Stress and anxiety when left alone

[Cazza27]

Can anyone offer any advice ... We have been through lots of information via the Internet but haven't yet sort professional help . 8month cocker ... Behaviour is good but barks when left alone .
Any advice would help 

[Leo0106]

Hi,
Not sure if you've tried the following things but they might be worth trying as they worked for us:
-Leaving the radio on- our dog loves classical music 
- leaving him with a kong or puzzle toy to keep him occupied when you leave
- is he crated? We never crated our dog but always kept him in the kitchen with the door closed- if we kept the door open he appeared really anxious and would cry when we left.i think the smaller special space makes him feel secure.
- cardboard boxes filled with kibble- you'll come home to a mess but it's a fab stress buster and occupier.
- a familiar scent- your old t-shirt or something for him to snuggle with so he has a familiar smell.
- making sure goodbyes arnt stimulating.. We don't really say goodbye to Leo. We just ask him to go to bed and chuck a treat his way when we leave.

Hope this helps a bit

[bizzylizzy]

Have never tried this but saw it on a youtube video recently and it seemed logical.....
The idea is that the dog actually looks forward to you going out so that he can do things/have things that he‘s not allowed when you‘re there. You let him watch while you fill one of those treat balls or a kong or whatever with something really tasty but you never ever  allow him to have it while you‘re around.  The idea is that you make it something he really wants but he only ever gets to enjoy it when you‘re not there. As you leave the house you tell him he can have it and then go out. In the training video they practised it for short times and then built up the time.
None of the training videos of any sort EVER feature cockers (why ever not, you rightly ask!  ), so bo idea if it will work but anything‘s worth a try!  Other than that, I’d certainly try all the suggestions in the previous post and especially the tip about keeping the leaving and the arrival as low key as you can. Try and practise just going in and out without comment, the more normal it appears to the dog, the less anxious he’s likely to be. Best os luck!

[its.sme]

It takes time to build up to a point when your not there, there such people dogs, they love there Hooman's 

I always give Bea a Kong with treats in, she only has this when no one will be staying with her, as soon as she spots it she gets very excited and cannot wait for us to leave.

What training have you done so far to get your pup to this point ?

[Geordietyke]

I do what BizzyLizzy suggested.  Monty (2) only gets certain treats and toys when I leave.  His favourites include 2 types of Kong, stuffed with treats/grated carrot/peanut butter (small amounts) etc, his flashing ball, Antler chew, cardboard boxes and stuffed bone to name a few.  When he sees these items, he'll run to his bed in the living room and wait    I also leave an ipod playing Paddington Bear stories on loop (my daughters used to fall asleep to this) but any kind of music etc is OK.  All I say is "I'm going to the shops" (regardless of where I'm going) and he doesn't even look up when I go!  It's all about routine with him and I'm lucky he's such an easy-going cocker (I've had 2 very challenging ones). 

Good luck finding what works for you!

[Digger]

We say 'we're going out' 'and then ask for a sit and she gets something nice to chew on that she doesn't have often- e.g. a pigs ear (longer lasting the longer were going to be!)  and we leave various toys, antler etc around. As we go out the door we say 'won't be long' and we rarely are, although we have left her for a long stretch a couple of times and she was fine. She is not crated - just in the kitchen with water and she can get out to the loo via a dog flap so she has everything she needs. Works for us.
Barking wise I often wonder if it's a learned thing. We try and avoid ours mixing with barky dogs as I'm sure they copy other dogs when they're young!
 I wonder if you could retrain the leaving process by starting again using a different room, and spying on him/ rewarding when he's calm.?
 Best of luck- hope you get it sorted.