Doodle Rescue??

[JPolly]

• Hi Doodle friends.

  Does anyone know of a doodle rescue in southern Ohio/Northern Ky area. We have a 10 month of Goldendoodle who unfortunately is not working out in our home. After several (and I mean several) attempts, his seperation anxiety is getting to be to much to handle.  We have a 2 children (3 & 5) as well as an 8 year old Goldendoodle.  He has really become part of our family which makes this decision so heart breaking. He is house trained, follows basic commands and is an excellent dog as long as you are home. 

  He was never able to be crate trained.  He would get so worked up that he would soil himself even after relieving himself outside. The first 4 days, I would end up bathing him in the middle of the night and he would soil himself again.  I wondered how he can produce so much!! He barked for hours until he was hoarse. We crate trained our first one....its not new to us.  On the 5th day, I called it quits with the crate.  We put a baby gate in our room and he never soiled during the night again.  

  Once the evening situation was taken care of, we moved onto the chewing.  We later found out that it was all anxiety driven.  If you left something out while you were gone, IT was gone by the time you came back.  Eventually, our vet put him on medication to try and help the anxiety. We began crate training again as he could not be trusted when we left the house.  He was doing well for about a week.  However, he has now broken out of the crate, broken the plastic tray that slides in, and has begun to soil himself. It has been 6 weeks and the vet has changed it to a stronger medication which we will begin tomorrow.  I consider myself a patient person especially with my animals.  I unfortunately have lost it.  If this medication does not work, I am afraid he needs to find a new home.  Thus my question regarding a doodle rescue.  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Jennifer, one difference for Gordie is that we had another dog for him at home who didn't have any anxiety - ever.  He really outgrew the destruction as he matured, but he never outgrew the anxiety.  I wish we had recognized what his destructiveness really was masking and that we had found a trainer who actually helped us because I do think we might have alleviated the problem.
I really think the suggestion of leaving him for 5 minutes, then 10 etc. spaced over time might have helped when he was young but we would have needed to be dedicated to doing this several times a day, day after day after day.
I also am sure that more exercise would help Gordie. Like many doodles, he is very high energy.  If you have a two story house - running him up and down the stairs can give him a workout when you can't go outside. Running him between you and the kids is another way to tire him out a bit.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Nancy, they do have another dog at home - a 7 or 8 year old doodle so he isn't alone either. You would think that would help, right?

[JPolly]

We do have another doodle who will be 8 years old.  We got her as a puppy from Fox Creek Farms (Maryland) and she has been a doll since day one.  She was destructive with toys and still is but never household item.  We do not crate the older one (someone had asked) and don't intend to.  She was crate trained during her puppy years but it would not be fair to put her back in a crate after 7 years of freedom.

We have decided to continue trying with Indy.  We are looking into a different trainer.  (Yesterday he ate yet another remote control while we went to ballet.)  I WILL post a picture as many of you would like to see what he looks like.  He's a handsome boy! :)      

[Adina P]

From reading your responses to the responses of others it does sound like you'd prefer to KEEP this dog rather than rehome it.  I want to suggest, if you do indeed want to keep this dog and you find some extra patience that you didn't know was there, that you make obedience training your savior.  But I'm talking real obedience training where the goal is to develop a relationship with that dog and a mutual bond of trust and respect that he will do what you ask of him on and off leash in most any circumstance.  In other words, I think if you use a tried-and-true method of achieving reliable off leash obedience, the side effect will be a dog that is far far less anxious all around.  It's not training FOR reducing anxiety.  It's not anti-anxiety techniques and tools.  It is working toward impeccable obedience and the icing of that is reduced anxiety because in that work that you have to do to achieve that impeccable obedience the dog changes and becomes more trusting, less anxious, and overall a dog more happy in its world.

