My Puppy Has Seperation Anxiety (same topic threads merged)

Can any on help, give advice or had similar problems.

We have a 5 month old Doberman bitch puppy that hates being left on her own. We have had her since 8 weeks old and for the first two weeks we had the usually puppy pooing, weeing and howling issues but she started to get into a route and was getting better.

When we first got her my husband worked away and only came home on the weekends. So during the day while i was at work my mom would come up to mine to sit with izzy feed her etc and make sure she was ok. After two weeks daz lost his job and was then at home for 9 weeks solid with Izzy. As daz is now back at work leaving izzy regardless of how long its for she will mess and howl for the entire period.

We have tried crating her and it worked for a period but we feel its cruel to leave her in there for a long period of time until my mom comes up to sort her out. (a long period meaning 2 - 3 hours nothing more!) If the door on the crate is closed shes fine howls and shacks the crate to death but if i leave the door open my kitchen area will be covered in poo and wee when we return.

I’m asking peoples advice one because my kitchen is being destroyed in poo but the main reason is because i feel terrible leaving her knowing what state she is going to get in.

It’s that bad we can even go up stairs without her howling.

THINGS WE HAVE TRIED
Leaving radio/ TV on
Treats (not bothered with them as soon as we leave)
Walking and playing with her for two hours before we leave so she tired (Sleeps as soon as we get home!)
Old T Shirts
Ignoring her
Leaving her in the room on her own when we are in and returning to her when she quite.
Crating her.

I did go to the vet yesterday and she advised us to get her the DAP collar and Air freshener thing. Do These Work???

Will this go away in time if we just keep to the routine we are in at the moment?

Or as my husband is trying really hard to persuade me get her a companion! ! ! ! ! ! !

Please help

Does she poo in the crate when shes been left in there ?
Do you leave her with a stuffed kong ?
2/3 hrs is not too long to be left imo, some times they will change if your routine with her has changed, even some thing as small as eye contact just before you leave her can cause her to kick off, so think carefully about what it is your doing...

When she is in her crate she does not poo at all. When i leave the house i do not make any contact with her eye touch nothing i got told not to make us leaving the house a big deal and just ignore her and go out.
and as for a stuffed kong she has one yeah and will play with it when we are in but when on her own i can come back home and it will still be full of treats.

The crate thing i agree with and use when we go out for a long period of time but even just popping to the corner shop 2mins away and leaving her in the kitchen playin causes her to stress out and poo and howl.

Hiya

Seems she's got used to your husband being at home, and him going out to work now is a big shock to her system.

So from 10 weeks to 19 weeks he was at home with her? That's a long time in a puppy's life, but there are things you can do so all is not lost

DAP collars work better than the difusers, you can also try a new poruct called a beaphar calming collar which is meant to be a bit cheaper but just as good as DAP!

http://www.petstuffonline.co.uk/dog-...lar---dog.html

She will get used to you being out, and you're doing the right things for breaking the attachment. Having her in another room so she's not with you the whole time you're in the house, crating her at different times of the day with something lovely so it's not a punishment.

If I were you I'd see if I can get hold of a copy of this book Seperation Distress and Dogs The other titles I've read by this author have been fantastic and I think the book would help you to establish a routine and have something to refer to in the house.

In an ideal world we'd all be able to build up the amount of time we leave the puppy so that the first long stretch isn't too awful, in the real world sometimes this isn't possible, but you should still try the techniques.

If you and your partner both drive maybe you can do lots of pretend trips so that she knows your coming back. That's why she's crying and pooing so you can come back and find her Bless!

Have you tried dog pyramids or other treat/food dispensing toys to keep her busy while you're out?

Crating for a couple of hours isn't the end of the world if your Mum's coming in to see her, but give her a dentastik or something nice to dgo in there with.

Can you walk her before you go to work? Tired puppies should sleep!

And if you try all of that and it still doesn't work the Vet can prescribe Clomicalm which will calm her down, and is useful for SA but do try the other stuff first!

