seperation anxiety


  1. tamn
  2. Nancy
  3. tamn
  4. Sheri1
  5. Nancy
  6. edandmax
  7. bdball
  8. weimOne
  9. Nancy

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Top 1.   Jan 28, 1999 9:51 AM

» tamn - seperation anxiety

seperation anxiety

I have a two year old German Shepard. I got him about three months ago. I now he as been with two other owners that could not keep him. For the last two weeks he was a perfect pet. He plays great with my son, goes to the bathroom out side, everyhthing just perfect.
Then one day when I came home from work he had gotton in the garbage and spread it all over the house and went to the bathroom in the basement. since then he has done this regularly, if there is no garbage he will find something else he as destroyed my garbage can, and alot more even his food dish.
I have tried to reasure him I will be back but he continues. I cant even leave the house for five minutes without taking him with me.
Please if you have any suggestion let me now.

Tamnew@aol.com

-- posted by tamn



Top 2.   Feb 1, 1999 11:30 AM

» Nancy - Separation Anxiety

Hi, this is a good article on anxiety-induced behaviour called Boredom vs. Separation Anxiety by D. Winkler & L. Rudolph.
http://www.abap.org/bored.htm

The best answer seems to be controlling your dog’s environment. You will probably want to crate your dog while you are out of the house.
For additional reading:
http://www.uwsp.edu/acad/psych/dog/lib-p...

You say previous homes have not kept this dog - I think it is wonderful that you are prepared to invest your time and effort into his rehabilitation. I know from a number of sources the great satifaction and strong bond that owners exprience from their work with rescued dogs.

Any other suggestions for Tammy?
Tammy please post a follow up note to let readers know how it goes.

-- posted by Nancy



Top 3.   Feb 11, 1999 11:19 AM

» tamn - seperaion anxiety

well after a couple of weeks. Minks has gotting alot better. I have move the garbage into a closet so he can't get into that. But for the rest of the stuff he does. I have taking him with me a couple of times and when i leave him home i try to stop in through out the day to say hi. He seems to be getting use to the fact i always come home. he still is very hyper when i get home but he doesn't wine anymore and for the last 5 days he had not gotten into anything. So i think we will be just fine

-- posted by tamn



Top 4.   Mar 10, 2000 3:21 AM

» Sheri1 - Seperation Anxiety

How did you get your dog to stop whining while you were gone during the day. Our dog will whine the whole time we are gone at the top of his lungs. Any advice please give. Thanks

-- posted by Sheri1



Top 5.   Mar 11, 2000 3:01 PM

» Nancy - Separation Anxiety

Hi Sheri,

Excessive vocalization CAN be a sign of separation anxiety. If you have already tried: leaving your pup with a "good-bye" treat/toy (something to keep him occupied -like a peanut butter filled kong), leaving the radio/TV on (just for company), practicing some short "aways" (so he KNOWS you're coming back) and if you are down playing your leaving and returning rituals,you've pretty well covered the usual steps to correct the problem. You may want to hire a dog walker to visit during the day so the time your pup is on his own is shortened. Or to consider hiring a dog behaviorist to develop particular strategies for your situation.

Any other thoughts for Sheri??

Please post back what works for you Sheri I'm sure many other readers will be interested....

-- posted by Nancy



Top 6.   May 10, 2000 6:34 AM

» edandmax - Is it seperation anxiety?

Our purebred black lab recently made my husband and I upset. We can usually leave him alone in the kitchen all day and he destroys nothing. Last night when we returned home he had started to ripe up our kitchen flooring. We also have two cats and my theory is that one of them was taunting him from the other side of the door. My husband thinks that Max suffers from seperation anxiety. Needless to say, we are curious as to what we may try. I do not want to have to replace the flooring again.

-- posted by edandmax



Top 7.   Sep 8, 2000 12:06 PM

» bdball - Seperation Anxiety Also

Our 10 year-old male Maltese has really turned up the anxiety since my wife took a job in another state for the year (she cannot have a pet in her apartment). I leave him in a large kennel cage during the day, along with some treats hidden under his blanket etc. I always leave the radio on low for company and have him in the living room where he likes to spend the day sleeping (normally). I am gone at most 5 hours and usually only 2 hours at a time. While I am gone he chews the cage bars, barks like mad, whimpers, and works himself into a frenzy where he pants continuously. He licks patches of his fur off also. He always spills his water or dips his blanket into it, and will not drink from a watering bottle. When I get home, he is so exhausted that he drinks about a quart of water and falls straight asleep for several hours. We love him and hate to see him go through this. Any additional help will be greatly appreciated.

-- posted by bdball



Top 8.   Sep 8, 2000 2:07 PM

» weimOne - Separation Anxiety with a rescue dog

I have a rescue 4 year old weimaraner who panics whenever I leave the house. I have to get a babysitter. I'm wondering how long this problem will go on. I've had my dog 5 weeks. It's not improving. I leave him with chew toys. If I bring him with me, and leave him in my car, he chews my seat belt.

-- posted by weimOne



Top 9.   Sep 10, 2000 12:50 PM

» Nancy - Separation Anxiety Also

Hello, separation anxiety is a hard problem to overcome. I believe you are doing all the right things with your Maltese. You may wish to leave something with your wife's scent on it in the crate or try a kong with peanut butter in it -if the treat is "good enough" it does provide a distraction!

I have the same seat belt chewing problem you mention you have with your weimaraner when I leave one of my KBTs alone in the car.... I now only leave her crated.
The best collection of articles (13) on separation anxiety I've found on-line are at http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/lib-prob.h...

Please post again if you discover something new --the rest of us could benefit from your experiences.

-- posted by Nancy



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