhere near as bad as he was before.

That said, Rudy was never a playful dog anyway, and has a number of er.. "issues". He came from (in hindsight) a dodgy backyard breeder, mum got him at 5 weeks (!!!) and at the age of 3, he escaped and was gone for 6 days. After that, he was never the same, and we have no idea what he got up to, apart from covering 5 LGAs and running his little pads ragged. So even if he were to have some behavioural side effects, they wouldn't be as strange the behaviour he displays sometimes ANYWAY.

I second lavendergirl's recommendation of the ThunderShirt, too. Rudy has one of them and that thing really IS unbelievable. I wish he could wear it permanently, it's almost like he visibly relaxes when it's on. I thought it was some kind of voodoo cr*p when I read about it but honestly, if you haven't given one a go, do! They're amazing.

One other thing that I've heard can be helpful is a diffuser, which emits some kind of calming pheremone. I can't remember what they're called (which is really unhelpful, I know!) but the vet suggested this to mum as an expensive option that may be worth trying. Apparnetly you plug it into the wall and it does its thing. A woman at my park has a cocker spaniel with TERRIBLE Anxiety and a host of other problems that have now been diagnosed as related to an acquired brain injury, and she said that the diffuser was completely useless for her dog. So I'm not about to recommend it based on that, but who knows - horses for courses!

Perhaps speak to your vet about altering the medication and changing to Clonicalm? I'm not sure of the difference and whether there's a particular reason that Reconcile was prescribed, but those side effects, particularly licking himself to the point of bleeding, sound really horrible

[Guest lavendergirl]

Thanks Padraic and Alkhe - I don't know if the OP has been back though :) . Alkhe there was a post a while ago about Reconcile causing those nasty side effects and the dosage was reduced for the poster's dog and things improved. The infuser you are referring to is a DAP diffuser - you can get plug ins sprays and collars. The success rate is hit and miss for those also.

[Kadbury]

Here is a Topic on thunder shirts free Postage with some interesting info

http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/236573-thunder-shirt/page__pid__5804307#entry5804307

[Paddo Pup]

Thanks so much for all the info. I have printed it out and attahed to our fridge. I think we are definitely giving her too much affection and making her needy. It's SO hard not to but I must be firmer.

I think the doage may need adjusting, there have been some good changes with it, she has stopped following me from room to room and is content to be on her own a bit more at home which is good.

She is definitely not needing to be put t sleep or anythign like that, we just have to keep working through this. She is worth it!

[Guest lavendergirl]

She is definitely worth another chance! It really is a matter of trial and error - some things work for some dogs and not for others. The trouble is with many rescue dogs we have no idea what has happened to them in the past. I believe a lot of the anxious behaviours stem from a fear of being deserted rather than any attempt by them to be "pack leader". Good for you for giving this little girl a loving home. I am sure things will slowly improve. Keep us posted as to your progress - I am really interested in whether the medication has any positive effect.

[Alkhe]

I know exactly what you mean Paddo Pup, it's so hard to not smother them with affection when in actual fact that just makes things worse. I'm a sucker for dogs, it's terrible. :D And even though it's been 5 months since you got her, it's still early days - I'm sure she'll get better with time anyway, as she gets more and more settled with you.