Any quick ways to soothe this dog?

scrabbles_2

I'm dogsitting this evening for my elderly neighbour. His dog is a chunky-ish yorkie and she is lovely but because the two of them are usually inseparable - they spend pretty much every minute of every day together - she is very upset at his absence. She was crying and howling and refusing to stop licking and pawing me. I've just about settled her but she still seems pretty upset.

Any ideas how to soothe her? I'm pretty good with cats but I don't really know dogs, all I know how to do is cuddle them Usually that's enough but she seems to be genuinely distressed and she actually seems a little calmer since I stopped fussing her. He does know she gets upset, that's why he asked me to come round.

She's had her dinner and been for a walk already. Anyone got any ideas how I can make her a little happier? I don't like animals (or people) being sad if I can help it!

krlyr

Immediately, there may not be much you can do - in an anxious state, dogs tend to not learn so well. Longterm, it may help to do some work at a much slower pace to teach her to cope being on her own. For example, her owner can try enforcing some independence in the house - teaching her a "settle" on the bed, a "go to bed" command and even using babygates (you can get some without a bottom bar now if his mobility isn't so great, no trip hazard) to encourage her to not follow him everywhere. Making these alone moments positive with an interactive toy or food can help - so if he needs to pop to the kitchen for a drink, he can give her a small chew on her bed and fetch his drink - she's had a positive experience while he's been absent, even if it's just a few seconds. If he needs to nip to the loo, scatter a handful of her daily biscuits allowance across the floor to occupy her a bit longer.
Slowly moving her onto her own bed, if they share his, and then moving this bed out into the hallway and then downstairs, a bit at a time (could take days, weeks, months - it's all individual to the dog and shouldn't push the dog's theshold.
Once she's got some more independence around the house, he can get her used to being left alone, or with someone else. Again, very slowly, at the dog's pace - so not a whole evening, I would maybe even have you go around while he's home and get her to settle with you in a room while he goes upstairs initially, if she's that distressed by it. Then have him leave the house for 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute, 5 minutes, etc. - repeat this several times a day and only increase the length when she is completely happy with the current stage. If she's that bad, he may even need to pretend to leave several times a day, to desensitize her to the cues that he's going - so pick up his keys, put them down, pick them up, put them down, put his coat on, take it off, put it on, etc.
There's a good book for separation anxiety called "Please don't leave me!" by Nicole Wilde, and there's another called "I'll be back soon" by Patricia McConnel which is a simple but good read too. Doesn't sound like severe separation anxiety if the dog is just 'upset' rather than absolutely distraught/howling the place down/soiling herself/etc. but the tips are still applicable even with mild separation issues.

Wellyboots6

I find when Tyson gets stressed up upset by thunder, fireworks, cats outside etc he calms a lot quicker if I ignore him.

If I fuss or cuddle him then he gets worse.

Maybe try looking away when she cries etc and then giving her a bit of a smile and a quick fuss when she is quiet and calm?

krlyr

Possible quick fixes with stuff you might have around the house - don't necessarily suit or work for all dogs (and I would ask the owner if it's OK to try first)
Porridge oats. Something in porridge works as a natural sedative and calms down dogs - apparently used for racing greyhounds quite a lot. Downside could be an intolerance or allergy so I'd be wary if you don't know whether the dog has had it before.
An old t-shirt, snug (but not overly tight) around the dog's shoulders and gathered at the waist with a hair tye or elastic band (or a knot) on top. Works like swaddling a worried baby, swaddling is also used for those with autism too.
Rescue Remedy in her water or a drop on her tongue, if you have any in the house for you (do not give pastilles version though as it containers a sweetener harmful to dogs)

There are several calmative products on the market you/her owner could consider for future use. DAP/Adaptil is a pheromone product based on the pheromones a mother dog produces to calm her puppies. Available as a plugin diffuser, a collar and a spray. Another plugin diffuser is Pet Remedy - various essential oils, includin valerian, to calm. Capsule supplements like Zylkene (designed to be given longterm, e.g. you'd build up in the system for a week or two then continue to administer daily while tackling the issue) or Calmex (designed for more immediate/one-off use, e.g. given half an hour before you dogsat her). Magnesium supplements can help, in some cases (magnesium deficiencies can cause anxiety, and anxious dogs apparently burn off more magnesium than usual), and there are several brands that use a combination of ingredients believed to calm a dog - e.g. Dorwest Herbs do valerian-based supplements.
Thundershirts are the official version of the swaddling t-shirt, there are calming CDs with specially researched songs believed to calm dogs down (various types - e.g. one of classical songs believed to have a certain tempo that relaxes dogs more, some of specially-made canine lullabies, etc).
If it is really serious, there are some veterinary products used for anxiety that may be worth looking into, but these should be used with a behavioural modification plan rather than just on their own. Seeing a behaviourist could help a lot if you're struggling with the initial steps of how to deal with it, if the owner could stretch to even just one appointment (many insurers will cover it, if the dog is insured)

faerie~spangles

Take a shirt or similar from his laundry basket and put it on the sofa next to you, let the dog lie on it. (Providing the dog is allowed on the sofa.)

scrabbles_2

Thanks everyone :-) She is snuggled on the sofa with me (yes she is allowed on the sofa!) and her daddy's gardening jumper tucked round her shoulders and she seems to have calmed down a lot now

krlyr wow, you are amazing, if I could thanks x10 I would, I will definitely suggest these ideas to my neighbour! It sounds awful to think this way, but my neighbour is in his late seventies and although independent isn't in the best health. I have heard of plenty of otherwise healthy dogs PTS because of separation anxiety and I really wouldn't want this little one to go the same way. She is still only quite young. I know at least one neighbour refuses to keep an eye out any more because she gets so upset. They are everything to each other, but it's because she's everything to my neighbour that I think he needs to sort this. I won't put it to him in such blunt terms but...

krlyr

If she's settled down enough to snooze already, it doesn't sound too serious Whether she copes left on her own completely or not though is a different thing, maybe something to look into once she can settle easily with you. My dog has had some bad separation issues this year, she'd be fine knowing someone was in the house (could be anyone, me, OH, a relative or friend) even if they were upstairs out of sight, but the minute she was truly alone (well, left with my other dog - his company didn't seem to help) she would bark, spin, pace, drool, etc. almost constantly. After trying to tackle it I ended up going for some thorough tests at the vet and she's been diagnosed hypothyroid and is doing a whole lot better on the thyroid medication, so that's something to bear in mind with anything like this, the potential behavioural effects of a health issue.