My welsh springer doesn't like being left and he howls and sometimes finds something to rip up. Getting another dog didn't work for us as it seems to be human company that he craves. I feel now that if he had been left when he was a puppy regularly he wouldn't have this problem now. We can leave him in the car no problem and he is quite happy in there but I am not happy leaving him in there for obvious reasons! I know what you mean about hating to leave them when you know they are going to be upset. I have not found anything which works including the DAP spray but have not tried the collar. Sorry can't be of more help but I do sympathise with you.

It will get better, you just have to persist in leaving her alone for short period of time and returning. Mine also hates it, but gets over it eventually.
Don't ignore her completely, give her a gentle tap when you arrive and when she settles give lots of cuddles.
And yes crate for short periods of time is fine.

Hi

My Slovak, who is also 5 months, is quite similar to yours. She really does not like being left at all. She is absolutely fine being crated over night (not a peep from her for 7 hours) but leave her during the day and we get a chorus of barking. That includes when I am in another room in the house. She is dog with two modes...she is either "on" or "off". There is no middle ground with her. When she is "off", I CAN leave her sleeping in one room and go and do other things and she won't follow or make a fuss. Luckily she is in "off" mode from about 9:00pm. If she is "on", which she is most of the time, she really does not like being alone. If I shut her in the dog room (our conservatory) or crate depending on how hyper she is, she'll either bark for a couple of minutes (if tired) or if she is in hyper mode, the barking can go on for 20 minutes or more. She does stop eventually, but obviously it is a problem.

Definitely DO NOT get her a companion yet. My Slovak is with my other two dogs most of the time and still behaves the way she does. She wants human company all the time, not dog, but in the real world that is not possible.

Will the problem go away by itself? hard to say really...I think it is partly an age thing. I don't know about your pup, but mine is highly strung and quite insecure. Remember that if a pup had its own way it would never be alone. Being left alone must be learned...it is not a natural circumstance for a group living animal.

What I am doing right now is getting my girl used to being alone for short-ish periods in the house. I am ignoring any attention barking and letting her out of her 'room' when she is quiet and settled.

I wrote this reply on the other thread...(spelling mistake and all sorry about that! )

Seems she's got used to your husband being at home, and him going out to work now is a big shock to her system.

So from 10 weeks to 19 weeks he was at home with her? That's a long time in a puppy's life, but there are things you can do so all is not lost

DAP collars work better than the difusers, you can also try a new poruct called a beaphar calming collar which is meant to be a bit cheaper but just as good as DAP!

http://www.petstuffonline.co.uk/dog-...lar---dog.html

She will get used to you being out, and you're doing the right things for breaking the attachment. Having her in another room so she's not with you the whole time you're in the house, crating her at different times of the day with something lovely so it's not a punishment.

If I were you I'd see if I can get hold of a copy of this book Seperation Distress and Dogs The other titles I've read by this author have been fantastic and I think the book would help you to establish a routine and have something to refer to in the house.

In an ideal world we'd all be able to build up the amount of time we leave the puppy so that the first long stretch isn't too awful, in the real world sometimes this isn't possible, but you should still try the techniques.

If you and your partner both drive maybe you can do lots of pretend trips so that she knows your coming back. That's why she's crying and pooing so you can come back and find her Bless!

Have you tried dog pyramids or other treat/food dispensing toys to keep her busy while you're out?

Crating for a couple of hours isn't the end of the world if your Mum's coming in to see her, but give her a dentastik or something nice to dgo in there with.

Can you walk her before you go to work? Tired puppies should sleep!

And if you try all of that and it still doesn't work the Vet can prescribe Clomicalm which will calm her down, and is useful for SA but do try the other stuff first!

I have to agree with many here. Crating the dog (in a properly sized kennel) for 3 or even 4 hours is not cruel. Accustom the dog to the crate slowly maybe with an indestructible toy stuffed with food. With door closed, start feeding the dog in the crate, anytime you find a toy put it back in the crate (hopefully you don't have dozens) and teach a 'go to crate' command.

Depending on the dog. some prefer sound like radio others like it quiet - it's up to you to find out. You may also find it helpful to cover the crate with a blanket to reduce the light and make it into artificial night - this may induce a more restful response.