Separation anxiety

[Patricia Sciallis]

Hi Everyone,  I an mew to this site and need some advice for us concerning our Bandit, a 5 month old mini labradoodle.  He is a fabulous dog, so smart, doesn't destroy anything in the house while we are home and listens well.  He can sit, lay down, shake, stay(a little) and "leave it".  My issue is when I leave the room he follows me everywhere but the worst of it is when I leave him alone.  We have tried a crate(didnt work) and now I have a 41 inch gate barricading him in my laundry room.  He totally destroys everything when left alone.  He is soaking wet and so upset when I come home.  Have only left him for 3 hours at a time.  He has jumped up at the window in there and chewed curtains, poohed and peed, scratches door and has gotten things from my pantry.  I have been trying to be his pack leader constantly, but he stills pulls me on our walks.  Any suggestions would be helpful.  Thanks.  Any questions, please let me know.  I am thinking our next step would be a trainer because I do not want to medicate him for this.  He is fine as long as someone is with him, although when I leave him with my husband he is still a little stressed out..

[Lindsay n Archie]

First, I think training for all dogs, even really well behaved dogs is a must! So maybe that could be step one? As for walks, I know many people use a gentle leader, I have no experiance with it, but others say it works great.  We use a prong collar, BUT we also work with him constantly on walking. If he pulls we stop or go the oppositie way. Give treats and rewards when walking next to us properly.  He is pretty decent on walks now. As for the destroying stuff...... Archie will still destroy anything if we leave things out. But he is ok being left alone- he is just a pain in the butt =) Do you have any kongs? Fill them up with plain yogurt and freeze them, make doggie popsicles, peanut butter, mind games (that he cant choke on) while you are gone to keep him busy. lots of toys, balls, chew things too.  The trainers say, start out small when leaving a pup with SA. When he isnt looking or paying attention to you, walk out of the room and leave him alone. Build up that time. Do NOT make it a big deal when you leave OR when you come home (which is hard because you just want to squeeze them up when you get homE!) They acutally say dont talk to them (besides a simple hello in a low voice and maybe a small pat on the head) until they are calm and can sit for you quietly. It sounds like torture but it works! they learn quick. good luck.

[Michelle L]

My puppy Butters was like that the first week we got her. We have a x-pen and adding to what Lindsay said, just put him in there when you are home. Start out with 3 minutes and then 6 and then 9 until he knows that it's not the end of the world when you are not there. Where does Bandit sleep at night? We crate trained Butters and she sleeps there at night. When I leave for work, she goes into her crate with a kong filled with biscuits and kong stuff n paste. When she sees her kong, she is jumping for joy and ecstatic that I am leaving. I think the crate is better when you leave because there is really nothing he can destroy in there. Also, I do not show any excitement when I leave or return from work. If she is crying and pawing at the crate, I sit there until she is calm before I open the gate. It takes patience!! I read somewhere that puppies get separation anxiety because they think they are the pack leader. He is upset because he is not able to protect his pack. In the dog world, 'the' pack leader leaves whenever he/she wants. When I walk Butters, I keep the leash extra short and make sure she is walking behind me. Anyhow, good luck!! 

[Robin & Josie]

Agree on the trainer. Absolutely the first step. Although our doodle isn't experiencing this (yet), we did have a previous dog that had a very hard time with separation. We took her to a trainer and even to a doggie psychologist. We did end up medicating her for a little while, but that didn't help. 

With Josie, we are building up her time alone in the crate slowly (she's now 15 weeks). We've left her up to 3 hrs. now, which is the max for her age (and bladder - she's 7 lbs.). 

We put all the toys in that Lindsay mentioned. She barked for a while at first (and whined - so sad), but we totally ignored her and she eventually settled down and took a long nap. I put her in the crate while I'm showering, so I know that she no longer cries. It only took a couple of times of her knowing that we weren't taking her out for her to give in. She's pretty persistent (and actually escaped from a canvas crate once (got the zippers open - now we fasten them), so it wasn't easy at first.

My other dog always felt safest in her crate, so it may be that Bandit will take longer to be outside of his crate (does he have a crate?) when you are away (and may never feel safe outside of his crate). You might want to try one of those ThunderShirts for anxiety. It's like a swaddling for dogs. They came out too late for our other dog or I would have tried that. 

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Patricia Sciallis]

Thank you all for your replies.  I have tried everything all of you have suggested.  I tried the thundershirt and he got out of it 3 times!  I try to be pack leader on walks, but he still pulls me.  I stop until he calms down.  I walk the opposite way.  Have been trying for 3 months now.  He weighs 45 pounds now and is very strong.  I only weigh 112 pounds.  He sleeps on the floor in our room(wont jump on the bed). He is so smart. When he thinks I am leaving, he won't come to me and will start running around the house to avaoid being locked up!  I do have to go out now and I am going to give him a milkbone once he is barricaded in my laundry room.  I do have a kong and a huge marrow bone.  He doesn't touch them while I am gone.  Thank you again.