What should I do about my new dog who has severe separation anxiety?

Question

The dog is a one year old border collie mix and has been living with us for two months. He is very sweet and well behaved when we are around him. Anytime we leave our house he starts whining and yelping immediately, he will scratch at the doors to try and get out of the house. We have tried to crate train, use products such as Comfort Zone with DAP, homeopet anxiety drops, bark collars, etc and nothing has worked. We exercise him regularly, practice our comings and goings for short periods of time and he has plenty of chew toys such as kongs, stuffed animals, and bones to keep him busy during the day. Our vet recommended we see an animal behaviorist and put our dog on essentially doggy-prozac. The behaviorists we have spoken with will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $450 to $600. The dog is great but I'd probably have to return him before I could drop that much money on him. He attends doggie day care 2 days a week and obedience class 1day. Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer 1

I went through the very same thing with my chihuahua, and it was ruining my life. He was the most, is, the most amazing dog, but he too suffered from this. We did everyhting you wrote about and paid for costly behaviouists. Her advice was basically to make LOVE his crate. We fed him in there, praised him when he would step in, give him treats in there. He would go in it after weeks of doing this for seconds at a time, and then the second we would make a move, he would run out of there in fear we would close the door and leave. I didn't feel right about medicating him for the rest of his life so I continued to stand my ground. I would put him in his crate, but instead of leaving I would do house work etc. to show him that his crate wasn't a bad place where we would put him before we did his worst nightmare- leave. To try to make a long story short, put soothing music on...Start off slowely by leaving for short periods of time before hours long, and if all else fails...get a second dog! We have two, so what we ended up doing was putting them together. Now he is happy because he is with his big sister. We didn't do this in the beginning because our girl liked to be in her crate alone, but we were desperate. Now all is well, and they love being together. Problem solved. Seperation anxiety, has been explained to me by various highly respected vets as a HORRIBLE many times forever long problem. You are doing everything right it seems...making sure he is mentally stimulated (walks), DAP, etc. So if he is truesly a great dog everyother time except when you leave, consider a second dog, or having a dog walker come by once or twice a day, depending on your work schedual. They usually charge, well in my area $10 every visit. That would definitely help..PLUS...remember...you are this guys, or girls...second or third home past puppy hood. Eventhough he loves you and they know you love him...technically he has been abandoned by his previous loved ones in his eyes. Remain consistant for the next months, and you could have a completely changed dog. One that feels at ease that you wont abandon him. Because that's what seperation anxiety is ultimately....a fear or being abandoned. Hope this helped you soom. I am a true animal lover, and my dogs are my life..if you need anymore help, or have any other questions feel free to email me directly. [e-mail] Good luck, and stay strong. :)

Answer 2

You can try leaving a radio or tv turned on for him.

Crate training is really the best and safest for dogs who suffer from separation anxiety.

Take a kong, and close the small hole with peanut butter. Then mix plain yogurt, bits of hot dog, shredded cheese together and fill the kong. You can top that off with a dental stick that sticks out. Put this in a plastic container and freeze over night.

This will keep your dog busy longer.

Try using lavendar room freshners and lavendar shampoo. Lavendar has calming properties.

Border collies are active dogs. The exercise you provide daily may seem like enough to you, but the dog probably needs more.

Doggy day care is a good idea to keep him busy and socilized, and you already have him in obedience class, so you have that covered.

Make sure you do not give him any attention when he whines, barks, makes a fuss in the crate. Doing so will only encourage the behavior. When he makes a fuss, don't say anything, don't look at him...just ignore him.

Check out some of the products listed here:
http://www.libertydogtraining.com/products2.htm
There are some things there designed to keep your dog busy!

Answer 3

First off I would like to congratulate you on your new dog and say "thank you for adopting a dog in need". I too had problems with my adopted pup's anxiety. It is tough because you don't know what their history was like with the previous owner. If you are worried about your dog hurting himself or destroying property, I would crate train. What worked best for me was to leave for short trips and return. I wouldn't make a big deal about coming home so that the dog wouldn't think it was a big deal when I left or returned. It took a while for this to become effective but stick with it and it will pay off in the end.

