This helps reduce the excitement level and therefore the stress hormones. I would go in and out the door for short periods multiple times, always ignoring her when I left (no goodbyes) and when I came back (no greetings). I bought a book and CD called "Through a Dog's Ear" which has specially developed music for playing during quiet times and when I have to go out. I would feed her meals out of the puzzle toys. This was not permanent but a necessary "cutting of the apron strings". I would give her a puzzle toy to work at or have her lay on her mat etc while I was watching tv. It's just her and me and the cats in a one room apt so this took some willpower. Not the whole evening but parts of it, instead of constantly paying attention. I started spending time each evening when at home actively not paying attention to her. I am a dogwalker and Cracker is out with me for up to 7 hours a day and I realized that had to change. We can contribute to the anxiety by having our dogs overbond to us and never getting them used to being by themselves occasionally right from the beginning. neighbours about what they heard when I left I really knew I had a problem and that poor Miss C was much more miserable than I had thought.įirst thing I had to look at was how much attention I was giving her when we were together. She was luckily never destructive in a big way (one corner of a wall, some cardboard or magazine tearing) but would occasionally urinate and ALWAYS howled or whined. My dog Cracker is a success story in progress. I know it is very frustrating, but they are worth the effort. I just kept trying every bit of advice until I found something that clicked with my dog. She does not make a peep when I leave, no pee in her bed, and she happily plays with her toys and kong during the day. After about two months of classes I was able to slowly wean her off the medication. I did a lot of training exercises to make her think that room was a great place to be. I also did lots of fun things with treats in the room where she stays during the day. They seemed to really boost her confidence. I think what made the biggest change was training classes. Then walking out the door and right back in again. I also started practicing putting on my coat, but not leaving. At the request of one of the behaviorist and after consulted my vet we put her on medication. I was at my wits end and miserable because I didn't know how to help my dog. I consulted multiple trainers and several behaviorists. If I left a kong for her it would remain untouched. She would pee in her bed a few minutes after I left. She would cry, howl, whine, and basically try to dig her way out of the kennel. At the request of a dog behaviorist I videotaped her in her after I left the house. I adopted my dog after she had twice been abandoned. I was planning on not advancing to the next step until he can lay on the floor calmly and not even acknowledge that I touch my purse, or keys, or put on my coat, or do all 3 at once. I have a hard time being able to tell the difference between "he's just looking over at me because I am in the room" and "he's looking at me because he's feeling anxious that I could be leaving." I want to look up a behaviorist in our area, because I have trouble reading my dog well. Ours is 15 minutes away, so in a lot of cases that just wouldn't even make sense. We can't afford doggie daycare every time we want to run a simple errand. The last thing I want is for my husband and I to spend 3 months (or more?) diligently conditioning him, then having a huge setback. Or do you just mix it up- you walk out the door for a second, turn around, walk back in- or sometimes maybe you walk to the door but don't even go out. I'm fine with doing baby steps, what I'm wondering is how you know it's okay to advance to the next step. He has pretty bad separation anxiety, I have another post on the first page (as of right now) about it. I'm working on small steps with my dog now too.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |