dirtymartini77 Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 hey there. i am new to this site--hoping someone out there has some suggestions. i have a one year old female husky mix; dad is full bred husky and mom is a border collie mix. i brought her home at 9 weeks and she is doing very well. for a husky, she is EXCELLENT off leash and was raised with a kitty, so she loves kitties. my partner and i have been diligent in our training. she responds well to treats and is a very fast learner. we started doggy day care one day a week (on a day when she has a friend there with her) about a month ago to help with socialization and it's worked phenomenally! except for when we leave her alone. we tried to leave her out at first and she destroyed the living room. she was crate trained right off the bat and seemed to adapt to it very well. we also walk EVERY morning, sometimes we run. we go for at least a mile and i make sure she is panting by the time we get back. This last weekend, we took her to daycare on saturday. this was out of routine and she seemed to sense that. i watched for a while on the webcam and all she did was howl. every few minutes. i had never seen her do it for that long before saturday. she will give us a short howl when we return home from work in the evenings. i am now worried she is howling all day in her crate while we are gone. while i don't want this to bug my neighbors, i am more worried about my dog. i have asked the vet and read a ton of books but nothing seems to be working. i am wondering if anyone out there may have a secret suggestion that might work..? something you tried that helped..? it is breaking my heart and i definitely don't want her to be so sad all day while i'm gone............... thank you for reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberianandy Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 sorry never really had this problem so can't really offer any advice sure some one who can help will be on soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 Are you able to build a dog run for her? Or leave her in the yard? Crating a young, energetic dog all day is not ideal. I know we all have our own opinions on crating and I do crate train mine but I'm not keen on crating all day. My guess is that she is bored and under stimulated - what does she have to mentally stimulate her when she is in the crate all day? Have you tried leaving her with a stuffed kong or puzzle type toy? It may not be separation anxiety per se but frustration/boredom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyrayn Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 one thing i did with my puppy when she was home alone was to have set up a radio or tv gently playing in back ground which seemed to work... now i have 2 i built an outside area for them... did have prob to start .. nothing major just a bit of howling .. so got a vibrating anti bark collar.. never found out if it worked lol as put it on and instantly hasn't done it since.. think she was smart enough to know what i wanted lol.... def agree with Smeagle... try kongs or some other style toy to stimulate the brain... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 Hi, welcome to the site, congrats on your pup, can't wait to see some pics!! I crate mine during the day. They're on their own from 8.15 till dinner when either my husband or myself come home for and hour and then they are on their own again until 3.15 when stepdaughter gets back from school so not ALL day but some of it - how long do you leave yours for? I agree with Smeagle, a stuffed Kong works wonders, i soak their kibble the night before and freeze it so it lasts longer, if you do this though remember to reduce the amount of food you give at meal times or you'll end up with a chubby pup Let us know how you get on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 hello welcome to the site Sorry to hear about your problem. Im not very experienced in this but I shall try. As already suggested, maybe building her a run area outside (with a sheltered area) that she can go into when you are at work may help. If she does have separation anxiety then it may be best to consult a good behaviourist as this can be a very hard condition to overcome. Siberians are true free spirited dogs and dont usually cope well being put into a crate all day with nothing to do. Try and get some brain teasing toys for her and also the stuffed kongs are brilliant and keeps them occupied for hours usually This link has already been posted on the forum before and has some brilliant advise about keeping your dogs mind stimulated and it may have some suggestions there to help you: http://www.k9station.com/mentalstim.htm How much time do you spend playing and exercising with her in the mornings before going to work? Maybe extending the time you spend physically with her (as in playing, running, walking, training) may also help. Did she spend alot of time on her own since she has been a young pup? If she has been spending the majority of the day in a crate since a puppy with no regualr visits to let her out then this can also cause problems like you have now. Dogs are a very social animal and being alone for a long time every day is not good for a dog. Without actually seeing her it is very difficult to help you with a solution but I would suggest giving becs (Smeagle) suggestion about the kong a go with her and give it a "trial" period of about a week or more and vary the stuffing from day to day (i.e. one day could be peanut butter, another day you could put some frozen tuna paste, etc) of her favourite treats so she is less likely to get bored of the same thing Hope this helps Keep us updated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 Have been doing some reading up on this: Separation anxiety can occur after a change of routine, such as change of working hours or a new family member etc, having a traumatic experience whilst left on their own i.e a thunderstorm comes and the thunder scares them. Make sure they have a safe place, ie a crate or their own bed, and plenty of exercise. I;ve come across 4 steps that may help and have put them into my own words. Step 1 Slowly teach them that they don't always have to be right next to you. Ignore attention seeking behaviour, do some practise on the Down stay and slowly increase the time they are in the down as well as the distance between yourselves. Step 2 Get them used to being in a different room to you, I.E you're in the living room and they're in the kitchen or ourside. Start off with small periods and gradually increase the time over a few weeks. Start out by leaving them for just a few seconds then go and praise them BEFORE any signs of separation anxiety is aparant. Step 3 Eliminate stress caused by you getting ready to leave the house. What triggers start him off - putting on your shoes / coat for example? Make a lit of what triggers his behaviour and work on desensitizing these triggers. Put your shoes on but don't leave the house, put your coat on and just wander about the house or sit down and read a book (or come on here lol) After a few weeks, they will realise that putitng your shoes on doesnt always mean they're going to be left on their own. Step 4 When they're completly calm in situations that would have unsettled them in the past, leave the house, just step outside for a few seconds and them come back in. This will be a slow process at first but gradually increase it over time. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 fantatic reply sarah soz, cant add to rep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyrayn Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 just remembered this link that might be of help to you http://www.petlibrary.co.uk/dog-training/separation-anxiety-in-dogs-how-to-treat-it.html?Itemid=34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 that's where i read about what i put in the post above lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.