Member

Posts: 227
From:Perth, Western Australia
Registered: May 2003

posted 11-13-2003 02:04 AM         

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not me, the dog ;D shes been on endep for about 3 months now for it. weve done evreything we can. not let her follow us around, putting her in the backyard more, not taking her everywhere with us etc etc. she had been good the past 3 times ive left her. i come home today and my god. shes ripped the fly wire door off and ripped the fly wire off it too. shes chewed the gate, again! my dad actually repaired the gate before and made it dog chew proof and put really solid hard jarrah on, guess that didnt work. shes also chewed through a really tough rubber mat. shes going to injure herself soon trying to escape. its getting ridiculous. i swear she has an undeveloped brain. [everything else of hers is stunted due to being ill at the place we got her from] anyone have any other suggestions apart from the training and drugs?

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Member

Posts: 320
From:Allagash, Maine USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 11-13-2003 05:19 AM         

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Kyle-- have youtried crating her? Something that worked with my dogs because they both had severe separation anxiety!!was to leave for about ten minutes and come back. I would do this a couple times a day, then slowly after a couple times, I would increase the time I was gone. After about a week I was up to a couple hours. It was a matter of reassuring them that I woud in fact return. The most damage is caused with in the first thirty minutes that you are gone. Most people crate, or confine the dog to a specific area that is fairly closed in. Make sure that whatever you use for a room that there is nothing she can really get into like chemicals or chewable things. S.A. is a difficult thing to deal with. Try not saying anything or speaking to her like ten minutes before leaving, and when you get home, do not have long greetings. Just a hello a pat on the head and make it short and sweet. Good luck!
Angie

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Member

Posts: 277
From:Nellis AFB, Nevada
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 11-13-2003 08:01 AM         

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I totally agree with Maine_Pitbull. Crate training is the best thing you could do. Bailey had seperation anxiety and I crate trained her and it did wonders. It takes a while to do but it is worth it. At least in the crate she can't tear up your house while you are gone and that's a plus. There are articles you can look up on this website that can help you learn to do it. In time, she will learn it is a safe place to go and if you leave her crate out, she will go and lay in there to sleep or chew a toy. I highly recommend it. Good luck!

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posted 11-13-2003 12:26 PM           

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Hi!
I have a comment about crate training because I am having a huge problem with seperation anxiety with my new terrier I adopted. I only work part time so she is not home alone for that long of a time. The first time I left her, I locked her in our bedroom with her toys and bed and a bone. I came home, she had destroyed the blinds up as far as she could reach. Keep in mind this is a brand new house we have only lived in a month. So, I decided I would take everything out of the bathroom and lock her in there. She ripped the carpet out from under the door and chewed the edge of the door up. I am too afraid to let her have the run of the house while I am gone because all furniture is brand new and when I leave her inside and just go out for a moment to take out the trash or something she scratches at the door and jumps up on the back of the couch, etc. I don't want to come home to a destroyed couch. I love Cassie to death and would not even think of getting rid of her. I do not blame her and am not mad at her. She is only afraid I will do what everyone else in her life has done...leave her and turn her out on the street. I put her in a wire crate and she got out and then I fixed it and she got out again and I fixed it again, and this went on several times before I have no idea how she is getting out because we were snapping the the gate closed and would come home and she would still be out. So, I put her in one of those enclosed pet carriers and she was getting out of that too very creativly I might add. So, I am having to tie another crate to the front of that carrier so that she cannot get the door open. She is not getting out anymore but I come home and she is just worn out from barking and panting and you can tell she has just drooled all over herself. Then, the rest of the night she just sleeps. I don't know what to do because it makes me sad that she gets so upset. Does anyone know of some suggestions to helping her get over this? I have tried giving her bones or putting one of my shirts in the crate with her (I did this because when she would get out of her crate she would go pull out my pajamas into the living room and sleep on them) and that doesn't work. I also have to take her out right before I put her in the crate or she will get nervous and make a mess all in the crate and all over herself. So, that is kind of a problem too with crate training. She just seems so upset all the time. So, any suggestions you could give me would be great.

Candace

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Member

Posts: 227
From:Perth, Western Australia
Registered: May 2003

posted 11-13-2003 06:40 PM         

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ive got an akita so id be spending big bucks on a crate :P should i try a room with nothing in it?

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Member

Posts: 1387
From:Portland, Oregon US
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 11-13-2003 10:24 PM         

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You don't have to pay big bucks for a crate.
I have three crates 2 larges and a medium. I paid $20 for the medium Vari Kennel at a garage sale, it was like new. The large Vari Kennel I got at a thrift store for $30, it was muddy but once cleaned up looked like new. The third kennel is a wire kennel that folds down for storage, I got it at a fundraiser auction brand new in the box. It retails for $89, I got it for $40. I use it when we travel to flyball tournaments. Go look at thrift stores, look in the paper, garage sales etc. you can find a good deal.
I washed the two I bought used with bleach and rinsed well before putting my dogs in them. I would not recommmend a wire crate for a dog with separation anxiety, I have actually seen video of a dog squeezing out between the panels and I have heard stories of dogs choking to death or suffocating because they got stuck while doing that.

