Seperation Anxiety HELP

flopsypurple

Hi im looking for a bit of advice
We rehomed a lurcher puppy nearly 3 1/2 yrs ago she is 4yrs in december. The problem that we have is as a dog walker freya(the dog) is with me most of the day and when we leave her to go to the shops ect she barks. We have videoed her and she barks for about 15mins then settles done. However we have a neighbour who has taken a dislike to us and constanlty complains to us that the dog is barking.
Therefore weve tried increasing the amount of time away from us gradually but it still doesnt seem to work.

She barks at dogs going past our house from the bedroom window so now when we are in the house the bedroom door is closed.

Is there anything i can do as we feel lost now and the nrighbours getting worse (police involved again for harrasment lots of other issues) but we feel like this only makes situation worse. This means that like today i need to go shopping but will wait till OH comes in from work to stay with the dog.
thanks for getting this far

krlyr

Having dealt with separation issues myself this year, I would suggest

- a worthwhile book to invest in is Nicole Wilde's "Don't leave me". Available as an ebook for about £6.50 so a reasonable price

- a vet visit to rule out a health issue. Pain, for example, can cause dogs to change behaviourally, or there may be a medical condition causing anxiety. I had my dog checked out after a few months of failing to get very far with training, and turned out she had very low thyroid levels. On artificial thyroid hormone tablets, her behaviour has improved 200%! I would go for a full blood panel with a comprehensive thyroid panel on top. Also, don't just take the vet's word for it being all within range, Kiki's were *just* within range but with issues like the thyroid, many experts believe results aren't necessarily black and white 'OK' and 'not OK', but that you can be symptomatic and requiring treatment if you're at the lower end of the range. Certainly from Kiki's behaviour, she is so much better now her levels are in the mid-upper end of the range.

- a qualified trainer or behaviourist may be great for a second opinion, and many insurance policies will pay towards this. http://www.apdt.co.uk or http://www.apbc.org.uk to find good trainers or behaviourists near you - ones who won't use aversive methods like shock/spray collars or rattle bottles, which could scare your dog and worsen her anxiety.

- over-the-counter calmatives can help. Products like Adaptil plugins/collars/sprays, a Pet Remedy diffuser, Rescue Remedy drops (the human version is fine - though don't use the pastilles as they contain a ingredient toxic to dogs), Zylkene, Calmex, Stressless, skullcap/valerian tablets or tinctures, a Thundershirt, there's a whole load of products on the market for calming a dog.

- Kongs and activity balls. Will she eat when you leave her? Some dogs are too stressed to, but if your girl settles after 15 minutes it doesn't sound like extreme separation anxiety. I find that if I put a Kong down for mine, she doesn't get that initial anxiety because she's too busy eating. By the time she's done (I freeze mince in the Kong so it's pretty challenging!), she's tired and forgets she's home alone, and usually just naps until we're back.

- making every exit positive. Nipping up to the loo, out to the dustbin, even if you're just closing the kitchen door for 5 minutes, always put down some food or a really exciting toy. I keep a stash of cream cheese/squeezy cheese in the fridge and will smear a thin layer inside the Kong for these quick exits, or you could scatter a handful of small treats. The idea is that she associates your departure with something positive, every single time.

It takes a little work but it's not impossible. We've reached the stage where she's very unlikely to bark during work hours, unless it's at the postman or a coldcaller knocking at the door/posting leaflets through, so that's big progress. Recently we've had a bit of success leaving her for short periods in the evenings (if we've not been out at work all day), which has been tough as she knows the difference between work hours and evening/weekends and doesn't settle well with the latter). Babysteps, I know it can be tough when you feel like a prisoner in your own home, but you'll get there!

flopsypurple

thsnks for the reply we have hollow bones that we fill we chicken paste and cheese and she eats these but once shes finished them she starts barking it just seems to delay the seperation.
When we are in the house she goes upstairs and the landing and sleeps in her bed just doesnt like to be with us only when it suits her.

She had her check up at the vets 2 weeks ago when she had her boosters and everything seemed fine.

Do you think that if we just kept her in the hallway with all doors closed no access to outside that this might help?

Off to try and find this book.

krlyr

A checkup doesn't mean much to be honest - it's a bit like popping to your GP for 10 minutes. They may notice a rash on your arm or a raised temperature but they're not going to spot many internal issues or any problems with your bloodwork. A full physical examination, a thorough blood panel, and possibly x-rays of joints and spine if there's any indication of pain would be the first steps for me.

Sometimes confining a dog helps, sometimes giving more freedom helps. We found Kiki was more anxious when confined to the back of the house (we thought it might help to not be near passing traffic/pedestrians at the front), and better when she had access to all of downstairs.

If she will eat the hollow bones initially this is a fab starting point. You want to do lots of practice sessions where you leave her with the bone and return, before she finishes it. If she's barking, you've left her too long. Try to use the video to your advantage - is it via your PC? Can you link it to a Skype account and use an app on your phone for live coverage? I did this so that when I leave the house I can watch exactly what is going on indoors behind the door. You can then spot when she's near to finishing the food, and pre-empt the barking by returning before she starts.

flopsypurple

skype app is a great idea

krlyr

You can make a new account for the dog (well, for the PC recording the dog..but there's something amusing about getting an incoming call from "Kiki" if my Skype call drops out and does an auto ringback...) and have it auto-accept calls from people on its contact list too. So once you get to leaving the dog for longer periods you can call in to check on it at intervals.

