Developing Separation Anxiety

[FFEJANDIRAB]

My beloved 8 year old dog, Ash, is beginning to develop separation anxiety. Waaah!

So, we've moved into the Airstream permanently at the beginning of April. All through April, Ash has been fine. He has been left alone in the Airstream and has been completely mellow and happy.

We went on our first road trip, went on the 2nd mtn bike ride of the trip for a 2 hour stretch, this is when it began. He tore out the screen trying to get out. We returned to the original place where we park our camper, a different spot 4 days ago. Yesterday, he ruined another screen after leaving him alone for just 1 1/2 hours.

My idea is to go through the steps to avoid leaving him alone and readjust him gradually in time increments, also making sure he gets sufficient exercise before doing so. Also, I've been reading alot about how to cure separation anxiety.

Has anyone else gone through this and persevered? I am going to be moving the Airstream around every couple weeks and see that this lifestyle is causing stress for Ash. I'm hoping he'll realize that wherever the Airstream is, is home.

Any other stories out there? Thanks for your help!

[Lily&Me]

Uh oh, sounds familiar. Don't know what kind of dog you have, but we had a Brittany Spaniel for nearly 13 years who had similar issues. Not in the motorhome, but in the house. Tore blinds off the windows and just basically went berserk.

We decided his thinking was that we were outside, nearby, and if he could just get out he could be with us. We got our first motorhome because he could just not stand to be left behind. Maybe there is a dog whisperer in your area.

Good luck,

Maggie

[funkill]

Been there - done that. Lots of *training* and intervention with an animal behavior therapist. Great ideas. None worked well - but the addition of a SECOND dog cured it! Whippets seem notorious for SA. Sigh.

My pups tore out a couple screens for the first time ever last year. They've started being a bit too teritorial of the trailer and now go a little crazy when other dogs get too close. Dang it. This will be hard to cure!

Wishing you luck with Ash!

Laura

[DaveFL]

Sorry to hear of your problem, on a similar note our daughter had a lab that acted the same on her leaving for work, chewed what ever she touched last, phone book, pens, couch cushions, anything. Solved it by putting dog in an extra large travel crate, She found in her reading that dogs like small spaces and revert back to considering it there personal cave and enjoy it. It turns out my conception of how to keep an animal happy with large spaces and free roaming wasn't true.

[Stefrobrts]

We dealt with a little SA when Barclay was a pup, and we dealt with it by crating him when we left, leaving him with a bone to chew on or a kong stuffed with goodies, and a radio playing. We practiced leaving for very short time and coming back, or even just getting a coat on, jingling keys, and then not going anywhere. Whatever you can see begins to trigger it, so he will become desensitized to it. Barclay eventually outgrew it, but it took a few months. Seems like our puppy class teacher gave us a good little book that had info about helping a SA dog.

Good luck, it seems like you have pretty good odds of retraining since he used to be ok with being alone.

[Blanchard]

Your idea of training the dog to be alone is the right one. Go through the whole routine of leaving - shoes, coat, keys, etc., out the door. Wait five minutes, come back.

Sometime later, do it again, 10 minutes this time. And so on, very gradual increases of the time. Dog should learn that you will be back and this is no big deal.

Try not to make a big fuss over leaving or coming back, ignore the dog when you get back for the first few minutes - no big excited greeting.

A Kong stuffed with something yummy like peanut butter or Cheez Whiz can help the dog be occupied. Whatever you dog loves the most so your departure becomes something to look forward to because it means the yummiest treats.

Also, I have not tried this personally, but have heard very good things about a product called a DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheremone) diffuser. A product that releases a pheremone that will be calming and relaxing to the dog, should be able to get it from pet stores or online.

[2vets]

Blanchard has excellent ideas. There is no one easy answer for separation anxiety...it is always a combination of methods.. the DAP adapter can come in a collar form so it is always with the dog which is nifty. Exercise him at least twice a day in the morning and evening so that he always has something to look forward to. Kongs are fantastic and crates are great as long as the dog is used to being in a crate...I have seen dogs snap their teeth off on the cage door if they are too stressed. There is a great veterinary website that is veterinarian-reviewed called VeterinaryPartner Home Page - VeterinaryPartner.com - a VIN company! that has articles on separation anxiety. Sometimes medications can help your dog but not without behavioral modification....you may need to see your veterinarian! This can be a very difficult problem so I feel for you...hang in there!

[SteSpot]

Originally Posted by 2vets

crates are great as long as the dog is used to being in a crate...I have seen dogs snap their teeth off on the cage door if they are too stressed. !

