Seperation Anxiety - change of location

Axel doesn't have major seperation issues, he whines a bit sometimes and paces (I know this because I've recorded videos of short absences) and even when he's lying down he's fixated on the door waiting for our return.
I showed the video to someone and wondered what they thought...then their inspiration struck. Axel was focused on the door and was stressed because of the fact he was in the hallway and so could hear all the people and cars going past and had nowhere to go...I felt so awful at the thought of him being stressed because of that.

Well, we talked through our options and the living room is too small for a 42" crate, the kitchen has too much temptation and he can't climb stairs well enough to go into the bedrooms...then they asked if we had a cupboard under the stairs, and we do...it's big enough that he can walk around and turn around, we put a dog gate on so it's dark in the corner but light by the door, he went in last night and today I did some practice leaving, I then recorded another short seperation and he didn't even lift his head! His breathing was so much better, no whining and no stress! I was amazed at how a simple change of location could make such a difference!

Just wanted to share incase anyone else has a similar issue which could be helped by changing where the dog is left...I know we're not 100% out of the woods, but it was a definite improvement

Yes! I was also given similar advice ---try and find the smallest space possible! My poodle does not like a crate but she was quite happy to have her soft basket put in the smallest room of the bungalow ---the bathroom! She has the radiator for warmth when it is cold. I cannot believe how something so simple could work but it does! Mary

This is one of the ways that I recommend to help cats with certain behavioural problems ~ "shrink their boundaries" by providing a safe haven, or comfort zone, usually just one room, in which everything they need is provided. It's really useful in dealing with the stress caused by isolation, another cat, move to a new house etc.

With dogs, the same principle would apply in that they need to feel safe & secure in order to relax & be able to sleep. For some dogs a relatively dark, enclosed space may be just the ticket ~ other dogs may panic at being shut in somewhere.

This is why I would allow my animals to choose for themselves where they want to sleep. They're pretty good at finding somewhere they feel safe ~ a biologically hard-wired behaviour. It's just up to us to provide alternatives to give them that choice, then allow them access to where they choose.

A friend of mine took on a very difficult rescue dog many years ago. This dog was fear aggressive to people & other dogs & had the most awful habit of weeing up the furniture, doorways, anywhere it could, as a marking behaviour. For this reason the dog was banned from bedrooms, but became completely obsessed with getting into the bedrooms & getting on the beds. It got to the stage where everyone in the house had to slip in & out of the bedrooms as quietly as possible otherwise the dog would barge through & once on the bed, would be aggressive towards anyone who tried to remove him.

After months of trying to cope with this, continually cleaning & replacing carpets, my friend just gave up & thought "s*d it, if the dog wants to sleep on the bed, I can't be bothered to keep trying to stop him ~ I give up!". She then left all the doors open in the house, gave the dog free access to anywhere he wanted to be & told everyone in the house just to leave him alone.

Within days, the indoor weeing stopped & the dog spent hours in very deep sleep on her bed every day. No-one disturbed him & at night, he was taken out for his last toilet break, then allowed to sleep on her bed. His behaviour changed dramatically in the course of a few weeks. The aggression stopped, he became responsive, trainable & put on weight. And all because he desperately wanted to sleep where he felt safe & desperately needed to catch up on much-wanted sleep before he could even contemplate learning new things. Sadly he died last week but had many happy years with my friend & had become a nice-natured happy dog in that time.