Really Bad Anxiety

Hi,

My mum and her boyfriend rescued Bo a Labrador x Mastiff about 3-4 months ago and he's about 20months old. We couldnt have wished for a more loving dog but he suffers extremely bad from anxiety and chews everything. When we leave him to go out he just ruins everything, whether it be in the house or the garden. We've tried everything from leaving him with all his toys or sticks to chew on to building a hut and run for him but none of these are working. They also have a German Shephard and both get along perfectly.

if anyone can help i would be extremely grateful because they have lost all patience with him and i couldnt bare to lose him

Thank You

Andrew

Did he come from a rescue, as if so they may be able to help

Other than that, there could be a lot of reasons for his behaviour - these days, the idea is that such behaviours are called "separation related behaviours" as opposed to the old "separation anxiety" because sometimes the dog is actually just bored and almost "having a party" when the owners go out. Not saying this is the case with your mum and boyfriend's dog, though.

I'd suggest firstly they set up a video camere and record it all, and watch it back very carefully. Check times of day, noises, dog reactions, body language, etc.

Dogs who are anxious tend to often defecate, pant, urinate, salivate, at the very high end of the scale, or just "look"anxious and chew at the other end, with lots of things in between.

So to get a true idea of what is going on, do the videoing and see what that brings up.

In many cases, dogs can be "addicted" to chewing on well stufffed kongs, but it's best to get professional help for this really if possible, much better than trying to muddle along, or else being confused bythe info on the net and perhaps messing up a chance to solvethe problems due to something that has been put into place without real understanding.

I tend to use a yellow sticky as a "time out" (in the nicest way) signal, plus getting dog addiced to stuffed kong very carefully (there is a knack to getting this right) and sometimes other things like desensitising and counter conditioning (sorry big words, just means helping the dog feel better).

If you need professional help, try

APBC
or the COAPE behaviour counsellors, the ones with the top diploma.
Wys
x

Very often, dogs are not praised when they do chew on the right things. Every time he does chew on a toy, keep praising him. He doesn't know the difference between a chair and a Kong, until he learns he's doing things right.

Don't put all the toys out at once. Rotate 3 a day and they'll become interesting again.

Kongs can be stuffed with suitable leftovers and frozen. Keeps them quiet for hours. Macaroni cheese, pasta bol, low fat cream cheese is a favourite for my dogs and freezes well.

Stag horns are brill for even the toughest chewers. They last ages.

http://www.doggysnackshack.com/prod2.cfm?product=73471

Unless you actually catch him in the act of destroying something he shouldn't, it's no use telling him off. That will make him more anxious. He really won't know why you are cross.

It's probably well worth an hour or so with a qualified behavourist. They don't come cheap but neither does furniture

Nicky