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For the crate, I'd try feeding him in there so that he comes to enjoy it more. We did that with our puppies when we first got them cause they hated their crates.
We have an axious pee-er too, but it's not when we leave, it's when we see her/let her out of her crate.
My trainer told me to start putting her in her crate and cover it with a blanket, 5 mins a day, maybe starting out once, and then moving up a couple times a day. this is supposed to help with the seperation anxiety cause she can hear/smell us, but can't see us. I guess it's supposed to desensitize her.
Before you go for meds, I'd suggest some training classes, or private training. It will probably do you a WORLD of good. But most importantly, it will do you dog a worold of good. No body likes to be anzious all the time!
Our dog Louie had a lot of anxiety (well, still does sometimes). We've had him for over 5 years now, and his anxiety has improved a lot from when we first got him. We've never medicated him, but we've done a lot in terms of training and extra activities in order to get him where he is today. My advice would be to speak to a trainer who specializes in anxious behavior and have your dog evaluated. Some dogs respond well to training; others really need medication in order to improve,.
Also, I know a lot of people are against medication, but sometimes it really helps. My SIL's dog was on anti-anxiety meds for the last few years of his life, and you could see how much happier he was on the meds than off. It really improved his quality of life.
definitely going through this with you. we've only had our dog for two weeks so I'm hoping this is just the normal adjustment period but her foster family had ZERO problems with her :(
I dont have any advice, but look forward to reading others responses!
My dog had seperation anxiety when we first adopted her. She bonded with me almost as soon as we got her home.
The first thing we did for the first week or so, was we put her in doggie day care. So she wasn't alone all day. But then that got expensive.
I looked into it and tried to help her seperation anxiety by us leaving the house for one minute. After the minute, we would come back in the house and if she didn't bark, we would praise her. Then we would repeat the process by lengthening the time we were 'gone." I guess this works for dogs because the dog learns to wait for you or to expect you. She thought we were coming back. Eventually, she'll get tired waiting and fall asleep waiting. Oh, if she barked, we would come back in and not praise her and then we would have to shorten the length.
She was crated during this time for about the first year. We finally blocked off an area of the house so she wasn't crated. We gave her a hallway to roam. After a while, we were confident enough to let her free roam of most of the house. Sometimes dogs really hate being confined.
Oh, as for the crate problem, my dog had the same problem. It seems like your dog has some bad issues with being crated. I think you need to try some steps to get her to like her crate. It might take a long time but some dogs need it. I actually was able to go in the crate first and then my dog would follow me into the crate. I guess I wanted to get her to feel like it was safe.
I also noticed that my dog went freely into the crate if I took her outside to pee and then immediately after coming into the house, I lead her into the crate with her leash. She seem to slip right in. If I took off the leash, it would be much more difficult to get her to go in.
Anyway, good luck.
My cat used to pee bc she was anxious, now she is on meds and shes much better. I also have a coworker who skypes with her dog but I'm not sure that helps or not
Have you tried a Thundershirt?
We have a very anxious pitbull and the Thundershirt helped TREMENDOUSLY.
Do you crate him at night too, or just when you're both out of the house? Khumble and yrret have some very good suggestions on re-crate-training your dog so he will learn to consider the crate a safe haven as opposed to where he gets banished when you leave. I would add to them that if you're not crating him at night, gradually begin doing so. I have always crated my dogs at night and it really helps. One of them actually lets it be known that she thinks it's bedtime by padding into the next room and flopping loudly into her crate.
Hopefully if you can help him associate his crate with rest and security rather than loneliness, he'll have an easier time coping with you going to work. Poor guy. He's lucky to have you; I'm glad you're making the effort to consider all the non-medication options first. There are a lot of people out there who wouldn't be so patient and understanding :(
Here are the things I did that worked for me & my dog's anxiety:
*I put his crate at the foot of my bed and made him sleep in there at night
*Doggie daycare - he really disliked this at first and would sit still and not go back when I dropped him off because he didn't want to be away from me. After a while he started loving it and I think it was good that he was able to see me leave but understand that he was still in a safe place with people & dogs and see that he could "get by" without me around!
