Extreme separation anxiety with my Basset Hound? I DONT WANT TO GIVE HER UP!!!?

Question

My Basset, who is one year old, has the worst separation anxiety of any dog ever. She cries so much when I am gone that she makes herself sick and throws up. She stays by me always (which I dont mind) But when I leave for work, she cries ALL the time and it gets annoying even when I am home from work. I dont want to give her away, but my neighbors call the cops because my dog cries too loud when I leave. She gets walked every evening and plenty of food and play toys to occupy her time. She is not spoiled and doesnt have dominance issues with us. She has recently started chewing things up when I leave... that is uncommon for her. She only does it when I am away.. I have lost over 2k in crown molding, dvds and replacing doors, shoes and more.. She even cries all the time I am home. She doesnt get tired of it but it wares out my nerves!

PLEASE HELP! I DONT WANT TO GIVE HER UP!

Answer 1

The vet can prescribe something for her so that you have time to work on the problem. What you need to do is number one get a crate (this way she will not be able to destroy anything) but do not use it only when you are away she has to have time to get use to it while you are home otherwise she will look at it as a place you put her in only when you are leaving and since she has separation anxiety it will make it worse. On your days off and when you have been home for a while put your dog in the crate (but remember to get her use to it first) and do things as you would normally do if you were getting ready to leave and then walk out the door. I assume she begins the crying as soon as you leave so what you will need to do is leave, give it a couple of minutes and go back in and reprimand her you will catch her off guard so she should quiet down, repeat this 3 to 5 times in a row and do it as many days a week as you can and in time it will subside (it depends on the severity of the problem). One other thing you can try is get her use to the crate while you are home and at night put her in the crate and cover it with a blanket or a towel and see if she will settle down (you will need to be patient) give it 20 minutes if this woerks you can try it when you are leaving. Sometimes this works because in the wild a dog's den is dark so it might give her sense of being comfortable.

Answer 2

If she has separation anxiety I would suggest go and see a Vet behaviorist. Separation anxiety is not an easy fix and needs to be controlled sometimes with medication. Keeping the dog in a crate
could make matters worth. You need to exercise her before you leave her alone!!! She needs to be really worn out and tired! "A tired dog is a good dog" :) there is a great book you should read "I'll be home soon" by Pat McConnell http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB667

Don't wait and seek help right away crying and destroying while you are away is one thing......doing it while you are at home.....not good. In the meantime don't make a big deal when you leave.....leave the radio on with some calming music and get a few Kong chewing toys and stuff them with treats. http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/ccp51/cc/dog-training/kong-toy.shtml You can even hide them for her so she'll be busy searching. You can also try DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) which is a pheromone diffuser for calming and stress reduction.
Make sure you take away things she could destroy.
But like I've said before.........if it is truly separation anxiety it is not an over night fix and you definitely need professional help.
To calm down your neighbors Doggie Daycare doesn't sound bad.
good luck

Answer 3

You need to start by leaving the dog alone in a room for short periods of time at first. The dog is going to cry and howl but you're going to have to ignore it at first.
For about a week, leave the room for short times like 5 or 10 min. Come back into the room as though nothing ever happened. Don't make a scene when you come back in. Walk into the room and sit down. Pet the dog after you're seated. (This instills the reassurance that you'll be returning every time you leave) Gradually increase the times that you're away.
Buy your dog a Kong (sold at any pet store) fill it with peanut butter and give it to your dog before you leave. The dog will be so intent on getting all of the peanut butter out of the Kong that he'll hardly notice that you're gone.
This is a basic way to start working with your dog. He'll need more work as time goes by.

