seperation anxiety

[Gruntie2]

Anyone got any solutions on dealing with seperation anxiety in dogs...
I have a 7 year old Lhasa Apso.. who in the past couple of months has been barking for around 30 minutes (so the neighbour says) whenever we leave thehouse... I have been working with a dog behaviorist since June and i thought i was getting somewhere with it (more excercise.. changed food.. less treats... something to stimulate his mind while we are gone - KONG)...
neighbour says this last week he has started again... i am getting so stressed about it.. i love my little doggie... and could never get rid of him... its not his fault really he just loves us too much... my last straw is to get a barking collar that sprays water at him when he barks.. but i don't really agree with this method.. but i don't want to really p*ss the neighbour off and have the noise control council on our back.. any ideas.. please help...

 

[jenna]

get another dog?

 

[Babylicious]

Is your dog crated? I would suggest leaving something with him/her that smells of you and not making a big deal about leaving the house, also practice leaving the house and don't actually go. Try making him/her stay on their own for a bit whilst you are in.

I also found this site useful x
http://www.petlibrary.co.uk/dog-trainin ... ?Itemid=34

We had it really bad with Harley - she would bark and cry all night

 

[Gruntie2]

we haven't the room really for another dog.... our house is quite small and with baby on the way don't have the space

 

[Babylicious]

getting another dog is not really a cure, sometimes it can make them worse!

 

[Gruntie2]

i've had dogs all my life and never had this problem ... i think its just his temperament.... they are known to be stubborn dogs... but not known for this behavior.. i am thinking of calling the vets today and maybe getting a thyroid check done on him... as this can cause behavioral problems if they have a low thyroid

 

[Babylicious]

Is he on a high protein diet too? Diet can play a big factor in it.

I've got a border collie and she's v tempremental So i know what you are going through

 

[Gruntie2]

The behaviorist we have been working with recommended we change his food when she 1st visited us in June... so we changed to a brand she recommended "james wellbeloved"... we also took him off normal treats and now treat him with either Chicken or Cheese...

 

[Babylicious]

Harley is on the same food. Maybe something has spooked him whilst you have been out one time

 

[Gruntie2]

we think it may be rain we had last week.. when we are home and it rains he cowers behind the toilet.. but this has always been the case.. spoke to behaviorist yesterday and she suggested a sounds cd to desensitise him to certain sounds (she also recommended this to get him used to the sound of a baby crying)... i have ordered one of these from ebay yesterday so will try this.... I have also started him on a herbal substance that is supposed to help relax and calm him.. but as the behavior only occurs when we are out of the house i can't tell if it is relaxing him or not.... also take him for a long walk in the morning to make him tired.... and fill his KONG with his favorite food (chicken) when we leave

 

[Babylicious]

Poo I could have given you the cd I had!

Good luck with him

 

[Gruntie2]

Oh well it wasn't expensive.... thanx anyway... thanx for the advice..... i hope we can sort it...

 

[Babylicious]

keep us updated, try a dap plug in too - they work for anxiety

 

[Gruntie2]

LOL... already got one.. i used this for his fear of fireworks last year.. and it worked good.. only thing is ... as with my plug-in air freshners.. i don't trust leaving them on when out of the house... as they can get quite hot....

 

[Fluffy Bunny]

Seperation anxiety is pretty complex. You need to alter the complete way you interact with your dog, nothing serious, but your dog is panicking when you leave because I suspect it thinks it in charge of proectecting you and can't do that if you are not with it - hence it frets until you return and it can resume protecting you (this is not necessarily overtly obvious, protection doesn't have to mean growling etc)

If you are into 'kind' correction techniques can I recommend a book by Jan Fennell called 'The dog Listener' - its ace.

A few tips for the meantime - make sure your dog spends some time on its own even when you are in the house e,g shut doors when you are in one room so it can't be with you. Leave the house (putting on coats and taking your bag as these are signals your dog is watching for) and come straight back in, take your coat off and sit back down again. Gradually lengthen the amount of time you are doing this for 30secs, 1min, 2min, 5mins etc. You'll look like a bit of a nutter but it does work

Good luck!

 

[Gruntie2]

Thanx... i've phoned the vets this morning and they want me to come in on friday to rule out any medical problems.....