*Walking him for at least one mile every morning
*Obedience training, if you haven't already done that
I like yrret's method of leaving and coming back repeatedly but extending the amount of time you're gone each time. I've heard lots of success stories from people who've done that. I was very desperate at one point because I came home and found that he had chewed through the bars of his crate and had his head sticking through the holes. I was very concerned he would hurt himself and I just couldn't afford anymore doggie daycare so I talked to his vet and put him on Reconcile. It DID work and I noticed some differences in his behavior but he stopped eating so I took him off it. You're not supposed to keep them on that forever; it's just a medicine to take away the anxiety while you work on behavior modification. I personally think it's worth a shot and if you see side effects that you don't like then just take the dog off the meds
I heard this interview on NPR's Fresh Air:
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/26/136497064/the-new-science-of-understanding-dog-behavior
It was great. I don't have a dog, but the guy wrote a book and talked about ways to ease dogs' separation fears. You might want to give it a listen or take alook at his book.
Good luck!
I'm at work and don't have time to read all of these responses in full yet, but I wanted to say thanks in advance, and keep the suggestions coming! I'll check in later tonight. :)
Two words: postitive reenforecement!
The love of my life is a dachshund/sharpei mix. He is 2 1/2 now and the best dog I could ask for.... but it wasn't always so easy. We rescued him from a bad breeding situation when he was around 4 weeks old. He could barely walk and I had to do everything for him. He was our only pet at that time so he was a bit baby-ed. He developed intense separation anxiety and would bark and cry when we both left or if I was home and he could not find me.
The first step was to mix up our routine. I put my shoes on before I got dressed. I left my keys on the front porch and picked them up on the way out. It became humorous trying to find ways to trick him and make him think I was leaving when I wasnt and wasnt leaving when I was. After a while he became desensitized to those signals.
The second step was not ackowledging him for about 10 minutes before we left and when we got home. Put him in his crate 10 minutes before you leave and go on with your routine, come home and start dinner. Do not make any eye contract or say a word to him until he calms down. He will stop anticipating your arrival so much and stop getting so anxious when you leave. You need to make it seem like the event of coming/going is not a big deal.
The third thing we did was get him a friend. This was hands down the best decision I ever made when it comes to him. We got a Golden Retriever (female) puppy and they are absolutely in love. He does not miss me when I am gone now and they keep each other company.
I will admit he still gets a bit anxious and will bark in this high pitched bark when we are somewhere other than home and he does not see me. We were camping with family recently and if I went in the tent without him he would start the high pitched barking like he was calling "mama". He just loves me a lot though and thinks of himself as my protector. If you do all of the things I have listed and be patient and consistent it will help a lot.
Good luck!
Oh and forgot one... the crate is never a bad place. He needs to like it as his safe place. If he is shaking behind the couch you should not pick him up and put him in the crate like it is punishment. You should coax him into the crate with his favorite food (I used carrots). If it is a positive experience he will end up in the crate even when he doesnt have to be.
Also do not only use the crate when you are leaving... you can use it when you are cleaning the house, or cooking, or have guests over. That way he doesnt associate it just with leaving.
Some will say to make him sleep in the crate. This may work too but I dont do this because my dogs favorite part of the day is the cuddle we have at night and he shares my pillow. I dont think I could sleep if he wasnt right there. Im a crazy person I guess!
@AlmostMrsReed: Although our dog improved a lot with training, we noticed the biggest difference in his behavior after getting him a companion. I was resistant to getting a second dog for a long time, and we definitely had an adjustment period, but now Louie and George are inseperable and best buddies. :) It was the single biggest change that helped with Louie's anxiety.
My beagle used to have really bad SA (Chewed through walls, pulled up carpets etc). We used to put her in her crate at the end of our bed when we went to sleep, and kept her confined in the kitchen using baby-gates when we were out at work. We discovered that by giving her the run of the house (She sleeps with us in bed now (Far from ideal, but stops the howling)) and letting her run about in the day (All the doors shut, but she gets the landing/halls/kitchen, she is much, much better. We can't leave her too long and happily due to work, never have to. When we take her in the car, and put her behind the grate in the trunk (It's a Land Rover) she goes beserk for ages but does settle down after much reassurance. I also find the more exercise she gets, the easier it is for her. Perhaps try to totally tire him out before you leave?
Hugs xxx
PS> If I'm reincarnated, I'm totally coming back as a sloth...
