Still battling separation issues

[Ann Morscher]

Misty had been doing better with her separation issues. She did not do well being left in her crate and every time I left her (even for an hour or less) she would pee. I decided to borrow some gates and to try leaving her in our kitchen and family room area. She seemed to be doing really well. I would give her a busy buddy with about 1/2 cup of kibble, plenty of toys and the radio on. On occasion she would pee, but for the most part she seemed much less anxious. Then last week she started pooping in the house while I was gone. This did not make me happy. When she peed it was on the kitchen floor and not a big deal. With the poop, she is knocking down the gate and going into the dining room. She had pooped in the house, the past 3 days. I have tried so hard to get her a big walk before I leave, but she refuses to poop. I even purchased another DAP and now have 2 for the area she stays in. She seems very upset. I am considering crating her again since I cannot stand the poop, but I know once I crate her she will cry the entire time and be an exhausted mess when I return. I have thought of leaving her with nothing to eat while I am gone. I usually give the busy buddy or a kong. I still think she will poop. Any thoughts or help? I feel so tied to the house and now that summer is here and my son is home all day, we will be going here and there and to the pool in the afternoons. Right now I feel that I really can only leave her once a day or she is just a wreck at night.

I really need some help.

Ann

[magoo]

Hi Ann.
My dog also exhibits SA with house-soiling...
He also is not completely house-trained - but that is another story.
Could you give me a little more info on how you deal with comings and goings? They should be void of emotion - i.e. - no matter how bad you feel about leaving your dog - there should be NO commotion made - and no matter how excited you are to be home again - NO commotion - IGNORE the dog for up to 10 minutes on both ends - this will help with SA...
I'm not an advisor - or a behaviourist - just a dog owner - let me know what you're doing in the time prior to leaving and then upon getting back...
Julie and Magoo

[Sheryl]

I too have a dog with separation anxiety, and am using the services of a behaviour specialist. Harley is 120 pounds, and actually chewed through the side of his crate. I live where there are no doggie services, so have been on the phone and email with the behaviour specialist, and I found it to be quite reasonable ($50 per hour). She came up with a 'treatment plan' for Harley, and things are going better as far as the separation anxiety. If you can afford it, I'd definately recommend it.
You can also find a lot on the internet about separation anxiety. I use a DAP, and have him on medication. He never soiled in the house, just destroyed a bunch of stuff and gets out of control when I get home.
Some suggestions: Ignore her for the half hour before you leave and when you get home until she calms down. Work at desensitizing her to the 'cues' of leaving, such as getting your keys and coat by picking up the keys and then just sitting down and not leaving, do the same with your coat at different times. Get her on the NILIF program if she's not already on it. If you can practice short aways, start with a few seconds, and vary your time gone... start by just going to the door and then going back and sitting down, then when you have done that enough times that she doesn't get upset, go and actually open the door and then go back and sit down.... you have to work in baby steps until she's not showing any signs of being upset.
My guy does well when left with the radio on, and with a stuffed Kong.
Hope some of this helps!

[Ann Morscher]

I don't make a big deal out of leaving or coming home. When I leave she has her kong or busy buddy and pays no attention to me. When I come home I ignore her for 10 minutes or so and then when I do pay attention to her it's not gushing all over her. She doesn't destroy anything, it's just the soiling. She has been completely housebroken so that is not an issue. We have been trying the NILIF program and she does really well. She is also a very shy dog and the NILIF program is helping her out in the world. She will allow others to get closer and doesn't seem as afraid.

I have thought of trying the puppy pads so that if she has to go she will go on them, but I do not want to encourage her to poop in the house. We also might bring her crate downstairs and leave the door open so that she could go inside the crate.

I appreciate all the suggestions. I will try going on the door many times during the day. I do go down to the mailbox everyday and this used to be a traumatic thing for her. She would bark and cry the entire minute I was gone. Now she just waits by the back door and seems fine.

Ann

[Renee]

Dr. James O'Heare has a book called the Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook. This book is very thorough and is really geared for a behavior consultant. But it you don't want to hire a consultant, you might want to consider this book. It is less than 100 pages, so it's not too long...

I don't think that there are any other books out there on SA. Does anyone know of any?

[Daniela Jantzen]

Ann,

I would really recommend you buy the book Renee posted. It gives you plenty of information on how to deal with the subject.

What strikes me as odd is:
your dog is fine when you leave. But seems to develop anxiety over the time alone. How long do you leave her alone by now?
It seems as if she is suffering from seperation anxiety. Just as an explanation:
There is general anxiety, seperating anxiety and seperation anxiety. Dogs with SeperatING anxiety fear the process of being left alone at first, but then calm down after a few minutes. Dogs with seperation anxiety on the contrary are just getting worse over the time.
In case of the latter, you are dealing with quite a sensitive character.
Try to figure out the maximum time she can be alone. Then reduce this time of your absence to about 5-10 minutes less and slowly start staying away longer again from there.

How is her general attitude? Does she always stay close to you? Or can she relax in another room without you?

Danny

[Ann Morscher]

I have ordered the book Renee suggested and eagerly awaiting its arrival! I do think her condition is separation anxiety. She knows when I'm ready to leave, but looks forward to her busy buddy or kong. Yet, I believe once they are gone, she freaks. Fortunately she doesn't destroy anything and her worst offensese is pooping in the house. Last week my son would take her out in the yard to play frisbee for awhile. She went poop everytime, but one. The one time she didn't go, she did have an accident in the house.

I never stay gone longer than 2.5 hours. For her it is very odd. One day I will be gone for just an hour and she is quite upset. Yet, days when I have been gone longer, I can tell she has settled and has been sleeping.

She does like to follow me around during the day, but if she is sleeping, she will not get up and follow me. This has been a major improvement. This past weekend, she actually stayed outside in the yard for over an hour while my husband and I were in the house. So she does seem to be getting better.

She also is a shy dog. She did not like others to pet her. Yet, we have worked on having people let her approach them and only petting her under her chin. THis has worked so well with her. She is now approaching all kinds of people and not jumping back if they start to pet her.

I do believe we have a long road ahead of us to help her feel more comfortable. We are using NILIF at home and I believe this has helped her gain more confidence.

THanks for the help.

Ann

[Sarah Yenke]

Try not to give up on your dogs...we have a GSD female who had severe separation anxiety and was very destructive. We took her to a behavioralist and also had her on perscription drugs. She is no longer on drugs and is now ok when we are not at home. She has problems with storms/fireworks, but her major issue (SA) has been resolved. Truthfully, I don't know how much was the overall treatment or just time. When we d/c'd the medicine, her behavior was less destructive, but still not 100% trustworthy. Over time, she eventually realized she would be ok without us. This was real hard work for us as we aren't rich and the repairs and treatment were expensive. It was worth it in end to see her happy. Our vet told us most dogs with this problem have to be euthinazed, as most people aren't able to deal with this issue.

[Renee]

Dr. James O'Heare has a book called the Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook. This book is very thorough and is really geared for a behavior consultant. But it you don't want to hire a consultant, you might want to consider this book. It is less than 100 pages, so it's not too long...

I don't think that there are any other books out there on SA. Does anyone know of any?

I thought of one more book that I would recommend. It is called I'll be Home Soon by Dr. Patricia McConnell.