Does Your Doodle Panic?

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Fortunately our girls have never missed us quite this badly!  How about yours?

[Christine & Camus]

Well, Camus has mild separation anxiety and I am planning on buying a new crate since I got rid of his thinking he no longer needed it, but he has decided to take his anxiety out on the couch so a new crate it is.

However, my poor Nietzsche, who is no longer with me, suffered from extreme separation anxiety (you can read his story http://www.doodlerescue.org/group/rainbowbridge/forum/topics/in-mem...).  I learned as you will see by the photos that I could not leave him alone for even 5 minutes and if I did need to go somewhere I had to arrange a sitter for him.  

The first time I left him home alone, he was in his crate, but when I returned a couple of hours later he had thrown up several times, had diarrhea several times and was a mess.  The second time I gave him access to the living room, kitchen, and a large patio that was enclosed with a 6' fence.  He jumped the fence!  I got a call.  Luckily, a very kind man picked him up and took him to a vet who scanned his chip.  The third and last time I ever left him, alone I closed the dog door and left him inside.  I came home to find him caught in a the blinds, hanging in the window and there was blood everywhere.  I pulled him out, sat down on the floor hugging him tightly until he stopped shaking, and began to calm down – then I rushed him to the vet.  Physically he was okay, the unbelievable amount of blood I found at every window, on the kitchen counters, the couch, well everywhere, was from his paws, which had several cuts.  The photos below show some of what he did.  The fear and anxiety he experienced is unimaginable The final photo I framed.

He loved his crate but only with the door open and went in whenever he did not feel good.

This is the blind he was caught in and hanging from.

The window sill.

I miss my sweet Nietzsche.

[Doris, Knox & Flash]

Oh. Christine, I just read his story on the link you gave! I'm speechless! I hope Camus has been able to fill the big hole in your heart that Nietzsche's passing must have left! It's obvious that he needed you in his life -- even for a very short time!

[Christine & Camus]

Camus is my Velcro Dog and I love him, and yes he has helped fill the hole, but there is still a little room left for Nietzsche.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Poor Nietzsche, what a horror that was. And how sad to be so anxious all the time.

[Christine & Camus]

It is difficult to fully understand the level of anxiety that Nietzsche had, but as long as he was with me he was so happy and content.  He even started a new tradition at work -- after the disaster with the blinds he went to work with me every day and since I live a quiet lifestyle there were very few times I needed to leave him in the care of someone else.  Camus has now filled Nietzsche's shoes, paws and goes to work with me.

[F, Calla & Luca]

So Nietzsche has left a lovely legacy.

[Christine & Camus]

Yep.  And a special one at that...

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Wow, I cannot even imagine coming home to this!  Nietzsche was a beautiful dog.  We had some college students move in next to us in FL and they had a dog.  I used to see it peeking its head out between the blinds in their front window and I stopped the young girl outside one day shortly there after and told her she might want to rethink those blinds because I kept seeing the little dog sticking its head in the blinds and it could cause a very serious accident ... She looked at me like I ate a bug and had absolutely no clue what I was talking about!  I just prayed nothing ever happened to that dog.  I finally moved, so I still wonder to this day.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Christine, I truly empathize with you over your beloved Nietzsche.  What a shock to come home to that, I'm happy that even though his time was short with you that he was happy and oh so loved.  My Maltese Jasper could never be left alone and even when he had company he would wait for me at the front door from the time I left until I returned.  He died of stress and heart failure at age 9.  It is awful when they are so dependent on you and simply can't cope alone.

[Christine & Camus]

Thank you Nicky.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

NEVER use HORIZONTAL BLINDS when you have pets.  Never Use Aluminum as these cut the animals up more than PVC made blinds.

Use Vertical Blinds

I met my husband because my two former dogs ( Chocolate Lab and Chocolate Lab/Mastiff Mix) hung themselves in the blinds.

My sons returned home from school to find them completely tangled in the cords, blinds ripped off, holes in the walls.  Still young, my sons cut them loose with knives.  UGH.

A nice man ( now my husband) enlightened me with this info, did the repairs, and................. well that is another story.

Both Chocolates did not have separation anxiety.  They just liked looking out the window to watch for their kids to come home from school.   Like all dogs.  Somehow, the ropes got them.  We are lucky nothing worse happened

[F, Calla & Luca]

TG for crates. And the downstairs blinds are never down. So I think we're good here.