Author Topic: separation anxiety  (Read 2189 times)

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Offline westergate55

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separation anxiety
« on: January 09, 2020, 06:42:14 PM »
my husband and I are at home pretty much all the time we very rarely go out together so the dogs are not left alone we have a lab we've had for 6yrs she is fine we have a cocker  we got may last year if we go out and don't put her in a crate she wrecks a whole room she has a nylon crate that she gets out of I have just managed to fix the crate to stop her escaping if we are both going out the dogs have a good run berorehand  she was badly treated in her last home but now gets lots of love and cuddles if she is in crate when she is wet and muddy she sleeps does anyone have any ideas to help with this thanks

Offline Digger

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Re: separation anxiety
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2020, 10:02:38 AM »
Hi there!    I'm not an expert but increasingly interested in dog behaviour (funnily enough-since we got our cocker!!!) So happy to try and help if I can. I'm sure others more expert than me will chime in in time.
Some questions that are important I think.. How old is yours and do you know exactly how was she badly treated? I'm just wondering if there is some association going on somewhere.
Also, I have found with ours, that if she is damp she gets the 'zoomies', and needs to get that out of her system and dry off before you could contain her. I would never crate her when wet or immediately after a walk for this reason. Also, sometimes she gets cramp and needs to shake her legs and move around.
 After a walk we always wash off any mud and dry her as much as possible as this definitely helps her settle quicker (and keeps the house clean!). Only then I would leave her (using my ' I'm going out' routine- I have found that cockers absolutely need routines. You can set up all sorts of behaviours by establishing a routine for it and this I'm sure will be your way forward for leaving your dog).
I have had other dogs and cockers are a different animal in my opinion. Some don't but a lot of them need quite technical treatment. It just means you have to think and plan a bit more but once you get things established you just follow your own routine and its all good

How is she wrecking the room? Is she chewing stuff up or just moving things around? Do you know if she's crying or not? Do you leave the dogs together or apart?
Have you got an area that could use that's bigger than a care but smaller than a room- hallway/utility etc.

Offline Gazrob

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Re: separation anxiety
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2020, 11:17:32 AM »
I suggest getting a stronger crate a metal one would be good. Your dog might not like being in the crate but it will be safer than letting her roam free she could chew and swallow something she shouldn't. I also suggest going out of the house as much as you can even if it's just for short periods and gradually extending the periods for longer.  My dog didn't like being left alone at first In his crate but after a couple of weeks he was fine it was important that I didn't give in. I crated him for the first year mainly because he wasn't house trained when I got him at seven months old but now I don't. He sleeps in the crate at night but I now don't lock him in it he's fine I leave him in the kitchen if I go out he doesn't chew anything but if he did id still crate him.

Offline westergate55

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Re: separation anxiety
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2020, 02:04:42 PM »
she is 6 only  rated if we go out together rarely that happens crate is in living room with our other dog she does chew paper etc and moves things like throws and cushions we know she was kept in a shed prob lots

Offline Gazrob

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Re: separation anxiety
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2020, 08:21:52 AM »
My dog was kept outside for the first seven months of his life so he wasn't house trained. It took him a little while to stop the mess. Like you he does chew paper to this day but nothing too valuable.  Maybe you could not crate her and just tidy the house before you leave. If you rarely go out together I don't think she will ever get used to it. I live on my own so I often leave my dog on his own. All I can suggest is you both leave the house even if you don't really go anywhere and just walk down the street and back or go for a walk around your neighbourhood.

Offline Digger

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Re: separation anxiety
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2020, 08:59:12 AM »
Good advice from Gazrob.
I was also going to say-if you want to train something you do have to practice it.
One difference I have found between my springer and my cocker is that they learn in a different way. The springer you could 'train', but the cocker you have to embed the behaviour. She learns through setting up habits and repeating them.
I was also going to say tidy up! (Someone on here made me laugh by stating 'cockers like to keep a tidy home!') Very true.
Mine is a working cocker and her mum was a 'picker-upper' on a shoot. I don't think it's that much of a surprise that my dog wants to pick everything up. She still does and I think she always will. It's genetic. I am now (after 2 years of practicing) having some success with the 'leave it' command (she is stubborn and has guarding tendencies so it's been a hard one) but I said 'leave it ' from the other side of the room yesterday when I noticed she's found a peg and she dropped it. I called her to me and made a fuss of her, then scooped the peg up when she wasn't watching.
 I leave mine in the family room at the back of the house when I go out so she can snooze in front of the wood burner. There is a table and chairs and two sofas in there. I scan round before I go out, put the chairs in, check there a nothing lying around etc. Occasionally I come home and she's tipped the cusions off the sofa but maybe she was getting comfortable-maybe she had a sneaky play with them- it's no big deal. I think if I left a newspaper or something on the floor she would quite probably shred it. For her that wouldn't be anxiety- it would be an unattended toy! Haha
I would just check the room before you leave and carry on as you are and try and practice a bit. You could do so merging like I do where when I go to work she gets on a certain chair and has a chew given to her. (Not that she eats it-she waits til someone a home) but it's hers if she wants it, and 9/10 my husband cones in and finds her and the chew still on the chair in the 'power off' setting. They do love a routine!

Offline rubyduby

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Re: separation anxiety
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2020, 01:04:24 PM »
We have a Cocker girl who is one year old , we have had her from 9 weeks, and she suffers from seperation anxiety even tho she has bonded very well with our older girl who is 9,if we go out the younger, Amber will be fine for a sort time, then realises we have gone and will fret and whinge till we get back, we too are home most of the time, ...she is also not a brilliant traveller which makes even going out a chore, I have had Cockers for 40 yrs and se is the first to have the issues, she also suffers allergies, eats rubbish etc etc, unlike any other....