Separation anxiety

OneYorkshireLass

We've got a foster dog at the moment, she's lovely in every way apart from her terrible separation anxiety.

I left her alone downstairs in the house today while I went upstairs for five minutes and came down to find she'd gone on to the toilet on the floor (both pee and poo). She whined only once when I went upstairs and didn't make any other noise so I didn't know anything was wrong. She's a very quiet dog.

She also constantly follows people around. You think she's asleep in her basket but as soon as anyone moves she's up and round your ankles. She's a staffy and I know they're very people friendly, but I keep standing on her paws cos she's round my legs all the time.

Where do I start with this, training wise?

Oh, and she also has zero interest in toys unless they're food-based. Is that weird?

cavework

How long have you had her?
I have had both rescue cats and dogs , at first some of them freak out at being left alone but living with a normal caring owner who will come back means usually after a while they will settle down.
Just clean up the poo's etc and don't make a fuss about it..
Staffys are lovely dogs and really loyal, they just need the right owners and you sound great.X
PS ask my rescue choccy Lab to choose between toys or food !
she keeps nicking the cat biscuits
xx

krlyr

It may be separation anxiety, or she may just be unsettled if you've not had her long.

It's a tough behaviour to deal with, because most people will have to leave the house at some point..and when it extends to being left alone in a room when you're still home, it's very hard to work around.

There's been a few threads on separation anxiety that may be worth a read
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4797448
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4727487
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4670269
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4591981
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4251603

I would definately recommend Nicole Wilde's book, "Don't leave me" - you can get the Kindle version on Amazon too so no need to wait for it to be posted. Patricia McConnell does a book, "I'll be home soon" - it's a good read but fairly short and basically lots of the info is available online for fre.e It does put a lot of the right advice all in one place though, so filters out the bad advice that's out there.

Having a food-y dog can be a great help with this kind of issue. It certainly proved helpful for me, being able to leave a Kong down, scatter treats etc. to build a positive association with being left alone. At her worst, Kiki would whine and scratch at the door even if I just nipped out to the dustbin or up to the loo, but scattering a handful of kibble/treats, or leaving a small Kong (smearing the inside with cream cheese, for example) for those few seconds I was gone really helped. When I went up to bed, she'd get a Kong about half-filled with some food (saved some back at dinner time) to help her settle, and so on. She showed an improvement in that aspect in days - though it took a while to be able to leave her home alone (but we did discover she was suffering hypothyroidism, once on treatment she improved massively)

OneYorkshireLass

Thanks cavework. We've only had her a few days and she seems happy most of the time. She seems quite an anxious dog, looking for reassurance a lot, wanting cuddles etc.
We cleaned it up and didn't make a fuss about it. She keeps going back to that spot though.

Cat biscuits? Aww lol. This staffy eats soil!!

Thanks Krlyr, she loves her Kong, but the food is gone in a few minutes! Maybe I'm making it too easy for her...
I will try the cream cheese
We haven't used a Kong at night as I thought she might whine and howl when the food was gone. She seems to settle well at night with a blanket over most of her crate. She was vocal for 15 minutes the first night and only 5 mins the next night. I think we've been lucky that she seems to know what the crate is and she's been partially trained in the past

cavework

Oh also , we have had my rescue dog for nearly 2 years but every time I use the downstairs loo when I come out , she is sitting there waiting for me. Ours did the same ... pooped in the same spot ,but that stopped once she got used to ..." toilet is outside "
This little dog has bonded with you .
Bit like toddlers ..they grow up but still need their Mum.She loves you
I really hope you keep her
xx

OneYorkshireLass

cavework wrote: »

Oh also , we have had my rescue dog for nearly 2 years but every time I use the downstairs loo when I come out , she is sitting there waiting for me.
This little dog has bonded with you .
Bit like toddlers ..they grow up but still need their Mum.She loves you
I really hope you keep her
xx

Aww, bless. Dogs are funny creatures
To be honest she'll bond with anyone who feeds her
I'm not keeping her, sadly. I'd keep her if I lived alone but she keeps growling at my dad and won't go out for a walk with him. She's been okay with other men, apparently, so there must be something about him she doesn't like!
She's got a potential forever home. She just needs cat testing and her jabs before she can move on.

cavework

:AI really respect people like you , you do an amazing job.

krlyr

I'd used Kongs for mine previously anyway and built up to freezing them. A frozen Kong will last mine about 30-45 minutes, on her worst days I'd leave them with two each (bulking out with veg helps keep the calories down). Do work up to it gradually though..so freeze 1/4 of the food and stuff the rest fresh, 1/2, 3/4 etc. - too quickly and she may get bored or frustrated with it.