Answer 4

Has she ever been left at home alone before now was she with another dog? this is the reason i have my little rescue girl she was a shelter dog the first 7 months of her life then she was adopted and came home with a young girl and when the girl went to work callie cryed all day so the lady that took her only had her about a yr when she went into the hospital, and the cops got called on her long story short the x daughter in law was going to take her to the human soc, to have her put down and i went and picked her up, yes she did have sep anx but since she has been with my other 2 fur-kids she has not had a problem, how about a doggy day care around where you live, i know its not easy but might help and like i said my little girl is fine now that she has company with her, hope all goes well good luck

Answer 5

Well, I know you said that she dosent have a problem, but even though take her to a training thing. My pupperoni Sam, is a poodle and he has seperation anxiety also, but what I did is put him in a cage with water and food and blankets and toys to keep him comfy (which he liked) also,(they feel safer in a cage I found out) and then turn her cage towards the T.V. and turn it on. If she still cries, say," I'll be back in a while pup ok, please dont cry." Shes like a baby just bribe her she can understand what you are saying, so bribe her and say," When I return home we'll go to the park and I'll give you your favorite treat too!" So if this dosent work, take her to the training place, like I said she may not have a problem but it might help. Hope this answer helps you.Also, she maybe signing you," I need a friend, please give me one" It might help. Have a nice day!My dog is also 1 years old, but you might want to take your dog to the vet because my dog cries when Im NOT home but when I am home he dosent cry. This could be serious. Please try my listings thank you!!

Answer 6

Watch Cesar Milan The Dog Whisperer On the History Channel

Answer 7

I agree with the first answer. Dogs destroy property when they are upset an lonely. Get another little dog so she will have a companion during the day. Make sure it is a well mannered breed like a beagle. We had two cats in our apartment when I had two other roomates and they were best friends. When one of the roomies moved out and took her cat with her, the cat that stayed with us cried every night for weeks really loudly and was obnoxious. And she followed us everywhere when we were awake. Pets crave attention and companionship.

Answer 8

I am so happy, it was only a 35 minute drive ( 70 minutes total) but absolutely no sign of anxiety or panic i shopped till I dropped - brilliant! I will now go for the next stage DUAL CARRIAGE way, probably at the weekend, with my husband accompanying me first then the solo drive, if successful the final stage of driving on motorway

Beat Anxiety And Panic Attacks Naturally?

Answer 9

Crate crate crate! Crate train your dog now!

I adopted a dog with SEVERE seperation anxiety 3 months ago. I was taking her everywhere even work, but if I walked out of her line of sight, she would FLIP OUT!

I went to a movie with my son and enclosed her in my bedroom, she ripped up the carpet and tore down my miniblinds, in 2 hours.

Since then I began crate training her. Believe me it was NO small task. The trick is to LEAVE THE DOG CRATED when you're gone, when you're home LEAVE THE DOG CRATED 24/7 until it learns not to get over the ghosts in it's head. Of course I'm not saying to not take your dog out to walk/play. But you must ALWAYS have your animal on a leash and you must not interact with the animal when inside your house. Interact with them only outside.

It's really hard. Believe me. My dog would yelp like someone was stepping on her toes. She would whine and scream... it took roughly 2 weeks of keeping her crated when I was home and when I was away before she learned it was okay.

Now 1.5 months later she crates on command and chooses her crate to nap in or hide special toys or snacks from the other dog/cats/etc.

Crate your dog. Give your dog a toy like a Kong to keep the animal occupied while you leave. Don't make goodbyes long, in fact, don't say goodbye at all. Simply walk out of the room.

I hate to say it, but it's not going to be about training the dog so much as it is about retraining yourself.

Read a bunch and listen to the podcasts at http://www.leerburg.com. Literally changed my psycho dog in 2 weeks.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 10

take your pup to the vet about the constant crying while you are at home...that is way too bizarre...and one year olds don't usually have separation disorder...socialize your pup bringing her around other people and dogs on a leash....your pup needs to be crated and in the same room you are in when you are home. and left indoors in that crate when you are away...be sure water is secured in her run while she is in there and a rope toy would be fine. You have such a long way to go as a pet owner...this is a beginning, go buy a book