Housebound due to dog's separation/isolation anxiety

Fosterdog

If the training is done right she won't be miserable though, and what happens if you get a job offer to start next week? She will still be miserable but also highly stressed and anxious the whole time you are gone. My GSD boy is 12.5 now we won't have him much longer but even in six months he will be 13 years old. Zara could live that long so it's not as if you know she has weeks left at most and just have to suffer through for now it could be another 2+ years.

Person_one

gettingready wrote: »

Not good at all and to be honest after giving it a long thought - Zara is 10.5 now, perhaps there is no point in making her miserable and stressed not knowing how much longer has she got left

So you're not going to get a job? You're going to stay on JSA for the rest of her life so that you can stay with her all the time?

She's miserable and stressed now as soon as you leave the house. She could live to 14 or 15 if she's lucky, that's a long time for you to never go out or for her to be in a high anxiety state whenever you do.

gettingready

Of course she will not be alone - I will just have to sort out a daycare even if I have to cut absolutely everything down when I d go back to work.

You're going to stay on JSA

- ermm, not sure where that came from?

Adding few seconds every few days would take years to build up to few hours, with Zara being the age she is (and long may she live my furbabe) this is just not possible to achieve considering I may go back to work next week or next month or anytime soon. So all work would be lost anyway.

Realistically, I do not think at this stage anything other than day care is possible and I will just have to somehow find money for that.

Mrs_Z

Hi,
I haven't read the whole thread and I've never had dogs but would there not be any other dog owner nearby that you could take turns in looking after each others dogs?
Just an idea, I remember someone at work working part-time and she had that type of arrangement with another part-time worker for their child care. In theory could work with dogs too!

Person_one

gettingready wrote: »

Of course she will not be alone - I will just have to sort out a daycare even if I have to cut absolutely everything down when I d go back to work.
- ermm, not sure where that came from?

Adding few seconds every few days would take years to build up to few hours, with Zara being the age she is (and long may she live my furbabe) this is just not possible to achieve considering I may go back to work next week or next month or anytime soon. So all work would be lost anyway.

Realistically, I do not think at this stage anything other than day care is possible and I will just have to somehow find money for that.

What other conclusion could I possibly come to? You've stated repeatedly on this thread that daycare will not be a possibility at all, even admonishing posters for not paying attention when they suggested it!

That money you're going to spend on daycare would probably be better invested on sessions with a behaviourist. You can't plan for every eventuality and a day may come when Zara needs to be alone. You are not doing her any favours by deciding that nothing can be done. It can be done, you can help her to feel happier, more secure and less stressed, but its hard and you apparently don't want to. This time while you are not working was a perfect opportunity.

krlyr

My two turned 10 at Christmas and I would certainly not write off addressing any behaviour issues. Old dogs certainly can learn new tricks.

Separation anxiety is not an easy condition to deal with at all. This is not because of her age, it's just the nature of the condition and the impracticalities, especially when you're on your own.

It's going going to be a matter of only managing a few seconds improvement at a time - the results will snowball, you may be slow going from 10 minutes to 11 minutes, but when you reach 2 hours, for example, you're not going have to go to 2 hours, 1 minute - it'll probably be increases of 15, 20, 30 minutes by then.

If you're really struggling on your own then I'd suggest having at least one appointment with a behaviourist who has specialised in separation anxiety. They can also discuss the option of veterinary medication with you to try to accellerate progress in the early stages - not always suitable, but an option to consider.

https://malenademartini.com/separation-anxiety-faq/

gettingready

What other conclusion could I possibly come to?

There was no need to jump to any conclusions on this particular topic to be honest as how I finance myself at the moment is not relevant to the thread. And your assumption is not correct.

Moving on. Having a really crap time right now as my now yearly post cancer check up is due next week and I generally freak out around that time.

Krlyr - almost finished the book on separation anxiety that you recommended.

I have not given up yet, just in not very good place myself right now to be honest.

bmthmark

Hi again, sorry to hear its not going that well.

Personally I would speak to a behaviorist, I know you can't afford it but a friend of mine had a dog that constantly barked. Neighbours were getting fed up, leaving notes etc. In the end she contacted a behaviorist who did one session with them and within that time he managed to figure out what was going on and helped my friend.
It only cost her a small amount of money as it was only one session.
I know your dog is older and it maybe harder but its worth having a chat with one.

The other area that I keep thinking about is that your dog is better being left when your daughter leaves her. Are you friendly with your neighbours or have any local dog friends? would they be able to pop in and be the last person to leave the dog?
My dog is the same, if I am the last to leave him he causes chaos but if my wife is the last to leave him, he is fine. Its very weird, its like he is trying to punish me for leaving him, so strange.

My final thought might be a rubbish idea but does she have a large crate that she might feel comfortable in. Maybe she will feel safer in a crate as I know dogs like dens?

owlet

*Robin* wrote: »

There are several CBD oil suppliers who will send out free samples of safe oil you can try before buying, to see if it helps Zara. The most highly respected in the UK are "CBD Br0thers" - there's a link on their website for requesting samples although they're not allowed to advise which variety might work best for you.
We had the "Blue top" hemp CBD (slightly cheaper than the alternatives). It worked for CD, so I didn't try the others.

Funnily enough, I came in to post about cbd oil. I was also going to recommend CBD Brothers blue top oil. One drop twice a day to start with. You can tweak the dose until you get to a point where its working. With Zara's size, you may need two drops but give it a few days on one drop first to let it get into her system properly.

CBD brothers are completely legit and highly respected. The blue top oil comes from hemp , so there is no THC in it at all. Their other oils /pastes/capsules come from the indica strain, so there is THC in it but only trace amounts & they are legalbin the uk too. Definitely stick with blue though because the hemp is what Zara needs.
You should notice she is calmer within a few days. They do next day delivery too.

I use cbd myself for pain relief from several illnesses. It relaxes but doesnt mong you out because there's no thc. Many people use it on their older dogs & cats and have had great results with it.

I'm in a really good facebook group , it's very friendly and has lots of information. I'll get a link in a bit for you. It's called CBD Users UK

Do give it a go though.

https://cbdbrothers.com/product/cbd-oil-blue-edition-2000mg-17-4-cbd/

gettingready

Zara loved her crate (den) when she was young but after few surgeries and having to stay in a crate (rather than chose to go in and out) she hates them now.

Recently moved so do not know people around but that is what I am looking into, finding someone who would come in the morning ans stay with her for maybe an hour after I leave.

I already have hemp oil but having given it to Zara for a bit now do not see any difference, perhaps it is not the right one.

Zara is currently on metacam, yumove, apoquel.

Thanks xx