Mine are raw-fed so I tend to use their minces in it, but you could use wet food. Alternatively, blitz dry food in a food processor with a bit of water, and freeze the resulting paste (again, this is a good way to increase volume of food without extra calories)

I didn't find Kiki whined after the Kong..she would whine immediately if we went upstairs without leaving her with anything. Sometimes she would wake up at around 4-6am and bark, in her worst period, so I kept spare Kongs in the fridge that I'd prepared the night before (just "light" ones - small amount of mince, smear of cream cheese, small handful of biscuits - either/or, not all in one). I'd simply come downstairs, offer a toiletbreak (just incase she needed the loo) and then go back to bed, leaving the extra Kong down. No other interaction or acknowledgment, so she wasn't rewarded for her behaviour, but equally wasn't ignored and left downstairs distressed.

I kept a tub of dry biscuits or treats (with the dogs being raw-fed, I tend to make my own treats) by the hallway door too, so literally every time one of us left the room and left her alone, we'd scatter a handful of treats on the floor. Whether it was 2 seconds to grab the post from the hallway, 30 seconds to nip to the bin, 2 minutes in the loo, or 10 minutes to go up and get changed, always treats or a Kong when we left. Meaty bones when I went up for a bath, the longer lasting Kongs when we had to go out (though we really tried to minimise this as this was the most stressful bit for her - I worked from home for a bit to try to avoid it), basically I really used her love of food to work through the issue!

I pretty much tried every calmative product on the market too, so explore the options. The effects can vary so much from dog to dog, it is unfortunately a case of trying them and hoping they work.

Pthree

There was a program on Channel 4 a few weeks ago about this, was really interesting about how many dogs actually suffer from separation anxiety without their owners even knowing (they secretly filmed dogs) some of it was heart breaking but there were a few good tips.

Its available on line for another 3 days or if you have sky maybe you can +it and watch at you leisure.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dogs-their-secret-lives/4od

Good luck!

OneYorkshireLass

We used a Kong this morning when we were upstairs, but put her in the crate at the same time. She seems to feel secure in the crate. I might try her tomorrow with a Kong out of the crate and see what happens. She loves her food to the point where she expects it to just keep on coming and goes crazy after just a few treats.

She's been a bit more relaxed today, started walking better on her lead and not being anxious when anyone moves around in the room she's in. She's definitely had some training, like 'sit' and 'stay'. It's such a shame she ended up in the dog pound as she has obviously been a well loved family pet before. We think she might have had an accident on a road, previously, as she's nervous and skittish when crossing even if there are no cars coming.

Is it true that it's okay to put a few drops of Bach's Rescue Remedy on their tongue, or in their water?

I'll watch that programme, thanks for the link

krlyr

Rescue Remedy is fine - the drops though, and I know some people prefer the children's version due to the (minor) alcohol content of the regular one. Don't ever use the pastille type ones though, as they contain Xylitol which is toxic to dogs.

Homeopet do a range of homeopathic products, including some for anxiety, and you can find other combinations of homeopathic products in the Rescue Remedy range that are aimed at different ailments/issues.

There's a herbal diffuser called Pet Remedy - this contains things like Valerian and other calming oils. Adaptil also do a diffuser, though theirs is pheromone-based (mimicking the pheromones a mother dog releases to calm her pups) - you can buy a spray version and a collar version too.

There's supplements like Calmex and Zylkene, Stress-less, valerian-based products, KalmAid, Serene Um, and so on.
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-behaviour-pet-stress-supplements-c-837_150

There's also products like the Thundershirt - though you can make a DIY version with a snuggly fitting t-shirt. These use pressure points, similar to swaddling a baby to calm it.

In extreme cases, vets can prescribe medication that will help, but it doesn't sound like your case is quite that extreme. Some dogs will put themselves at serious risk with separation anxiety - destroying the house in their anxious states to the point they could really injure themselves, as well as the extreme stress it must cause. Medication should always be used alongside a behavioural plan anyway, as they won't work just by themselves.


One benefit to Kongs over treats, apart from them taking longer to consume, is that licking and chewing actually releases endorphins which will help an anxious dog. So licking wet food from a Kong is going to be better for this kind of situation than filling it with dry biscuits. I also used quite a lot of natural chews, e.g. cows ears, pizzle sticks, etc. (Zooplus sells a good range)