Home for two days and already separation anxiety

[Regan and Indy]

One of my favorite things about Indy (12 week old mini goldendoodle) is how loving and affectionate he is.  He follows me around the apartment and won't let me out of his sight.  The drawback--he absolutely screams any time I am out of his sight or even if we're in the same room and he is crated or in his ex pen.  I've read all the posts here as well as some blogs about how to cope with separation anxiety, but still needed to reach out and see whether anyone has suggestions for how to nip this behavior in the bud.

Indy is almost completely unmotivated by food, including treats and freeze dried liver.  He gets excited by some of his toys, but drops them the minute I move away.  He'll sleep in his crate at night if I'm lying on the floor next to him but not if I'm on the bed four feet away.  He whines and barks basically until he exhausts himself so much that he falls asleep, but that's a good 10-20 minutes.  For the sanity of my roommates and my neighbors I will probably cave and let him sleep on the bed with me tonight, but I'm worried about having to go into work early the next few days, which means leaving him alone around 7:15 a.m.--not an ideal time for him to go noisily berserk.

I realize he's very young and this is all totally new to him, and I understand that this problem will take time to correct.  I stayed home with him today to work on desensitizing him, but I doubt anything we're doing today (for example, he absolutely will not hang out in his crate while I work three feet from him) is going to have much of an impact on the rest of this work week.  Any thoughts on how to try to keep him from going insane in the early morning when I'm not there?

[BRADY GOOSE MOORE (Mini Doodle]

Hi Regan & Indy - Brady is also a mini dood, now 2 yrs young ... He has turned out to be so well adjusted to our world it amazes me. I well remember the puppy days. One thing I did from day 1 is let him sleep in my bed on his 'blanky'. I made a rule of not 'engaging' with him after we said goodnight...not for any reason. If he woke in the middle of night to go potty, I'd scoop him up (no words), carry him to the door - swipe his bells (saying "peeped" and set him down outside. ( no words til he did his business, then "good boy"! Back up to bed...I then did not talk to him until I wanted to get up. He seemed much better about going into crate for short periods during the day. When u have time you might try many times each day putting him in with something he likes...how about a peanut butter filled kong, when he is engaged with the kong, open the door to show him he can choose to come out. After a few weeks of this, I started using it only when I couldn't watch him or had to go out. I stopped using it when he was fully house trained...about 6 - 7 mos. He still sleeps in my bed with me ...often will now go ahead up and find his spot. Before you know it he'll be so well adjusted. Brady is such a doll...looks like Indy...he is 23 lbs, loves to please and is a little shy. He sleeps in every day until I get up ...sometimes 10 or 11 a.m. And I think it's because he's so used to happy time in bed! Good luck with everything.

[KLN]

I did the exact same thing with Finn! He started sleeping in bed with me very early on but I did not engage with him at all in bed. If he started to play I would scoop him up and out him into his crate. He learned very quickly that the bed was for sleeping.

Regan, if you are ok with it, you might try seeing if either a spot on your bedroom floor or in your bed at night helps ease his anxiety during the day. I know there are mixed feelings on the sire about crating your pup at night...everyone has to do what works for them...I work during the day (I'm us oaky gone about nine hours but come home for ouch and am here for at least 45 minutes) so I caved on the sleeping in my bed/on my floor early because I didn't want him to have to be in his crate during the day and at night. But it's funny...now that he's older, I wake up and find him in his crate...he's goes in their on his own during the night.

I just posted on this issue earlier this week...I'll look to see if I can find my post to repost here but here are a couple things you might try....

