My 7 month old Brittany has seperation anxiety. If someone in our family gets up and walks into another room, she has to follow. If we go upstairs (where she isn't allowed) she cries until we come back downstairs. When we leave her home alone (not for more than 2 or 3 hours at a time) she freaks out. We crate her when we leave, but tried leaving her in the bathroom with her crate and she ruined the door knob. How can we make her feel better about us leaving? It makes it hard for us to run errands because we feel horrible that she gets so upset.
2007-07-02 09:25:06 · 9 answers · asked by Amy G 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
When we leave she does get her kong filled with peanut butter or frozen. That is the only time she will ever get her kong. It doesn't seem to help though.
2007-07-02 09:29:14 · update #1
I adopted my ten month old puppy from the humane society and he came with a terrible case of separation anxiety. He would bark bark bark for at least 30-40 minutes after I left. Basically, she sees you all as part of her pack, and when you leave, (even just the room), she is either going to follow you or she is going to bark/whine telling you to come back.
It was so bad that I could put a Kong filled with peanut butter in his kennel and he wouldn't touch it he was so anxious.
You need to work on training. You need to work on sit/stays or down stays. Have the dog sit,lie down and tell her to stay. And then slowly walk away. She has to stay. And then you come back and praise her. Then you keep doing t his and get farther and farhter away. Then come back. It is going to take A LOT of training, but eventually you will be able to leave the room and she won't follow - because she will now know that you are coming back.
The other thing that you can do is get a stopwatch. Do not kennel her and say "be right back" and walk out the door. Time yourself. After 1 minute (no matter how she is acting) return in the house. Repeat for 1 minute until you can leave for 1 minute and she isn't freaking out. Then up it to 2 minutes and so on. You can do this several times a day.
The other thing that you can do, when you are home. IGNOER HER for several hours (it is hard to do) no eye contact, no affection, no sitting on your lap. Do not give her attention for several hours even though you are home. This teaches her that just because you are home, doesn't mean that it's all about her.
And - when you come home after being out. let her out of her kennel, let he pee/poop and then ignore her - don't give her lots of attention when you first arrive home. Again ignore her for about 20 minutes - until she calms down. That makes leaving and coming back no big deal.
Keep in mind - this take weeks if not months. It is a process. She needs to learn that leaving doesn't mean disappearing - which is why the 1 minute outside the door thing works well.
Ps. you will know that things are working when you come home and the peanut butter in the kong has been devoured. Anxious dogs won't eat. calm dogs will ;)
2007-07-02 09:36:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
there is really no easy answer to your question - at least not one that will provide you with enough information on Yahoo answers. It's kinda like asking - how do I cure cancer on yahoo answers. There are just too many other mitigiating things going on and you need to assess your own circumstances and dog individually. I have (now it's a had) a dog with separation anxiety. I have since "cured" him. There isn't a cure, it's simply learning that you will come back. There are a couple of things that you should know 1.) obedience training will not help a dog suffering from separation anxiety. This isn't something that you can obedience out of him. 2.) kennels do help. A crate of appropriate size simply means that your dog has a safe place to be while you are gone. Dogs that suffer from separation anxiety oftentimes, if they have roam of the whole house, will eat things (couches, floors, pillows, electrical cords) so keeping them kenneled can actually help keep them calm and make them feel safe - but this also introduces kennel training into the mix (which I HIGHLY recommend you do if you have an anxious dog!!) 3.) getting another dog probably won't help. The dog is associating you (the human) leaving with his anxiety, another dog isn't going to replace you or confuse him and therefore now you will have two dogs but still have the one with separation anxiety. I suggest you spend the time searching separation anxiety on the internet (honestly, as opposed to yahoo answers) because htere is a wealth of info out there that you should read that can help you in a more specific way based on the temperment and level of anxiety that your dog displays. There are no quick fixes to this behaviour - the key is patience. please remember that.
2016-05-21 04:10:36 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's OK that she walks from room to room with you. She is behaving as part of the pack and following the pack leaders (the people).
She will get used to your leaving her. Don't feel bad about it. When you leave, don't make a big deal out of it, telling her bye and talking to her. Just put her in the crate, tell her "good girl" and leave.
Dogs don't have a sense of time, so 10 minutes is the same as 3 hours to her.
Make sure she has toys to occupy her in her crate. Leave the TV or a radio on in the room with her if you want to. I used to leave mine tuned to animal planet.
2007-07-02 09:35:36 · answer #3 · answered by maxmom 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I leave the TV on for my dog and put her crate in front of it. The noise seems to help. . .I have also heard of people leaving the radio on if the crate can not be by the TV.
2007-07-02 09:32:31 · answer #4 · answered by jen 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
crate her and cover the crate with a blanket or something,, also,, get a very special toy/treat.... stuff a kong with peanut butter and keep it in the freezer,,, she ONLY will get her special treat when you have to leave her in the kennel for errands....
2007-07-02 09:28:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
My dog used to be that way when she was a little puppy. i always felt so guilty, we would leave her a stuffy she could chew up or something that smelt like us. She leave her for small amounts of time before she gets used to it
2007-07-02 09:33:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
my friend's dog had this and the vet prescribed "doggie prozac" for her. She once chewed the whole wall down, and after she started on the meds, she was like a different dog.
2007-07-02 10:44:18 · answer #7 · answered by deb 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
usually an answer to this is to get another dog so that the dogs keep each other company!it does not have to be a big dog a small dog just a dog that is easy to take care of.
2007-07-02 09:40:32 · answer #8 · answered by 5v62020 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Your should probly crate train her.
2007-07-02 09:32:23 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