Malamute female with serious seperation issues, she tears things up and howls when we leave her alone. HELP?

Question

We take our animals everywhere with us, but This malamute female is making things so difficult. When ever we take her to a hotel with us, she tears up the room and howls non stop until we return. We love her and dont want to get rid of her but we are an active family and we need her to be okay with going out often. We have left her home before and she tore up our wood door, ripped the carpet and shredded furniture. I have had people tell me when you have an animal like this theres no hope, they have screws loose. We just really love her and shes a perfect angel when we are around. Any advice is appreciated.

ANSWER ISNT THAT SIMPLE, MALAMUTE = VERY LARGE DOG. I cant leave her with anyone for fear she might do some damage. Thanks for trying, but you should read the question fully before trying to answer.

I am at home with her all day. She gets more excersize than any animal I know. She runs free in our HUGE backyard all day with our other animals. Its just when we leave she panics and freaks out. We cant leave her fenced in at home because not only does she tear things up but she HOWLS nonstop like someone is killing her.

She is just under 2 years old and has been doing this in one way or another since she was brought home at 8 weeks old. I dont know if the breeders abused her but none of our other Mals act like she does. We have crate trained her but she is HUGE and doesnt fit in any of them now. I love her so much and like I said she is an angel with us around, but when we leave she turns into this crazy animal. If I crate her, that wont help the howling, I have double the problems with the screaming she does and the tearing up.

I APPRECIATE EVERYONES ANSWERS, I REALLY DO. BUT THE POINT IS SHE IS CRATE TRAINED, SHE IS WELL EXCERSIZED, SHE IS AN ANGEL, WHEN IM WITH HER. I CANNOT BE WITH HER ALL THE TIME. SHE STILL SLEEPS HALFWAY IN THE CRATE SHE WAS TRAINED IN, BUT IT IS NOT BIG ENOUGH TO CLOSE HER IN. And even if I lock her up, her screams can be heard far away. Shes well worked, so no more excersize comments, shes crate trained, so no more crate comments, I need something new that I can use! We are going to a wedding soon and she is scheduled to go with us but no one can watch her as we are all going to the wedding! I cant board her for fear of her actions, and I cant leave her with anyone! !! Thanks again!!!!!

We have a wolf, a purebred husky and 2 other malamutes. She has lots of friends :)

Answer 1

After reading your question and additional comments, I see that she does get a lot of exercise, and she has companions. I also read that you have a crate, but it is not big enough for her to stay in. First, I would get her a bigger crate. Since she is already crate trained, you are one step ahead of the game. Due to her excessive destructiveness, I think you should start putting her inside her crate while you are gone. I know she screams and has a cow, but she needs to learn that she has no other choice. If she is truly as destructive as you describe, she will end up eventually hurting herself (i.e eating something dangerous) unless she is in her crate. However, I think there are many reasons why your problem is occuring, and it has nothing to do with the dogs' screws being loose.

A first step (and the most important) is that you need to teach your dog that she cannot always be with you. I know if sounds cruel, but start giving her less attention. Make sure that anytime you do spend her is productive (training, obedience, etc). Start forcing her to be alone for some period of time every single day. Take small steps. Always give her a treat when she goes in her crate. Have her stay in there (while you leave) for only a couple minutes....then a few more....and slowly increase the amount of time she stays alone. If she barks, do not come back. She needs to be completely ignored. If you give into her barking even once, it will take a very long time to ever train her to stop barking.
While she is in her crate, she needs to be given toys similar to a kong (hollow bone filled with peanut butter). This will keep her busy for quite awhile. Try a piece of rawhide as well. If she has a lot of things to do, it will help keep her mind off of your absence. It will take a long time, but she will eventually learn to handle her anxiety.

