Separation Anxiety

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

Hello, I'm new to this site and a new labradoodle mom and I have a question about Separation Anxiety.  My baby girl Sasparilla has severe separation anxiety - with me?  Is this common in the doodles?  I've met a handful of doodle and/or poodle owners who seem to have the same issue but at different levels.  I'm absolutely baffled because she's not a real cuddler (like I wanted) but to simply leave a room Oh My Gosh, let alone the day to go to work, you'd think I was moving away without her?  We have a second dog and they are inseparable but she just doesn't fill "my" void?

In addition Sasparilla has a heart murmur, so I'm not sure if that's causing the anxiety or if the anxiety is causing the murmur? 

I'd love input and experience from others.  Up till now I've always had mutts, mostly dumped dogs that I took in and none have ever had any issues until they got old?  Sure they were quirky but aren't we all!  I love my baby girl to pieces and just want her to be calm, healthy and happy. 

Thank you. Ü

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

First of all, welcome to DK and I love Sasparilla's name. We have a Vernors (ginger ale). I hope others will chime in, but you might want to join the group listed below and post your discussion there, too.  We rescued an old Lab that had the same kind of anxiety it sounds like Sasparilla has. Our Honey was fixated on me. We worked with a trainer to help desensitize Honey to my leaving and also worked with our vet to find a medication that helped with her issues. Good luck!

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/mentalhealth

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

Thanks Laurie, I posted it there too!  LOVE the name Vernors, it's funny people don't get the Sasparilla! lol  Our vet wanted to wait until she got a little older before we tried meds, she is improving but you can see the panic in her eyes when I leave her.  Thank you again,

[Charlotte and Bo]

I got my Bo when he was a year and a half from the DRC.  He also came with some issues, one of which was separation anxiety.  The vet recommended anti-anxiety pills and they have helped a lot.  At least he doesn't destroy the house now when I leave for awhile.

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

OMG YES the house will NEVER be the same, they've eaten the carpet, wallpaper, they even chewed through a scrapbooking suitcase and ate some of my scrapbook supplies - they were lucky to live through that one! lol  For the first 10 months there was NOT one night I didn't come home to some kind of destruction.  We started walking in the morning and dog park/beach 3-4 times a week and the destruction lessoned.  Not sure if it's age or wearing them out that worked?  Since they've been home recovering from kennel cough and pneumonia I'm finding plants dug up and decorated over the carpet?  In two weeks we follow up and I hope we can resume our outside activities but now I have a new issue; the two dog parks/beaches we go to now have been linked to Flea-borne typhus!  My labradoodle NEEDS to run so not sure where we go from here????  Thank you again, meds have been discussed but vet wanted to wait till she got a little older to see if she would hopefully mellow.  My daughter has Aspergers and ADHD so I know meds are a sometimes good thing.

[Sally]

Duncan has a murmur and was also quite anxious with separation anxiety when he was younger. I never felt that the two were connected in any way. 

When Duncan was a pup until probably about 7 or 8 months old he was crated when i was out of the house. He howled and cried and NEVER relaxed in that crate. I set up a video camera to watch what was going on and it broke my heart. I did everything the professional behaviorist said to do. It wasn't an immediate fix but i think that it all did help and now he's  fine with me leaving the house. But he will ALWAYS prefer to be near me.

The things that helped:

1. Once he was old enough and trustworthy in the house the crate stayed open and he eventually decided he liked to go there to nap and bury his bone. It's still there in the living room today (he's almost 4).

2. I would do many de-sensitizing things. I'd wear my coat around the house and jingle my keys and then NOT leave the house. This would help eventually with him not picking up on the "oh no she's leaving" cues.

3. I would come and go without making a big deal. I'd start small with trips to the bathroom while Duncan was gated off and eventually i would go out of the house for a few minutes at a time. I did this many times a day. I was working from home when he was a pup so i had the luxury of really working on this one.

4. now when I leave the house I have him lay down on his dog bed that has a view of the front door. I give him a cookie and say goodbye. He watches me leave and although his face always looks sad I know it seems better that he can actually see me leave. When he was younger i think that might have been an issue because the crate was upstairs so he didn't actually see me leave the house. 

5. EXERCISE. Tired dogs are less anxious.

Hope that helps. 

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

Thanks Sally.  I quickly discovered crates and Sasparilla didn't mix!  When I went to pick her up I was supposed to carry her onto the plane but she was real restless in the carry on and the airlines said she was too big?  She could stand and turn around but her back touched and she was restless so we had to pick up a larger crate for under the plane.  Well that didn't work either.  In trying to condition her she shreaked to the extent it scared us so we called home to our vet who told us to visit a local vet for maybe a sedititve only to discover she was hyperventilating and having a panic attack!  The vet said she'd never survive the flight and having my neice fly once and watch people go to pick up their dog only to find it dead in the crate I didn't want to take any chances.  So the mom that I am cancelled my ticket and rented a car to drive home from Seattle to Lakewood.  I should have known then! lol

I've done #3 but not #2, I'll have to work on those.  I give them a kong filled with goodies and don't make a fuss about leaving and/or coming.  One thing I did notice; I used to crate them at night to sleep but we had some really warm nights with no A/C so I let them loose in my room and they both slept better?  Sasparilla pants heavily non-stop which has always been concerning to me (no other dog has ever panted like her) but the vet doesn't seem concerned?  She starts off in bed with me then moves to the dog bed that sits along side.

My girls use to have two rooms to roam but they were destroying the kitchen so they now only have the family room and backyard and seem content.  If and when the destruction stops they'll get more territory to roam but as tall as she gets and as destructive as they are there's too much around the house that is not safe for them to be around. 

We try to get a lot of exercise and I've noticed it helps (I think) although she NEVER really tires!  We do the dog park/beach 3-4 times a week and I try to walk them every morning.  Then at home I throw the ball for her form the time we say hello to the time we go to bed - she DEMANDS playtime.  Both have kennel cough and Sassy is battling pneumonia so they are stuck at home in two weeks we have a follow up vet check and hopefully we'll get the all clear. 

Thank you again, it's always good to hear what others have gone through and what does and doesn't work. 

One thing I did get the anxiety wrap and the first time we put it on her she was comatose (sp?), so much it was erie.  It's been too warm to use it but when winter comes we might give it a try, they clam she'll be anxiety free in 2-3 weeks?