This sounds EXACTLY like my dog, and we're really struggling with the dilemma of going the medication route. I think we are leaning more towards a trainer and behavioralist to see if there are non-medical interventions we're not aware of.
The other thing that has helped our dog a bit is to not greet him when we come in. We simply let him out of the crate and he goes bonkers, jumping, wanting attention, etc. We were told not to greet him until he calms down. Greeting him enthusiastically as soon as we see him sends him a message that it was a big deal that we were gone and now we are reunited. We may feel that way, but for his sake, we can't show it.
We also have him sleep in the crate and go into the crate with treats at random times. A lot of the time when he's relaxing, he'll go in there on his own and lie down, which is nice for him to have his own little space.
Honestly, we were pretty fed up with our dog's anxiety and put her on medicane. It makes a world of difference in her personality and calms her down just a touch. She's still quite active and whatnot but she's just a bit more subdued and calm. We tried taking her off of it and found ourselves getting very frustrated with her.
Our dog also has seperation anxiety. Poor thing goes crazy when we leave, eating up our house. We can't crate him b/c he always finds a way out anyway. He used to be like your dog, he would sit there and howl if anybody left his side. And then we found prozac! We tried everything else that we could first. Our vet said to ignore him when we left and came into the house, we gave him natural meds, one of those vests that are supposed to hit certain pressure points, some scent that is supposed to calm him down. But none of it worked, so we had to do meds.
I was also worried that he'd be a zombie dog, but he's not at all. He's just calmer, and I think it's good for him b/c he was just so anxious all the time. He'll still cry if one of us leaves, but it's not the crazy howling that he used to do. I highly recommend meds!
Thanks so much, everyone. Mr. S and I talked about it and I think we're going to find a trainer who specializes in this kind of stuff.
Our dog had a host of problems when we first got her, the anxiety, she was terrified of other people, terrified of other dogs. We took her to obedience training for about the first year and a half, and made sure we got a really, really good trainer with tons of experience with different types of dogs and issues. The first couple months were rough going to the classes with strange people and dogs, but one day it was just like everything clicked and she was fine with being in not normal situations. She still gets a little anxious around new dogs and new people, but nothing nearly as bad, and we have learned how to get her from the point where she is so terrifed she is going to bite someone to relaxed in under a minute.
A friend of mine has a lab that has similar issues, and training didn't work so he has been on prozac now for years. He's not zombie like at all, just regular dog while he is on it, and it has made a huge difference in both of their qualities of life. If training doesn't work, I would reccomend the meds after a long discussion with your vet.
The NPR link that Ms.Dove posted is awesome if you haven't had a chance to check it out, def do. My mom sent it to me last week :)
you can find a trainer via the Association of Pet Dog Trainers http://www.apdt.com/petowners/ts/default.aspx I really liked my trainer's positive reinforcement methods- more "It's me or the dog," less "dog whisperer."
Good luck with the little man!
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Our dog is driving us crazy.
He's always been anxious and high-strung. If I leave the house alone, Mr. S has to take the dog outside and around the corner so that he doesn't see me leave, because he goes CRAZY when he watches one of us go. When we both leave, we crate him, and he doesn't bark, but he still hates it.
When we get ready to go to work, he knows we're about to leave and crate him, and he hides behind the couch, shaking like a leaf. We keep a blanket in his crate, and he pees on it almost every day. Today, he peed on it RIGHT IN FRONT OF US as soon as we put him in. It wasn't that he has a full bladder, it's just that he was so scared and anxious and angry and sad.
Whenever we walk him, if we want to run into a coffee shop for two minutes and leave him outside, he FREAKS OUT. We can't just tie him to a tree for a minute, and it's even bad if ONE of us goes in. The other one has to just sit there and try to get him to be quiet.
Dogs are allowed at my office, and that would help the morning anxiety, except that the few times I've brought him here, he's been freaked out by the new environment and whined the ENTIRE DAY, annoying me and everyone else in the building.
He's five years old and he's always been like this.
I don't like the idea of medication, but I'm not sure that there's anything else we can do. Has anyone ever put their dogs on meds for emotional problems, and if so, did you see a change? I don't want him to become sluggish or anything, we love his energy in general. We just want him to stop being so anxious.
If anyone has any other non-medication suggestions, I'd love to hear them too!
Thanks. :)