If the crate is not an option, many behaviorists suggest that you puppy proof a room in the house for the dog to be in while you are gone. Basically, you have to have the room free of anything she could tear up. Make sure you leave down several "items"...this includes things like rawhides, kongs, empty juice bottles with kibble in it, chew toys, etc. Before you leave her in the room, make sure she is completely engaged in the food and not you. Don't ever give her attention before you leave your house, that will only make her anxiety worse.

As far as barking in general, you'll need to get something like a citronella collar that will spray her in the face every time she barks. The most important thing, though, is to ALWAYS ignore her when she starts barking to get your attention. Don't yell at her or even acknowledge her.

Finally, if none of these techniques are being effective, you'll need to try a medicine like clomicalm or xanax. These can help calm her anxiety and help you work with her.

I've worked with (and rescued) a lot of dogs with issues EXACTLY as you are describing. In fact, I personally rescued a husky mix that did the same thing as your malamute is doing. It took several months, but he has finally stopped engaging in the destructive behavior. The key for us was consistency and education. Knowing about reinforcement, punishment, and canine cognition can be very useful towards eliminating the problem.

I know it is a complicated process (a lot more than can be explained on yahoo answers), but good luck!

Answer 2

As a proud owner of a malamute and four other dogs, I can tell you there is hope!
First though, how old is this malamute? If she is under two years old then she is still considered a puppy.
Seperation anxiety can be scary for both dogs and owners.
My Australian Shepard did exactly what you described, chewed doors, carpet, anything she could get her teeth into. There is an answer. I came across this chew toy where you insert different kinds of treats inside. It keeps my dog busy for hours and she is no longer bored or having anxiety issues. also, keeping her in a smaller confined space like a bathroom or small room with this toy is ideal as they feel more secure in smaller spaces.
One more thing you have to consider, you are taking your dog away from home and leaving her in a strange place. She doesn't know that you aren't leaving her for good. Malamutes are very sentimental and a part of the family. If it's possible, try leaving her at home, hire a pet sitter to come by and walk and feed her. I hope you do not give her up as this will only add to her feelings of insecurity for the rest of her special life...hope this helps.

Answer 3

She's a malamute.....I have huskies.......this is normal behavior. They are working dogs, they have a lot of energy, and they are known to be destructive. You are NOT supposed to leave dogs unattended in a hotel room, period. I've stayed at many many hotels with my dog and every one has stated that. When I've been in hotels I took the dogs everywhere, had someone take turns watching the dogs while one person shopped, went to drive-throughs to eat instead of a restaurant, etc.

My almost 5 year old husky is crated when I go to work. He's a very well-behaved dog when I'm home, he would never destroy anything when he's with me, but when I leave him, he turns destructive. He loves his crate, it's his "den" so he's fine staying in there. If I left him out he would destroy things as well. You need to get her a large, secure crate and teach her to stay in that while you are away. I would suggest buying a black "kong" toy and putting peanut butter and some treats in it for her to get out while she's in the crate. Introduce her to the crate slowly. Feed her dinner in it, put her in there with toys, etc. while you are home, then try leaving her in it for 30 min or so and she how she does, work up to longer times. I would also recommend exercising her before you leave so she's tired and can use the time in her crate to rest. Maybe invest in a biker-dog/springer to run her with the bike. The more tired she is the less destructive she will be.

Answer 4

You don't mention her age or how long you've had her or if you have ever crate trained her, so it is difficult to give a good answer. However, with the information given, you should know that there are several medications available to help calm the symptoms. Discuss these with your veterinarian. Clomicalm is one example.
Also, you need to retrain her to your absence using a crate. You need to put her in a crate with some nice toy and bone, leave the house for a short period (15 minutes) come back, ignore her and the noise for 5 minutes and when she is quiet, let her out again. Then increase the time period that you are gone, always waiting until she settles to give her attention.
However, there ARE situtations in which SA cannot be dealt with easily. There are too many things unknown in your case to really make that kind of judgement call.

