SarahNukka&Shadow Posted June 8, 2010 Report Share Posted June 8, 2010 Right guys, My new boy Shadow has awful seperation anxiety, I cant even leave him to pop to the loo coz if I take any longer than 1 minute he's howling the house down. Hes currently having to sleep in our bedroom as he wont shut up and the neighbours have complained!! Today I went out for an hour and a half an came home to him having dug so hard at the kitchen door hes taken alot of the paint off and the carpet that was just peeking over the door from the livingroom is now no longer there! Soooo heres what my game plan is: 1) picked him up his own crate this evening so I can confine him to a, save my house and b, confine him so hes not pacing and working himself up more. (crate training begins!) 2) Im really looking to find him a DAP collar to test and see if this helps him at all but this might take a few days to get hold of. 3) Im exercising him as much as humanly (and doggyly) possible during the day to try to tire him out physically. 4) Im training with him daily to teach him patients, trying to use the NILIF so making him sit for his dinner and sit to go out on walks etc hoping this will a, tire him mentally and b, teach him some patients. Its slow going and I want it to go as speedily as possible for all our sakes, I hate him getting so upset, I hate not getting any sleep unless hes in our room as I usually have a strict no dogs upstairs policy, and I hate that my neighbours have apparently lost all patients with us (they were really understanding with Nukka, but maybe they just loved the cute puppy and have little simpathy for the poor neglected recued older dog! ) So basically Im posting this up to see if anyone has any other ideas that might help speed this along! Anything at all, all ideas welcome! Thanks guys love you all!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted June 8, 2010 Report Share Posted June 8, 2010 put old clothes that smell like u in the bathroom and a tape recorded ov u talkin - can you give him something ov urs that smells like u 2 comfort him?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted June 8, 2010 Report Share Posted June 8, 2010 We have similar problems with Darwin (we've had him a month) Seperation during the day / going out isn't a problem coz he has Echo and Daughtry to play with. But at night, well different story. His previous owners let him sleep on the floor in thier room. When we left him in the living room with Echo and Daughtry at night he sratches and scrapes at the door, Making a hell of a mess of the door and a lot of noise. So he sleeps in the hallway, we have to leave at least one of our bedroom doors open or he attacks the doors again. Mostly now he sleeps at the foot of the stairs on the laminate flooring (nice and cool for him) but occasionally he will sleep in the room . We are hoping that eventually he will become more settled and eventually join Echo and Daughtry in the living room overnight. trouble is we can't leave the living room door open at night coz the 3 of them playfight and run up and down the damn stairs all night. So I feel for you right now. but it will take time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly_larkin Posted June 8, 2010 Report Share Posted June 8, 2010 we have had this a few time what we have done and it has worked for us. 1. give the dog something that has your smell on it something old that you dont mind if it gets ripped up and put it where the dog likes to be. 2. leave the room as often as you can for a few min's at a time but still talk to him, then try not talking to him once you dont have to talk to him try staying out of the room for a little longer at a time. 3. this might sound very silly but it has worked for us a good few times of a night leave the light on. it should help the fact that you have got a settled dog in the house it takes abit of time for a dog to settle into a new home and a dog that has not had a good start to life might take abit more time but stick to it you will win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahNukka&Shadow Posted June 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2010 Hey guys, same vein but slightly different question... Iv been looking into Rescue remedy since Im still looking for a DAP collar that isnt going to end up costing a small fortune. Now on everything Ive read says it works well at calming a dog during a stressful time, the website for the company says its fine to use for dogs but the ingredients list mentions grape alchol so I'm in two minds as to wether or not to use it since grapes are toxiv and alchol is also bad!? Any opinoins or experiences good or bad???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted June 10, 2010 Report Share Posted June 10, 2010 i've used this on myself before now and heard you can use it on animals - do you know what the content level of it is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denise Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 im having more or less the same problem, storms a great dog when shes with us but when she's left on her own she scrapes at the doors and pulls up the carpet, we got a crate for her but she just bent the bars to get out so that idea went out the window. some photos on gallery of my back door!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 im having more or less the same problem, storms a great dog when shes with us but when she's left on her own she scrapes at the doors and pulls up the carpet, we got a crate for her but she just bent the bars to get out so that idea went out the window. some photos on gallery of my back door!!!! Yikes............. That's one heck of a mess have you considered crate training for both her safety and your homes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahNukka&Shadow Posted June 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 im having more or less the same problem, storms a great dog when shes with us but when she's left on her own she scrapes at the doors and pulls up the carpet, we got a crate for her but she just bent the bars to get out so that idea went out the window. some photos on gallery of my back door!!!! Denise, I have spoken to my dog trainer who is also a vet nurse about this and what she recomends apart from the above that I'm doing is a milk based tablet remedy called Zilkeen (that might not be spelt right but she said any vet pharmacy should know what you mean) aparently it works on the part of the brain that deals with stress/anxiety and switches it off. Its not on perscription so doesnt require a vet visit to get hold of it but since my boy is due for his vaccinations soon anyway Im going to chat to the vet about it and will let you know how I get on if it works for me, the trainer said it worked a treat on her rescue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denise Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 thanks will look into that, i bought a kong today and she loves it, so its just whether she will actually play with it when she's left alone, so time will tell!!! we tried with the crate training but ended up with a crate with 3 big holes in it where she had bent and snapped the bars to get out, so that didnt work. she has improved when left alone and not destructing as much , now its just the doors so hopefully she'll like this kong, keep me informed on how you get on with that stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 hope the kong works - tip.....don't buy the kong paste they advertise