Author Topic: Separation anxiety  (Read 1618 times)

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Offline Swinston

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Separation anxiety
« on: July 21, 2020, 03:15:14 PM »
Winston has always been great going in his crate day and night. He’s 9 months old now and since we have been all locked down he has got used to it. So now in the day time if we crate him he barks, my neighbour has just knocked and said he doesn’t seem to stop barking atall.

Is it time to stop crating him in the day or can any body help. Don’t want him being stressed out by us leaving him as it’s something that is going to happen now lock down has eased. Please help.

Offline bizzylizzy

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Re: Separation anxiety
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2020, 06:57:43 PM »
I didn‘t like crating my dog any longer and any more than was necessary, so he was only in there at night and for short times in the day until I was confident he couldn‘t come to any harm or cause any damage in the house. I started by taking the door off the crate when he was around 4 - 5 months so that he had his secure place and he only had access to the hall and kitchen and eventually took the crate away altogether.
How long is Winston left in the day? If he‘s been used to having you around all the time and then very suddenly he‘s spending several hours back in his crate, its understandable that he‘s upset. I would suggest going back to the basics and practise leaving him for shorter periods by just popping in and out of the house as casually as you can and without too much fuss. If he‘s quiet when you return, give him a pat or a word of praise but keep it low key so that he learns that your comings and goings are normal. You can also try leaving him with a toy or a treat (Kongs filled with something tasty will keep him happy for a while) which he ONLy gets when he‘s on his own, so that he associates something positive with your absence.
A good walk /exercise before he‘s left will help tire him out and if you can get someone to give him a bit of exercise while you‘re out, that might help too.
I imagine that you‘re probably not on your own with the problem, there are doubtless many dogs wondering where everybody’s suddenly gone!  :'( . but most will cope with an absence of a couple of hours with no problem once they’re used to it.
Best of luck!

Offline Swinston

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Re: Separation anxiety
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2020, 08:10:55 PM »
Thanks for your quick response.
It’s not for hours it can be an hour then sometimes 2/3. He’s just so nervous when we start leaving he isn’t interested in treats or anything. We hear him bark when we leave but then that’s it. Once we get home he isn’t barking when we listen in. But with our neighbour saying he barks a lot while we are out we are now worried he can’t settle.

When we left him the other week he actually had a poo in the crate too.

Offline ejp

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Re: Separation anxiety
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2020, 08:16:58 PM »
I think you will need to go back to basics and build up the time he is left, otherwise you are going to have a stressed boy.  Would you feel happy leaving him out of the crate if you were to leave him for a max of 10 mins?  Daisy loves her crate, but we never shut the door, it's her safe place.

Offline Swinston

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Re: Separation anxiety
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2020, 09:34:01 PM »
He loves his crate at night but never uses it of a day when we are in and around the house.
Do you think leaving him out his crate and trying that could help him not be so stressed and upset when we leave.

I would trust him out of the crate but he does sometime screw my daughters toys.

Offline bizzylizzy

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Re: Separation anxiety
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2020, 06:44:50 AM »
He loves his crate at night but never uses it of a day when we are in and around the house.
Do you think leaving him out his crate and trying that could help him not be so stressed and upset when we leave.

I would trust him out of the crate but he does sometime screw my daughters toys.


I‘d certainly give that a try, - can you perhaps leave him in the same area as his crate is and leave the crate door open so that he has the security of it if he needs it but has the option? Too much space sometimes also makes them insecure too, so I would just give him one room to start with, possibly somewhere reasonably quiet so he’s not disturbed too much from outside distractions.You can also go back to the basics and try leaving an old T shirt or something that smells of you in his crate, leave the radio on quietly etc. it all helps to ease the feeling of being alone. Above all, try not to let your anxiety about leaving him show, try to stay as calm and casual as you possibly can!
Best of luck!

Offline IonaD

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Re: Separation anxiety
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2020, 09:16:29 AM »
We did the same as bizzylizzy suggested. Slowly increased the time we left her, once she was comfortable being left we increased the space she had in the house when we are gone.

She has the run of the hallway, front room and kitchen with all three of her beds available for her to sleep in (It’s excessive I know)

I also leave music or the radio on so there is background noise.

There is an app called ‘Dog Monitor’ which you can put on while you are out. You can use the camera to see what they are up to, or just the microphone to hear what they are up to noise wise. We don’t use it now but when she was younger it was good to see what she was getting up to.

Good luck!!