Anxiety Nervousness Or Separation

[Birgitbee]

Hi I have posted here a few times now and the responses I have received have been highly valued. Abby our 10 month old dog, who we have had for 6 weeks continues to worry me. She has settled into our home really well and bonded strongly with both my husband send myself. She came from a breeder who had kept her thinking she might breed from her but then decided not to. There were other dogs in the house and she was well cared for and looked after.

When she came to us she was very stressed looking for her owner everywhere, howling and pacing for the first 24 hours. She slowly settled down and now is the most loving and gentle addition to our home.

My husband and I have both recently retired and enjoy her immensely. We do notice though that she seems to be highly strung, if she can't see one of us she whimpers. If we take her for walks on the beach she runs between the two of us looking constantly to make sure she can see us both. She is not frightened of other dogs, of thunder or loud noises but she does get upset when we leave her at home sometimes. Just recently we have returned home after an hour away to hear her howling like she did when we first took her home.

We took her to be groomed today and when we picked her up she was shaking and wet herself. The groomer said while she played with the other dogs she was very nervous the whole time there.

I am concerned about her reactions and would like to help her if I can. She is going to spend the day with my sister next week as we have to go to a wedding. My sister has an older poodle and they have meet a few times but Abby tends to ignore her after the first greeting. We also have a close family member with two miniature schnauzer puppies and Abby is fine with them but after a very short time leaves them to come and sit with my husband. This will be the first time we have left her for any length of time. Does anyone have any hints as to how we might make this easy for her.

She is an inside dog but is able to go outside whenever she wants to. We are starting older puppy training in a couple of weeks and I hope to maybe get some advice then. Until then can anyone offer me say suggestions.

[apocalypsepwnie]

Adaptil. Works a treat for my dog, I know that it doesn't work for everyone but I still tell people to give it a go. I also use Feliway for my cats. Godsend for us.

[persephone]

I suggest you ask on here for a recommendation to a REPUTABLE and SUITABLE trainer/behaviourist - one who won't have a "quick Fix" ..but one who will assess things , and help explain them to you , then support you in a rehabilitation/management program .

[trifecta]

I know this is not your breed, but I think you will find a lot of answers & hopefully help from this download http://www.greatdanerescue.com.au/Docs/separation_anxiety_seperation_training.pdf courtesy of Great Dane Rescue & Rehoming.

[Nekhbet]

structure, time and persistence with her. You can also purchase Troy Behave paste which is a totally natural, non medicated calming paste 1ml per 10kg bodyweight (you cant really OD on this stuff and it's cheap as chips!) every day, even twice a day at the beginning to 'load the system'. Minis can ramp things up to 11 but sounds like she's still feeling very lost from being rehomed. For dogs like her too 'safe zone' creation can be a savior - so say a nice crate partially covered, tv on, food, bones and toys in there and encourage her to go in there herself when she feels anxious. That type of thing taps into dogs natural denning behaviors that we don't see always, but you will notice particularly in frightened or 'wild like' dogs. One of my bitches was left to wander feral for months, when we first got her the first thing she did was dig a den under the bushes and hide in there when she felt threatened, which was a lot at that stage. When my late GSD was in pain with his hips he scraped himself out a shallow den under another bush and would lay there. You will find creating this type of safe zone they can stop with the whining and howling too as they become conditioned to relax themselves you could say.