I rather enjoyed some of the answers you received. You got some really good advice that I am sure will help you. I would be weary of those who compare the treatment of separation anxiety to a life saving operation. LOL, being a dog owner who had the same problem, I can assure you that this issue will not cause your pooch to die if it is not treated by a behaviorists. As you probably already know, dog day care is very expensive and if that is the route you are taking to cure him you, from a financial standpoint, would be better off paying the behaviorist in the long run.

Good Luck.

Answer 4

DON"T get another dog to try to fix a problem with a dog you already have. Sure in one case maybe the dogs separation anxiety lessened as it got attached to the other dog rather than the owner, but you can also cause the second dog to have behaviors and anxiety due to the first dog being unbalanced. You need a lot of time to work with your dog, try not making a routine of leaving, example, if he starts getting upset when he sees you put on shoes, then spend time putting on shoes and not leaving, just hanging out, walking around the house... you can also try giving a special treat that will distract the dog from you leaving. Build up time, leave the house and wait outside the door for a few min, then come back, do this over and over so she learns that you will come back, it can be a lot of work but in the end it will be worth it. One last tip, DON'T be nervous about leaving her alone, she will pick up on that energy.

Answer 5

My recommendation would be this:

Start with the dog in the same room as you at night. Slowly move his bed (or whatever he sleeps on) further and further away. At first, you can reassure him if he whines during the night. Over a period of time (depends on the individual dog), you will be able to move him into the next room and then to wherever you wish him to sleep. Don't make too much fuss over him when you go to sleep however as he won't want to move.

I would also suggest leaving him in the house and going just outside the door. Leave him for 5 minutes (assuming he isn't howling). If he handles this time frame, go in and make a fuss over him telling him he's a good dog. Next time, extend the period of time you are outside. Depending on the separation anxiety of your dog, this may take quite a while.

Question: who is he bothering when he whines or yelps when you aren't home? If he is bothering the neighbours, you have a concern. However, if you are feeling guilty for leaving him, then perhaps it is your problem. Just going out and not worrying about him may just get him used to being alone. Dogs are smart! Perhaps he has realized that if he whines or yelps, you will come home. In that case you are better to leave him regularly and see if the problem reduces.

Good luck! He sounds like a great dog and you are obviously a concerned owner.

Answer 6

I know what you are going through. I have been there and Thank Heavens I had a good vet.
Border Collies are one of the breeds that are so loyal and energetic that this is a common problem with those kept in doors with out the benefit of a fenced in yard. Even with a fenced in yard, they will be trying to find ways out.
What I read in your question is not uncommon...

The scratching and whinning at the door is the first thing you have got to stop before he ruins it. Go outside, close the door and stand there. When scratches on it, open it bop him on the nose (not hard, just so he knows that you are serious) or pinch or slap his ear (not his head, just the flappy part of the ear, it what a mama dog would do) his ear and sternly tell him (growl at him) NO! BAD DOG! (I swear my dog thought that was her name for a while) then lead him away from the door or out of the room, go back out and do it again, and again.... and again... it's training, it takes a while.

Crate training, it is hard on you and an older dog, but it is essential until he is over this Separation Anxiety (SA) part of his life.
1st, will he go in his crate willingly? If not that is the first thing you have to work on. Make it a game; go in stay 2 or 3 minutes then come out, increase the time 'in' each time. Put him in the crate when you are home and leave him for a couple of hours, yes it will be hard at first with the whinning and all, but he will learn that it is ok. It is actually harder on your nerves that it is on him.
Be stern with yourself... DO NOT pet and pamper him and tell him bye. Just throw in a few crunchy treats, put him in, close the door and walk away (you may want to cover it with a blanket so he can not see out).
Crate training is the best way to go, a crated puppy or dog is a good puppy or dog. They can not mess up your house and they can not hurt themselves. However with crate trained dogs, you have to allow them a little more time outside to run and play and work off energy.

