I have a jack russell and she seems to have separation anxiety...?

Question

We walk her everyday and play with her at home. We actually keep her busy. She is in her crate when we leave, but no more than 2-3 hours. She constantly whines when she knows we are getting ready to leave. What can I do to stop this, does anyone else going through this?

this started recently. She is 2 yrs old and we never had issues like this before. She did tear the crate pan apart and everything else in her crate. I will get that book and read all about it...thanks everyone. But Jack Russells are great dogs...I love her to pieces...

Answer 1

Yeah, that seems to be a common problem for jack russells from the books I have read. I have an 11 month old jack and she is only left home about 4hrs a day and luckily I have never had major problems with her. In the mornings when I leave she will just lay on her bed, we allow her to stay in the kitchen without a crate and she seems fine with that.

Jack russells hate to be apart from people, I know mine and others who follow their owners everywhere in the house...they never give you a break. So it is not hard to see that they would be upset when you leave. Just walking outside to the front of the house, if she sees me she will sit and watch everything I do from the window and when I come back in a minute later she acts like she hasnt seen me in hours.

Just be really consistent with your's....they will learn that they can't be with you all of the time. It's great that you only have to leave her for such a short period of time. As crazy as they can be, they do need some time for sleep. Dogs will usually cry for a little while and then go to sleep. Other people I have heard say don't make a big deal about leaving the house or coming home. I know it hard not to hug the dog and talk to them a lot when u leave, but it might help.

Answer 2

Get the book "I'll be home soon" it's a small booklet and costs like 7 or 8 dollars. It gose over true seperation anxiety and things that help treat it. It sounds like your dog only has a mild case. My dog would hurt himself trying to get out of his crate when we left. And if we didn't crate him, he'd destroy things and hurt himself doing that.

First off, when you come home, do not make a big fuss when greating your dog. Just pat her on the head say hi, then ignore her for a little bit. You need to keep her calm before you leave AND when you come back.

Do things to keep her from being able to guess when you are leaving. pick up your keys, then go sit on the couch for a while. Go out the door, come right back in. If she doesn't get all worked up during the process of you getting ready to leave, there's a better chance she'll stay calm while you're gone.

Get the book, it explains everything much better. There ARE things that you can do! ~Good Luck

Answer 3

I have a 6 y/o female Jack. She finally grew out of it. I worked days, my husband worked nights, so there was always someone home. During the puppy phase, however, we made the mistake of leaving her alone (we didn't crate her) and quite a few floor tiles were missing! I say, just let it take it's course, you sound like great pet parents. JR's are the best, aren't they?

Answer 4

My Golden Retriever whines a lot whenever I leave him .. I can't even control it!

I guess what you can do is

1) Record your voice and play it whenever you leave.
2) Put something like your towel and rub your hand on it so that he can smell your scent on it
3) Put things that describe you, so that it makes him feel you're around.
4) Keep him clean and comfortable (cover him with a doggie blanket) before you leave.


Hope I helped ... I guess it should work out! =)
Good Luck


Regards,
Fanano

Answer 5

I have a Jack Russell, Bambino, he is about 5 yrs(we adopted him), he does not like being alone. I think it is their breed. We felt so teribble about leaving him alone that we got another dog. At first he wasn't crazy about the new edition but as the puppy grew so did Bambino's love for his new brother. They are now inseperable. If one has to go to the vet we have to take the other or take him to grandpa's to play. Maybe think about getting another dog..........