Now the key is to find that class or trainer who can do this.  Not a trainer that can teach you a few tips on how to teach 'stay' -- it needs to be a whole program with the goal of reliable off leash obedience and a dog of improved character.  I have a suggestion, but I'm not sure if there are any trainers in your area that do what I'm thinking.  If there are (I will ask in my training group) then it would require about a 45-60 minute daily commitment from you for about 3 months.   Though as you move along in that 3 months you'll be seeing improvement along the way so you'll find it to be worth it.  If you are interested, please send me a private message.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

And well worth the effort, Adina, especially for a young dog.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Jennifer, I so feel your pain. When we decided to rescue our Lab, I searched on line for hours for just the right dog. I did not want a dog with separation anxiety and made sure to click off on any dog that did. Well, we picked up our Honey on a Saturday and the first time I left her alone she was barking frantically at the window when we left. The second time we left to go to dinner, we came home to find our beautiful custom door scratched and clawed to smithereens. I wanted to give her back to anyone that would take her, and the rescue agency said they would take her back, but to give it some time, and we did and of course, grew to love her. Our vet got so many desperate calls and Honey finally went on medication and I hired a trainer. She was ten when we got her and had been fostered with someone who had a lot of dogs and it was just us. I always felt she should have stayed with her foster parents with all the dogs. The medication helped, but we could not crate her, and I tried doggie daycare and eventually, found a wonderful dog sitter. If we crated her, she drooled and slobbered for hours and had the runs when we got home. I agree it is so hard, but I think you can help this behavior by giving the drugs time to work and hiring a trainer that knows about separation anxiety. There were lots of tips our trainer told us...spend each day desensitizing your dog that you are leaving....pick up your keys like you are leaving, walk out the door, come right back, etc. Mix up how you prepare to leave. Stay calm when you go. No fuss.

Don't give up on this guy. You love him and his next home won't be as invested in accepting this behavior and he is going to get bounced around.  Exercise him. I take mine to the tennis courts where it is fenced in and throw the ball. Or find a field like Joanne said, because it is probably easier on his paws. Try leaving him special things to find when you are gone. Kongs with peanut butter, etc.

I am so sorry for you, but he can be helped. Good luck and keep us updated!

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

This is such a difficult issue for you and I really feel your pain here.  We have a Maltese Terrier who suffers from quite a severe separation anxiety and even though he is much smaller I do have some inkling of the problem.  We got him when he was five months old and I would definitely say that his early life contributed to the problem.  We realized that we had him for life after exhausting lots of possible solutions because we couldn't honestly see that rehoming him could possibly turn him into a happier dog.  We are his family so that's it . As he is happy to be with either me or my ex husband we decided to share his care.  My ex is now working from home and Snowy is with him most of the time, when he is not there then he is with one of one of my daughters. He also has another dog for company and he loves Riley when he comes to me.  He is never alone and that's the way it has been for four years now. We have learned to work around him and share his care.    It's not ideal but he is happy and we can relax in the knowledge that we are good Doggy parents.  

[JPolly]

What kind of crate does everyone use?  I had a trainer tell me that a dog with seperation anxiety should not be in a metal crate.  I'm looking into a plastic one.  I assumed he would eat his way out of it. Thoughts?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We nixed the crate with Gordie, but the one we had was the plastic more enclosed type.

[Christine & Camus]

I had a dog with severe separation anxiety (see post on Does your Doodle Panic?). I adopted him at ~ 12 mos. old, was not told he had separation anxiety, and I had no experience with the disorder. The rescue group did not tell me he was sick either. I decided to keep him despite the problems I would face, but due to his medical problems I had to let him go. While Nietzsche was with me I started to address his anxiety. Crating was not an option, leaving him home but not confined was not an option, letting him have access to the yard was not an option, so he was with me 24/7. I have friends (one at work and a family with 3 kids) that he began to bond with, so when needed I could leave Nietzsche with them, but only used this option when absolutely necessary. The vet was going to start him on anti-anxiety medication once he was stabilized medically and he also told me that a behavioralist or trainer who specialized with the disorder would be absolutely necessary. Knowing the extremes that Nietzsche would go to, I agreed with the vet and knew a specialist would be needed and was prepared to do anything I could to help him. Relinquishing him was not an option I was considering, but I knew it was not going to be easy. Having a friend that can puppy-sit is really helpful, but I think training and possibly meds is the answer. I did try all of the methods to help desensitize him myself and soon came to realize I needed a professional. Not to forget - exercise is very helpful and although the calming aids have mixed reviews I found that pheromones did help Nietzsche.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Although it's horribly painful, I think it's important to clarify that by "let him go", you mean that sweet Nietzsche had to be humanely euthanized due to his health problems, and not that you gave him up. What you did for that sweet boy in his short time with you, Christine, was nothing short of heroic.

[Christine & Camus]

Thank you Karen.  I do find it difficult to say he had to be euthanized, it just sounds so horrible and makes me feel bad as well, but were right to clarify it for me.  I would never have given him up.