For the SA, it is pretty much the same... If you leave him where he has the run of the house when you are gone... gather all your stuff up that you are taking with you that day and put it out your door or in your car; again don't say anything to the dog except "stay" on your way out. Come back in and calmly sit for a few minutes working on basic commands like sit, lay, down, off or stay, shake hands... basic dog traing with the praise and treats should be followed here.
When you are leaving, take him into a room where it can not see you leave, give him 2 or 3 larger crunchy treats and walk out quietly and quickly while he is engrossed in the treats.
Do not tell him bye, do not pet him and tell him mommy will back and that she has to go to work, just leave while he is busy.
When you come home, do not immedialty drop everything and pet and praise him. Pretty much ignore him for about 5 minutes, put your stuff down, go to the bathroom, then when YOU are ready, pet him and tell him hi and take him outside.
It usually takes about 3 weeks or so to get him and you into the routine.
It's a long, hard 3 weeks.
If you want, you can put him on the doggie downers for the first week or so to help him not be so nervous in conjuntion with training.

Keeping the dog close to you and slowely moving it away, normally doesn't work. You are doing what the dog wants and reinforcing that "if I whine enough they will keep me close again".

Animal Behaviorist are just a way for people to make money.

Doggie Day care is a nice idea, but usually you have untrained people who know very little about training animals that can undo all the work you have done.

Training classes conducted by a skilled trainer that you and the dog attend is great.

Any vet who recommends a behavoirist and downers before training is not recommending what is best for you and your newest family member. Personally, I would try to find a different vet.
I don't know where you are located, but I am sure there is more than one vet in the area.
Talk to people with pets around your work or neighborhood about their vet. Finding the right vet for your dog is like finding the right doctor for you.
Hope this helps.

Answer 7

The damage from separation usually occurs during the first 20 mins after you leave. Scratching around the door you left out of....a sign of true separation anixiety. The crate is the best cure for the damage being done. I use peanut butter filled kongs that I freeze......keeps them busy for a long time.

Answer 8

Separation Anxiety is a difficult behavior to live with but it's also a very serious quality of life issue for the dog.

Get references from a professional. Dr. Karen Overall will do long-distance counseling in connection to your vet for about $180.
Karen Overall, VMD, Ph.D.Center for Neurobiology and BehaviorPenn Med - Psychiatry 50B CRB - 415 Curie Blvd.Philadelphia, PA 191041.215.573.7041 - office1.610.399.4860 - fax [e-mail]

A behaviorist is a classification used for people with PhD's in animal behavior. If they don't have a PhD they aren't behaviorist.
I'm a behavior counselor - formally schooled in animal behavior and behavior modification. I charge $80 per hour for behavior consults.
http://www.certifiedanimalbehaviorist.com/page2.html


One protocol:
http://www3.us.elsevierhealth.com/communities/Veterinary/Overall/protocoldeparture_instructions.html

DVM Magazine article: http://www.dvmnewsmagazine.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=58642

Trainer referrals:
www.iaabc.org
www.ccpdt.com
www.sfspca.org

Behavior modification and pharmacology usually work well with this situation.

It's a very long process. You can't place a time line on it. You have to work at the dog's level and CONTINUE UNTIL you get progress. Very small increments and baby steps.

Book:
I'll Be Home Soon by Patricia McConnell
www.dogwise.com


Good luck

Answer 9

Maybe another friend would be good. I did that with my Maggie (1 yr old shitzu mix ) we have a new puppy and she loves her so much. but if you can't do that maybe a new home with someone who is home all the time would be better. Doggy-prozac just seems too extreme and unnatural to me. Dogs have personalities and yours just seems affectionateand needy. He'd be a great pet for an older person who was a little loney. Maybe you could find an oler person to 'babysitt' while your out or working. Good Luck!

Answer 10

A dog should be trained on how to eat, walk with you, not to bark, potty training and sleep on its place etc. You can teach anything to your puppy, dogs get trained easily with some good instructions. If you want some good training tips visit https://tr.im/BIncI

If properly trained, they should also understand whistle and gesture equivalents for all the relevant commands, e.g. short whistle or finger raised sit, long whistle or flat hand lay down, and so on.

It's important that they also get gestures and whistles as voice may not be sufficient over long distances and under certain circumstances.