Answer 5

You need to keep using her crate - make it a rewarding place to be. Feed her in there, and make her being in there a regular thing that she does many times a day. Give her special treats in there. If she were my dog, I would be playing crate games with her non stop.

http://www.finchester.org/dogs/dog_diary/2005/08/crate-training.html

Several times a day, 'pretend' to leave. Pick up your keys, put on your coat, walk out the door - - - and then come right back in again. Ignore her completely. What you want to get by doing this is an "Oh, you again." response from the dog.
The single most effective thing I did for my new pup was to ignore her for 20 minutes before I left for the day, and again when I came back. There's too much drama surrounding your coming and going - you need to make it a non-event.

Giving her melatonin in her food will probably help:
http://www.dogdoright.com/canine-seperation-anxiety.htm
There are lots of good hints on this site. Some of them may be things that you've already read here. There's a reason for that. Please take the time to work on her being happy in her crate, and you will help your dog.

http://www.wagntrain.com/SeparationAnx.htm

Answer 6

OK obviously this guy is out of his mind and a 30 year old stalking a 17 year old is not cool and id do what she said take pictures of him and dont let it get to the point were he does do something like rape you or something so if the police wont listen id try getting a restraining order on him or something like that and tell the cops that he could be a real threat and they need to be watching him make sure you stay armed if absolutely necessary and keep mace or whatever just be very careful about freaks like him and if you have told him many times to leave you alone and that you dont like him then he is a freak and your dad even threatened him hes obviously delusional and has some serious mental problems and to be liking a 17 year old he has serious problems so i wouldnt give him a break thats how people get raped

Answer 7

Owners sometimes accidentally train their pet to be anxious. They over-nurture her with constant physical contact and conversation until she is unable to stand being alone. A dog that gets constant attention is unable to cope when you leave to go to work or the store.

Start to wean your dog from constant attention by limiting physical contact. Don't sit and absentmindedly pet her. Make her earn your attention. Don't let her lie on your feet or lean on you. Gradually teach her to sit happily across the room from you. You may have to tie her to a doorknob initially The first few minutes will be the worst, so try to keep her busy with a favorite chew toy or treat.

Teach her to relax alone. Put her in a room where she is comfortable. If she starts to whine or scratch, throw a bean bag at the closed door to startle her. You don’t want her to associate the noise with you, so be quiet. When she is quiet for a few seconds, let her out and ignore her for the first minute or two. Repeat the exercise, gradually working up from a few seconds to several minutes.

Is the dog sleeping in your bed? Teach her to sleep on the floor by tying her leash to a dresser leg. You are still right there, just not touching her every second. As she gets used to this, put up a pet gate, and let her sleep just outside the doorway. As she gets used to less physical contact she will become more self-reliant.
When you leave or come home, don't make a big fuss over your dog. Ignore her until she calms down, then a quiet hello and a brief pat will do. When you leave, just go, no good-bye or anything. Practice going through your getting-ready-to-leave routine without going anywhere. Pick up your keys, your purse, your jacket, etc., and ignore the dog. Walk to the door and then turn and come right back in, ignoring her. Soon those visual cues will not have meaning and she will not react to them.

Leave on a TV or radio so the house doesn't seem so empty. A recording with your voice on it sometimes helps, too.

Answer 8

She needs more exercise.

Dogs who do not have their needs met turn to destructive behaviors.

She likely needs more exercise and attention. If she has to be left home during the work day, you might consider hiring a pet sitter to take her out for a walk or finding a doggie day care where she can play and get lots of attention from people and other animals.

Answer 9

ok will a lot of breeds are like that. What you NEED to do is get her a friend. Our husky would be in a fenced area all day long while we were away. She jumped over the fence everyday. We got her a friend and she never jumped over the fence ever again. There is NO other solution to this problem. All you need to do is get the dog a friend.

Answer 10

Can you leave her out side in a fenced area? I love my dogs but I would never trust them in the house by themselves. When we are not home they are outside. It works for us.