my dog has seperation anxiety!!! She is a 6 month old yorkie puppy and she is left alone for 4 hours 3 days a week while i am at school/parents at work. Ahe is allowed to roam the large laundry room we have during that time. Whenever she is in the crate and I leave the room, she freaks out and will NOT stop barking. She cries when I put her in her crate. But this is not all the time though.... sometimes I can tell her "coco, I will be right back" and she will not get upset. That is very rare though. How can I get rid of this seperation anxiety?
2007-02-06 06:38:41 · 20 answers · asked by Lauren. 4 in Pets ➔ Dogs
She also has PLENTY of chew toys in her crate!!!
2007-02-06 06:49:31 · update #1
Yorkies are people dogs. They want to be with 24/7. Try putting something of yours in the crate with her so your scent is there. Since she is only 6 months old you can also put an alarm clock wrapped in a blanket so she can here the ticking sound. It will remind her of her mother and keep her calm til you come back.
Good luck...she will eventually adjust to the routine but I understand how you feel. I hate those sad eyes looking at me when I have to leave my Papallon at home.
2007-02-06 06:49:15 · answer #1 · answered by Dorothy C 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Seperation anxiety is a hard problem to solve. In many cases (as with Yorkies) its part of the breed, so you may not be able to totally break her of it. Here are some things to try though...
Give the dog a stuffed animal when in its crate (just make sure it doesn't have anything the dog could choke on like googly eyeballs). Make it a special toy just for crate time.
Leave the dog for just a short while (5 mins) and then come back and spend time with the dog. Then leave for a little longer (15 mins) and come back. And so forth. You may need to repeat this every so often, so that the dog doesn't always expect to be left for 4 hours at a time.
You might try a wire crate (so that its easy for the dog to see out) and putting it somewhere in the house where it has a view of what's going on. Sometimes dogs get more anxious in enclosed spaces.
An extreme solution would be to get another dog to keep that one company.
2007-02-06 06:50:02 · answer #2 · answered by Chris 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
This WILL work if you're patient.
You need to incrementally get her accustomed to being alone and not be worried about when you'll return.
To do this, start by hanging out her with her when she's in her crate with the door open. Give her treats and praise. Do this for a few minutes every hour or so when it's convenient for you. Then do the same with the crate door closed. At first, leave it closed for only a moment, praise her while she's inside. And if she's quiet let her out and treat and praise. Continue this process incrementally leaving her in the crate for 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 min and so on. As you do this you can also slowly move yourself away from the crate. At first taking 1 step back, then a few more etc until eventually she can sit calmly in her crate and you can be on the other side of the room. Once this is accomplished you can work on leaving her alone. Same process, just leave for 10 seconds, come back in, ignore her for a moment (never rush in and free her, it will only excite her and undo the calmness) walk over and let her out, not, making a big deal of it at all.
Do this over time until she can stay alone with minimal fuss for up to 30 minutes. After that she should be able to handle a few hours at a time.
I did this with my pup and at first he whined and barked for the entire time (one time for 45 minutes straight as I stood outside the door)...now I leave him for 3-4 hrs a day, every day and he's totally cool with it.
Just takes time, patience and CONSISTENCY.
Best of luck.
2007-02-06 06:55:55 · answer #3 · answered by symbo61 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
she has a bad case os sereration anxiety which TRUST ME i know is not a pleasent thing. a good exercise to do if throughout the day, pick up your keys and put on your coat and jacket etc and get ready to leave...then put it all away...it will get her used to the thought of you leaving. then...put her in her crate walk out of the room for 5 min..come back in and give her a treat..pay attention to her then leave again for 5 min come back..let her out then 30 min later put her in for 10 min.....then 15 then 20..after 30 min put her in for an hour...you need to start off slow with her...if you put her in then leave for 8 hours she will NEVER get better...Leave on the tv or radio...it will make her feel like you are still there. giving her a kong and bones are a good idea however if she is that stressed those things will be the LAST things on her mind. it is very important to be patient and take things slow. I hope that helps...I have worked with dogs with this issure for over 2 years :)
2007-02-06 07:03:09 · answer #4 · answered by gigi 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a golden retreiver that suffered from separation anxiety while I was at work..this is what I did and it was successful...it seems odd but it worked. First thing I started doing was walking her everyday. This helped her to get out her energy..it is my understanding (from reading up on it) that this anxiety as well as barking is due to excessive energy. Just walking her daily alone decreased the barking. Second, my golden is in a kennel during the day, I wouldn't leave her until she was calm..I would use speak softly to her to sit and provide discipline (a tug on her collar), until she was calm.. I would leave then..even if she gets upset..at least she knows she is suppose to be calm when you leave.
I hope this helps but get her walking everyday...it makes a world of difference.
2007-02-06 07:10:03 · answer #5 · answered by Kellie C 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try putting a blanket in the crate with her that has your smell on it. This will make her feel more comfortable. Also put some toys in the crate with her, and maybe turn on a tv or a sterio so she has noise all the time. Good Luck.
2007-02-06 06:42:44 · answer #6 · answered by Sparkles 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
leave he lots of things that smell like you. i wore socks around the house for a few hours and tied knotts in them for my puppy to stop chewing everything up when i left, he would freak out when i crated him. he would throw himself up against the side of the cage until it tipped over! crazy huh? he's over that now. he just needs something with you. trust me, seriously, telling him, 'i will be right back, or ill be back in a little bit' helps! dogs arent stupid!
2007-02-06 06:55:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you may have the anxiety. I bet she cries if you go to the bathroom without her and she cries if you take a nap without her in the room. If so then you have a "velcro" dog and the anxiety can stem from your behavior more than that of the dog. Check out training options for both you and the dog.
2007-02-06 06:46:57 · answer #8 · answered by coolhandven 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
she needs a friend like another dog or you could give her some toys my dog use to have separation anxiety... he got over it bout 6 months ago.. i just got him a BIG dog pillow and after 2 and a half days he started to stop and just cuddle w/the pillow
2007-02-06 06:52:58 · answer #9 · answered by Vanessa B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have heard that if you leave a tv, or radio on it makes them feel like someone is there, if she doesn't tear things up why not lt her roam the house
2007-02-06 06:49:35 · answer #10 · answered by kuntry_grrl05 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