This post is scaring me....we have a 2 year old rescue boxer that has separation anxiety.....we try to take him with us most places or hire a dog sitter but we have been crating him for short periods............our neighbor says he barks while we are gone so we try not leave him but sometimes we just have to crate him......I have never heard of a dog snapping off their teeth but I guess stranger things have happened....so far he has chewed up 2 Tundra seatbelts and my Subaru tonneau cover......(we have pet barriors to protect our steering wheels and gear shifts......

Please post if you find a solution to separation anxiety...thanks, p

[Sugarfoot]

Here's my story. Ms. Lulu Sugarfoot, now 11 years 4 months and totally healthy otherwise, began what the vet calls "late onset separation anxiety" several months ago. Here are exhibits A, B, and C. There were many other events with repairs totaling a few thousand.




These incidents occurred in my absence of anywhere from 2.5 hours to 12. I tried all the methods, radio, TV, she's ball driven and fetches daily, she's always been crate trained but won't tolerate a crate at home alone anymore without hurting herself. Behavior mods are useless for her. Drugs don't have the desired effect.

She has never damaged the Airstream and for some reason feels safe there. But the steel exterior door at the house was the last straw. She broke two teeth, lacerated the back of her front leg, and injured her mouth and right eye. There was blood everywhere.

Lulu has never been the same since her pack mate died almost 3 years ago. She will not accept another dog in my house, I've tried multiple times. She WILL accept my Mom's dog, Sonya, and this has been the solution. When she can't go with me in her truck crate, she's at Mom's house. We now live at Mom's about 80% of the time. Prozac at a low dose is an adjunct to help my octogenarian Mom handle her (high drive dog, what can I say). But Lulu is lost and lonely without Sonya.

Dogs are pack animals and, for whatever reasons, being alone for even a short time period isn't tolerated well by some. I hope you can find a solution for Ash, and for you Paula with your Boxer. I can certainly sympathize.

[SteSpot]

Wow, thanks for sharing this.....not sure what to say......your dog was not a happy camper......I remember now that our other dog (died in 1999) got more and more anxious as she aged......putting her in a kennel when we traveled was too tramatic for her in last few years......luckily she didn't destroy the house.....now to our rescue boxer.....not sure what his life was before but he is definitely a PACK animal...with us, he is great.....without us....he works himself into a state......keep us posted. p

[Lani]

Interesting post. We have two Italian Greyhounds and our older one (13) has recently started showing some signs of separation anxiety. He definitely feels more comfortable in the crate and doesn't seem to have issues when we leave him in the crate in the Airstream while we are out. But, in the car when we are traveling, if we leave him for a few minutes (we don't leave him in the truck if we are going to be a long time), he goes crazy! This is new behavior. Perhaps our close, confined space for the past year has made him more attached to us. He never exhibited this behavior when we were in our house.

So far, the only thing that seems to work is to put him in the crate. He likes it - I think he feels more secure in a "den-like" setting.

We've also noticed (as someone else mentioned above) that when other dogs walk by or even people walk by the Airstream while we are in it, he gets very protective and barks. For this, we've yet to figure out a solution. He's old, his eyesight is not great, so maybe there is a relationship there?

Look forward to hearing others' opinions and solutions.

[FFEJANDIRAB]

Thank you so much for all the advice and stories. So far Ash is going to work with one of us and staying in the truck. He likes that. I will keep working with him and so far so good. I am not yet brave enough to leave him by himself. We'll get back to that soon.

Only the 2 incidents so far, hopefully the extra exercise and the kong stuffed with goodies will do the trick.

Sugarfoot, Ash lost his Dad a year and a half ago, so he is a solo dog as well. Just like Lulu. He was enjoying his independence, so I thought. I think he's concerned because he doesn't understand why we move his home around. So sorry to hear of your extreme circumstances and I hope Lulu is okay and stops hurting herself!

[Stefrobrts]

Originally Posted by Lani

We've also noticed (as someone else mentioned above) that when other dogs walk by or even people walk by the Airstream while we are in it, he gets very protective and barks. For this, we've yet to figure out a solution. He's old, his eyesight is not great, so maybe there is a relationship there?

We had a problem with barking at things going by outside the car. If he saw a dog being walked down the sidewalk as we drove by, or a dog in the next car over, he'd go nuts barking at it. We've been doing clicker training. Basically, you have a clicker, you click and give them a treat (you actually do this a bunch of times at first), so they associate the sound of the click with getting a treat.

When we drove by a dog as soon as Barclay saw it I would click, and give him a treat. When he looked back at the dog I would click and treat again. I'd continue until we were past it. If he started barking that meant I'd waited too long, and I would quit treating. Once they've started barking you're not likely to get their attention back. Now you might think this method would reward him for looking at the other dog, but really this taught him to look at me and wait to get his treat when he saw another dog outside the car. It really worked!

Of course this works great for when you are in it, but will it translate to your dog being calmer when they see someone outside and you are not home? I don't know yet for my dog, and it might be different for yours.