you to fill it with - it costs about £6 in some places, i just put peanut butter in or soak their kibble, put it in the kong then freeze it - takes them ages to get through it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 My 3 used to have separation anxiety but after alot of time and patience they are now fine with us coming and going. We used a method which is often called 'gesture leaving' or 'independance training'. To start you need to decide on crate or no crate, for your dogs safety I would recommend to use a crate. If you don't use a crate there are many risks involved which could potentially be fatal to your dog! We start by avoiding giving fuss to ours for about 30 mins before we leave as this can be seen as passing your anxiety/guilt to the dog before you leave. Just keep everything calm before you leave and get yourself ready to go. When you get ready your dog can see this a trigger that your going to leave and this can be when the anxiety starts to build up so I started by just getting ready and walking to the door and maybe put my hand on the handle and then walk back, put everything down again and then sitting back down and waiting for the dog/s to calm down and chill out again. If you are using a crate then also put your dog into the crate but don't make eye contact or give them your attention as this can also increase the anxiety levels. I will continue to do this until they become chilled out with me just simply getting ready to go. Your bascically de-sensitising them to the process we go through when you leave. When they become chilled out with this process you can then move up a notch to simply opening the door, walking through and closing the door behind you and wait behind the door for a few seconds and then walk back in as if you have just come back from actually going away and allow your dog time to calm down again before going through the same process again. As your dog become more calm about the process of you leaving you can slowly increase the time between leaving and returning. If your dog is very excitable when you return then wait until they calm down before fussing them and saying hello to them, if they jump up at you simply turn your back to them until they get off you. It takes alot of time and patience but IMO its a good method to help a dog learn that it's ok to be alone and you are going to return. Obviously unless you are at home all the time its going to be very difficult to do this as you need to go to work, etc so I recommend buying various toys you can place treats, frozen pate, etc into and give your dog this just before you leave to keep their mind occupied hopefully long enough for them to take their anxiety out on the toy/chew so when they have finished they should just relax andgo to sleep until you return. All the best with the training xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 excellent advice amy added to rep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbb23 Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 Fantastic advice Amy +1 Iv kinda got the same prob with Grey, he dont really destroy things any more but gets stressed out and will bark & cry when left alone. Iv just recieved the D.A.P plug in I ordered so going to see how he gets on with that. x x x x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdunshee Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 AS far as crates go, my Mia didnt want to have anything to do with her all wire crate and actually destroyed the front door on it twice and escaped from it numerous times. I bought a giant plastic crate for her (i think it was more den like to her) and she is happy go lucky with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_426 Posted July 30, 2010 Report Share Posted July 30, 2010 Hello i would advise you carry on as your doing, with the walks, oscar when he was puppy was like this now i can leave him in the house 6 hours it does take patients believe me, but i would suggest that you have a window he can look out of because now with oscar when i go out i just say window and he goes to the window i go and he waits sat at the window until we get back sometimes they become very destructive, because they are without reach of their pack having a window eliminates this they can look out until you get back and whilst you go out nip to the shops and get him a treat when you get back wait for him to go in a calm state give him the treat sucess, after all that its patience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy-Ann Posted July 31, 2010 Report Share Posted July 31, 2010 Hey guys, I rehomed Tannar 2 weeks ago for the first 2 days she was fine she settled in nicely playing with Laika going to the toilet outside and sleeping downstairs snuggled up with him. As from about the 3rd day she started following me around constantly and very quickly built up to a point where she is my shadow and refuses to go out unless im stood with her. I leave my back door open most of the day so they can come in and out as they please. I dont have an issue with laika he isnt fussed by her its just the fact of were she wont eat unless im with her she wont go out side unless im with her if i leave a room 2 seconds later she is right behind me, im slowly running out of ideas so today I have done something Ipromised myself I never would do I have bought a crate (i'm not happy about it trust me) but im using it as a training tool to wear i have been putting her in it and then just moving to the other side or the room talking to her, my next step is hide around a corner for a min then return. I have had to resort to thisas shehas started to destroy all my sons toys. Any other tips are very welcome, as I have never had this issue before. Many Thanks Stacy xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_426 Posted July 31, 2010 Report Share Posted July 31, 2010 stacy you brought a crate and your not happy about it hmmm i suggest that means you think it's cruel and putting the dog in the cage gives you guilt conceiounce, the dog will sense that so you must relate to the cage as a good thing using food or raw bones can be good to introduce the cage as a good thing but the important thing is how you feel about the cage dogs pic up on this do remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy-Ann Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 stacy you brought a crate and your not happy about it hmmm i suggest that means you think it's cruel and putting the dog in the cage gives you guilt conceiounce, the dog will sense that so you must relate to the cage as a good thing using food or raw bones can be good to introduce the cage as a good thing but the important thing is how you feel about the cage dogs pic up on this do remember. Lukily I went and got it without her being with me so I spent that time adjusting myself to use it as a pisitive tool I have already put food and her bed in it and she has been in it with the door open im just going to play it day by day but before i walk into the room i cjange my attitude towards it as a positive one even though I dont like xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 the crate isn't a bad thing - my two are both crated - for their own safety when i'm out and for my house's safety lol They can get into cupboards / bins etc when i'm not in if they're not in their crates and could swallow something bad for them or worse take it slow with the crate, she will get used to it but will take time 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.