Our Sharpei is very anxious, please help with suggestions...?

Question

We have had Sharpeis for years but this one is quite different. Lovable for sure but very anxious. She does NOT bite or chew anything in the house, she does NOT do her business in the house...none of our Sharpeis ever did...she is very loving and good...however...whenever we leave the house she cries at the door. I mean really cries tears until we get home. The floor is literally wet from her tears and she did
NOT do her business, it was from crying. Not only does she cry but she chews and gnaws at the door, I mean REALLY chews to the point where we had to replace the wood on the door and molding twice already because she will chew and claw right through to the other side. Finally we replaced the bottom half of the door with Plexiglas and sided the door molding with steel. Another thing she does is when she comes to wake us up, and as soon as I get out of bed, she'll nip at my ankles and nip at my rear-end as I walk.

Answer 1

Separation anxiety is a serious problem. You will need to take some steps to solve this problem so that your dog can relax. One thing to do is to give her Melatonin in her food (see http://www.dogdoright.com/canine-seperation-anxiety.htm for directions)
Also, using D.A.P. will help. ( http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/behavior/a/dogbehaviorprob.htm )
Use these things in combination with training. Several times a day, pick up your keys, put on your coat, and "leave" your house - but just for a few seconds at first. Your dog is panicking when you leave, so you want to pretend-leave for very short times, several times a day, so that your dog will stop worrying.
Ignore your dog before you leave and after you come back. The less drama there is when you come and go - the easier it will be for your dog.

As far as the nipping - when she does this, stop walking. The reinforcement that she gets is by chasing you - so stop walking, and she will stop doing that. Try to teach an incompatible behavior (a nose touch to your hand while you're walking will help) so that she will do a rewarded behavior (nose touch) instead of the nipping. ***Do not ever hit your dog as punishment for this or any other behavior, it will not help.***

Answer 2

Your dog seems to have separation anxiety. It sounds like a classic case, since she is targeting an exit/entance with her chewing-- she is trying to get out to go find you.

It's completely treatable, but it's going to take time and consistency. So make sure everyone you live with is going to help out with it. I would do lots of research about it, there is lots out there on the internet. The Dumb Friends League in Denver, Co, has a great website with all sorts of behavioral info.
If you want more information about how to do this, you can email me-- there's a lot to it. My dog was abandoned and had a bad case of sep. anxiety when I first got her. It took almost a year, but now she is calm and happy when I leave her alone. It is not hard to do, you just have to be consistent.

That first (rather rude) answer brings up a good point that will probably be brought up again-- crating. I am a big believer in crating in general. I think, if done properly, it's a great thing for dogs. BUT you have to be careful with crating sep. anxiety dogs. I was able to train my dog to love her crate and think it was her "safe spot", and then I started leaving her in it while I was gone. It helped her get better, because she learned I always came back to the crate, plus it saved my house. But be very careful-- your dog will likely just panic in the crate.

The sep. anxiety desensitation centers around rewarding the dog when it is calm. This is done by only giving it attention when YOU initiate the physical contact, and a lot of the things you have to do center around not letting the dog dictate when it gets attention.
Good luck!

Answer 3

I agree with Lansey about her having separation anxiety. You do not give her extra attention. When you leave, leave. Do not come back in if you hear her getting upset. When you come home do not acknowledge her until you have put your things down. If you cater to her, you are just reinforcing the bad behavior. I also agree with using crates. They are very useful for dog owners. Just don't put her in there to punish her. You want her to see the crate as her den...her own personal space that she can feel safe in. Leave the door open to allow her to come and go freely.

As for her nipping you, I assume that you are taking her outside to do her business? You have to let her know that she gets to do thing on your time schedule not hers. Scold her if she nips you. When you get up in the morning don't take her outside immediately, make her wait a couple of minutes. Her bladder won't explode.

Answer 4

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/kZnns

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.

Answer 5

it's seperation anxiety and sharpei's are prone to it. call your vet and ask what you can do for your little girl. my dad's dog was the same way, he's chewed through walls, metal vents, sheet metal. he has to have a dog sitter during the day while we are away.

Answer 6

No she is probally scraed and you should really take her to a vet. Also if you have another pet i dont think that she is a great idea because it seems like she needs extra loving attention. I hope it all works otu and Good Luck!