Psycho Dog When We Get Home

[Leah82]

Our Cocker Spaniel Collie has had separation anxiety for sometime, we've been working really hard to improve the situation but there's one obstacle that we can't seem to over come.

When we get home anywhere between around 4pm and 6pm Collie goes absolutely nuts, he'll be barking and howling to get us to let him inside, once inside he's yelping and running around the house.

We've tried ignoring him and leaving them outside to wait until he gives up and calms down but after about 10 minutes of waiting there's no improvement. We've tried putting him on his bed when he gets inside, this will stop the yelping and running around but doesn't prevent it from happening in the first place, and you usually have to get pretty angry with him to get him to listen which we don't want to have to do.

The dogs are fine when I put them outside in the mornings, usually about 15 minutes before I leave. If I go home at lunch they'll wander inside completely relaxed.

We've been doing NILIF and obedience training and practice which has definitely helped but there's still no improvement on the coming home from work scenario.

Any suggestions would be great :)

[mumof4girls]

My guys went through this .. I just stand and stare straight ahead and wait for them to sit , at first it took prob 15-20 mins , they know what sit means and if it took longer I would have walked away and then tried again a bit later ..

Now it's as soon as I stand at the door they sit but we don't acknowledge them till we have been inside for a few minutes then I will sit on the deck and say hi .. If they go silly then I don't give them attention until they calm down and then I wait the few minutes before I give them attention.

My guys sit before going outside and also after a walk to get their walking gear off , they know darn well what sit means :-) and now I don't need to say it ..

But I will add mine are just excited to see us , they don't have separation anxiety so I don't know if that needs to be handles differently .. :-)

Edited October 24, 2013 by mumof4girls

[Staffyluv]

I totally ignore it.. We have had a couple of foster dogs that did the whole spastic thing when we got home.

I just walk in my door, put my bag down, put the keys on the key board and walk to the kitchen..

Once they are calm, they get a hello and a pat.

My boy used to do it when we first got him but now he sits on the mat inside the door and waits until we do the bag, keys and then he walks forward for a hello..

Consistency is the key - always do the same thing when you come home. They soon learn this is the procedure for homecoming.

[Rosetta]

I can relate to this. My dog has separation anxiety also and goes bananas when I come home. I tried all the advice about ignoring etc - doesn't work. He just needs to express himself :)

Takes about 10 minutes to calm down if I ignore him - about the same if I greet him with a little pat. We just accept it as part of him now :)

[RiverStar-Aura]

Leah the problem with his behaviour is that he's now learned that a carry on will lead to him getting inside. He'll last much longer than 10 minutes because he'll want to keep pushing that boundary because he knows you'll eventually give in.

Do you have a screen door separating the outside from inside? If you do, I'd try sitting with your back towards the screen door so he can see you, but be completely silent and ignore him. Let him carry on but continue ignoring him and you might find he'll settle because a) he can see you but not get to you and b) you're ignoring him.

I'm by no means a trainer, but this method is just something that's come to mind.

Failing that, you'd be best off seeking out a really good trainer to get this behaviour under wraps. It's not easy dealing with separation anxiety.

[Cosmolo]

Leaving him for ten minutes is not a long time when you get home- many dogs need much longer than that the first few repetitions. There are so many things that would likely help in conjunction with each other- dealing with anxiety type issues requires a multi faceted approach and as i am not sure what else you're doing to work on the problem i'd hesitate to advise too strongly.

Does he spend time outside with the door closed when you're home at other times? When he comes inside at other times does he go to a bed or mat and stay there or follow you around the house? How old is the dog?

[Leah82]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the advice so far, it's very hard convincing my OH to wait any longer, he can be a bit impatient when it comes to the dogs. We might need to look at getting a behaviourist out, maybe he'll be more likely to listen to a professional.

Collie is 5 and he's very attached to my partner. Separation anxiety wasn't really too much of a problem until we moved in together and Collie was an only dog for the first time, as well as spending his days outside. We have since adopted Sarah which has been a big help, the dogs are generally happiest outside when we are outside as well but video footage and sneaking up on them has proved that when we're out they just sniff around the backyard or curl up together. Before we got Sarah neighbors let us know that he was spending a bit of time howling when no-one was home. (no complaints, they were just concerned)

When we're inside both dogs follow us around a bit but it's not to excess, and they spend time on their beds. They don't spend too much time outside alone when we're home, generally a few minutes here and there so they can go to the toilet and once a week for a few hours when we're cleaning the house.

Previously Collie would shake the back screen door with his paw when he wanted to come inside, but now he's ok to sit and wait. They're also usually curled up together in the kennel before I leave for work in the morning so they are not at all frantic before I go.

I'll suggest we wait a little longer in the afternoons, as of next week OH and I will be car pooling and getting home at the same time which will be good coz at the moment OH is home first and he really struggles to just ignore them.

[Cosmolo]

From what you describe it really does sound like attention seeking behaviour rather than separation anxiety. And yes, sometimes hearing advice from a third party professional can be really helpful in getting everyone on the same page.