- thunder jacket: I hear it either totally dorks or didn't, it just depends on the dog but worth a try?
- sleeping in bed/on the floor with you vs the crate
- really good treats that Indy only gets in the crate...maybe a king filled with kibble and frozen yogurt or peanut butter?
- LOTS OF EXERCISE BEFORE INDY GOES INTO THE CRATE. When Finn was a puppy I woke up two hours early to exhaust him before I would put him in his crate in the mornings.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

My Sassparilla also has severe separation anxiety and HATES the crate so I gave up on it and just laid her doggie bed in a corner of my room and she slept the nights through peacefully we can even sleep in "late" in the mornings now without the fussing.  On occasion she does sleep with me but I think letting her make that call eases her anxiety.  I'm single so I really don't mind the company, just when they hog me out of my own bed does it become a problem. lol

I have two dogs and unfortuantely the second dog doesn't ease her anxiety when I leave but as time has passed it's gotten better however when I'm home I'm not out of sight (I can't even pee in privacy!).  My baby girl is the same with food and treats but toys are another story, actaully she has a huge selection of toys and when I come home she has one in her mouth ready to greet me then we spend the rest of the evening when we are in the house playing with it. 

We attended a pet expo earlier this year who had a guest speaker specifically on separation anxiety.  Sadly I had already tried all of the suggestions but about two which I tried later and didn't see that it made a difference.  When I'm home with them it's pure quality time.  We keep VERY busy either at the dog park, dog beach, walking, playing, etc.  We even joined a few doggie groups on Meetup and have done some fun outings with fellow dog lovers. We really don't have any down time but if keeping her busy eases her anxiety I have no problem with it.

I'm fortunate my mom is home with them during the day but she really doesn't interact with them and more times than not they are confined to the back of the house (one room and backyard).  I do come home to destruction on occasion (I've been told this is a result of the anxiety) but it's not as bad as in the past.

You'll have to try different things to find what works for you and your dog.  Also talk to your vet.  I did try the Anxiety Wrap (like the thundershirt but less bulk) and it worked, actually it worked too well she was comotose in it and I hated leaving her all day in that state of mind but that might be an option for you?  I found it on amazon.  As mentioned in another discussion if it's bad you may want to consider medication.  With a daughter with learning disabilites who came home from school after starting the medication and said mommy mommy my brain works and showed me the first picture she had ever colored "IN' the lines (age 5) I quickly learned you have to get away of the stigma of "medicating".  If it works and makes your puppy calm and at peace you have to do whats best for you furbaby. My vet discussed medicating but with her heart murmur we have not yet pursued that option. 

 Keep us posted on the outcome, maybe you'll discover something I can learn from.  Best of luck.

[KLN]

I found it...check out this post from Monday...its under puppy madness and titled "crate training woes"...there's lots of good tips in this post! Here's my response but there's way more info in the actual post!

Permalink Reply by KLN on Monday
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First off, so sorry! It sounds like things are a bit rough at your house. The puppy stage can be exhausting and I work too and putting Finn (he's six months now) in his crate is heartbreaking, I cannot imagine your situation, it would break my heart even more, so sorry! :(. This might not be an option but have you looked into doggie daycare? A day of two a week might exhaust him to the point that he will go in and sleep without hesitation. I searched for one around me and couldn't find one until someone recommended petsmart...no way was I leaving my dog at petsmart but I was desperate so I toured the facility. I couldn't believe it but it was nicer than any daycare I had ever used. The staff is so friendly and good with the dogs and Finley comes home EXHAUSTED! Exhaustion is the key with puppies and some take more to get there than others.

You might also look into the thunder jacket. They are supposed to help with anxiety. My vet says they either do or don't work, it just depends on your dog.

Would you be open to letting her sleep in bed with you? I started letting Finn sleep with me early on because I felt bad he was crated during the day (I do what you do, come home at lunch for a while) and then also being crated at night. It might not make a difference but thought I'd throw it out there...I'm trying to think of anything that might help!

The last resort (I know this may not be popular) might be medication? If its as bad as it sounds, he may need to take something on days you are gone. I know it's not ideal but it's maybe the less of two evils....the poor dood has herself worked up everyday, medication might help.

Good luck and keep us posted. I really hope it gets better soon!
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