Fire_Fox

Consult your vet properly about the behavioural issues, they may recommend tests. Do you have cover for an animal behaviourist on your pet insurance?

Raksha

flopsypurple wrote: »

Hi im looking for a bit of advice
We rehomed a lurcher puppy nearly 3 1/2 yrs ago she is 4yrs in december. The problem that we have is as a dog walker freya(the dog) is with me most of the day and when we leave her to go to the shops ect she barks. We have videoed her and she barks for about 15mins then settles done. However we have a neighbour who has taken a dislike to us and constanlty complains to us that the dog is barking.
Therefore weve tried increasing the amount of time away from us gradually but it still doesnt seem to work.

She barks at dogs going past our house from the bedroom window so now when we are in the house the bedroom door is closed.

Is there anything i can do as we feel lost now and the nrighbours getting worse (police involved again for harrasment lots of other issues) but we feel like this only makes situation worse. This means that like today i need to go shopping but will wait till OH comes in from work to stay with the dog.
thanks for getting this far

Have Environmental health been called in? Have you kept a diary of when you are in/out? It's not unknown for neighbours to use 'dog barking' as an excuse, when infact the dog is sleeping peacefully in a back room. Try not to get too wound up yourself, as your dog may well be picking up on your distress.

You can use the Skype idea to record her behaviour and get an idea of *why* she's restless. For instance, a bored dog will chew on a bone for a while, then get up and look for something else. A distressed dog will rarely settle to anything, keep pacing. Some dogs even seem to like the 'home alone' excuse to do thing they normally get told off for - like ragging toys, or barking.

Ah - just read your post again - it sounds as if she's picking up on your distress and 'protecting' the house when you go out. Once she's done this she feels she can settle. I'd suggest several filled bones/kongs to keep her busy for longer. Maybe even scatter her normal food around the house (perhaps keep her in rooms away from the door/window) so she's too busy hunting food to bark.

flopsypurple

hi thanks for replies
I will check pet insurance to see if there is a behaviourist on the policy.

Yes the enviromental health have been called many times as have the police, dog warden, rspca our housing association.
So i think that freya does pick up on my anxiety a bit but shes been like this since we got her so I think we MUST deal with this for everyone involved.

I have started closing all the doors and will start controlled leaving her. However it doesnt help that we need to go out this morning without her.

Waiting till it gets a bit lighter to get her out for an extra long walk! fingers crossed this all walks

dug123

Hi, I would watch this video, we have 2 dogs one 16 year old and one 2 or 3 year old (both rescue dogs, so not absolutely sure of age) and we do not really have a problem, they both settle down and go to sleep but go crazy when we get home (egging each other on) after watching this video we tried it and we were amazed at the immediate change in them. They now still greet us when we get home but do not go mad (this started the same day as we followed the advice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRTEGO03i9c

krlyr

dug123 wrote: »

Hi, I would watch this video, we have 2 dogs one 16 year old and one 2 or 3 year old (both rescue dogs, so not absolutely sure of age) and we do not really have a problem, they both settle down and go to sleep but go crazy when we get home (egging each other on) after watching this video we tried it and we were amazed at the immediate change in them. They now still greet us when we get home but do not go mad (this started the same day as we followed the advice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRTEGO03i9c

Sorry, but I have to say I'm not a big fan of the Amichien techniques. I don't have sound at work so can't really get the full picture of that video as it's a lot of talking. What confuses me is that he is treating separation anxiety but he remains with the dog - I know some dogs can suffer with separation from certain people rather than from being completely alone but many dogs with SA problems are fine when left with someone in the house, even a near stranger, so seems an odd/impractical method to suggest!

Jan Fennell is a bit of a controversial trainer who has set up franchises around the country - people can go through her training class and then pay to register as Amichien trainers without any real experience or qualifications to become a trainer. I'm sure some are fantastic and have lots of experience outside of JF's course, but others may not and will simply follow her methods to the world (I have heard many people say that JF does not accept people straying outside her methods either so you have to be "Amichien or nothing", no altering methods if you think something else might work slightly better)

Some of the methods JF advocates are things like completely ignoring your dog for days, or even weeks! Not taking it for walks, not making eye contact, no strokes, no fuss, nothing.
I think some aspects of this kind of method have a small place in training but not to such an extreme. How can you teach a dog what to do if you are completely ignoring it? Will not walking a problematic dog really help? At least Cesar Milan, physically aggressive methods aside, has the sense to realise that a well-exercised dog tends to be a less bored, less destructive/frustrated/anxious dog. OK, some dogs may benefit from not being exposed to stressors in the environment, for example a dog with reactivity issues, but I've heard JF/other "dog listeners" apply this non-walking thing regularly to dogs with issues like overexcitement, falling out with other resident dogs, etc. - keeping them confined, and then on top of that ignoring them (so not redirecting their energy elsewhere, like with mental stimulation, training, games in the garden, etc) just seems a recipe for disaster to me.

Plus the whole method is based on the "pack" theory which studies have shown not to be an accurate reflection of how a dog's social structure really works.
I would personally be pretty likely to avoid anyone who deems themselves a dog whisperer or dog listener - it just seems to be a gimmicky term coined by people without the credentials to call themselves a dog trainer or behaviourist.

http://www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=220554
http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-training-behaviour/171927-dog-listener-any-experience.html
http://positively.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=669