Check these brand new crates out from PetsMart..... http://www.petsmart.com/dog/shopping/carriers%5F%5F%5Fcrates/hard%5Fcarriers/products/product%5F35259.shtml
http://www.petsmart.com/dog/shopping/carriers%5F%5F%5Fcrates/hard%5Fcarriers/products/product%5F27271.shtml
http://www.petsmart.com/dog/shopping/carriers%5F%5F%5Fcrates/hard%5Fcarriers/products/product%5F27265.shtml
http://www.petsmart.com/dog/shopping/carriers%5F%5F%5Fcrates/hard%5Fcarriers/products/product%5F35329.shtml

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Moderator

Posts: 480
From:Harrisburg,PA USA
Registered: Feb 2003

posted 11-14-2003 12:01 AM         

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I had a dog with separation anxiety and after alot of reading both on the web and bookds here are some good sites i found and also check out the book THE DOG WHO LOVED TOO MUCH BY DR NICHOLAS DODMAN

HERE ARE THE LINKSON SEPARATION ANXIETY
http://www.hsus.org/ace/15891
http://www.doggiedoor.com/sepanx.shtml

JUST SOME EXPERIENCE FROM SOMEONE THAT WENT THROUGH IT. CRATE THE DOG IF YOU CAN. SOME DOGS ESPECIALLY RESCUES CANNOT BE CRATED. LEAVE A TV OR RADIO ON WHEN YOU LEAVE, A LIGHT, AND A SHIRT THAT YOU WORE BUT DIDNT WASH WITH THEM WHEN YOU LEAVE.

DONT MAKE GOODBYES AND COMING HOME A BIG DEAL. USE A PHRASE EVERYTIME YOU LEAVE AND USE IT EVERYTIME YOU LEAVE MINE IS "BEHAVE, ILL BE BACK" THE DOG WILL EVENTUALLY REALIZE THAT WHEN YOU SAY THAT YOU WILL BE COMING BACK. MOST DOGS WITH SA WONT PLAY WITH TOYS, EAT, OR DRINK WHILE YOU ARE GONE SO KONGS AND SUCH USUALLY DONT HELP ALTHOUGH THERE ARE THE EXCEPTIONS. MINE WAS NOT AN EXCEPTION TO THAT. START DOING THINGS THAT YOU DO BEFORE YOU LEAVE, PUT ON YOUR SHOES, GRAB YOUR CAR KEYS, PUT YOUR COAT ON. THEN SIT DOWN, DONT LEAVE. GET YOUR DOG TO THE POINT THAT YOU DOING THOSE THINGS DOESNT NECESSARILY MEAN YOU ARE LEAVING. WHICH REDCUES THE AMOUNT OF ANXIETY THEY BUILD UP BEFORE YOU EVEN LEAVE THE HOUSE. WHEN YOU COME HOME, IGNORE THE DOG, PUT YOUR COAT AND KEYS AWAY, GET A DRINK, SIT DOWN, THEN GIVE YOUR DOG ATTENTION. IGNORE THE DOG WHEN YOU FIRST COME IN THE DOOR. ALSO IF THE DOGS ARE DOING ANYTHING DESTRUCTIVE WHILE YOU ARE GONE. DO NOT SCOLD THEM THIS JUST MAKES THEIR SA WORSE. YOU WILL HAVE TO START WITH LEAVING YOUR HOUSE AT LITERALLY SECONDS AT A TIME AND WORKING UP TO HOURS. THAT IM PRETTY SURE IS EXPLAINED IN THE LINKS I GAVE YA. HOPE THIS HELPS SOME. IF I THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE ILL WRITE IT. BUT I DID MONTHS OF READING AND LEARNED MORE ABOUT SEPARATION ANXIETY THAN ANY PERSON EVEN WANTS TO KNOW. BUT I COULDNT STAND BEING A PRISONER IN MY OWN HOME ANY LONGER!!

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Member

Posts: 227
From:Perth, Western Australia
Registered: May 2003

posted 11-14-2003 06:19 AM         

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oh i forgot to add in im australia so crating isnt common and id probably have to order a crate. i think weve figured out why she went nuts this time as well. we usually leave a carboard box outside so she can take it all out on that. this time we didnt. we are hoping its just this. any suggestions about how to wein her off the carboard box. im kinda sick of shredded carboard box everywhere!! 5 mins with box 5 mins without and raise the time each time?? sounds good to me.

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Member

Posts: 1392
From:
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 11-14-2003 12:01 PM         

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Have you tried other things instead of the box? Like a stuffed Kong, perhaps?

Jamiya

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Member

Posts: 227
From:Perth, Western Australia
Registered: May 2003

posted 11-15-2003 02:42 AM         

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yeah ive tried other things. she just ignores em. boxes are the only things that keep her occupied. she cant have bones of any kind unfortunately.

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