separation anxiety please help

[cdk1]

We have had Max for 8 months now, he is 2 1/2 and was a rescue cocker and we thought we had managed to calm him down whilst we went to work. But a week before Christmas our neighbour approached us and explained that Max barks and howls all the time we are out and this has been going on for months (Max has a very loud bark). On our return he is excited to see us and takes about 10 mins to calm down (we ignore this behaviour till he has calmed down) We`ve been off over Xmas so not much of a problem until last night, going around to family for the evening, we decided to inform the neighbours and supplied contact numbers and set up a video camera.
We went out after taking him out for over an hour off his lead (we gave him chance to settle down after the walk), with food and water and his fav treat. He was on the landing with access to his bed and could see out of my daughters window. Off we went and had a nice evening.
Then we watched the video this morning - he eat his food, had his treat and then was running all over the place barking and howling, looking out of the window, he never settled, would be quiet for a minute or two and then start again. In between all this he would be panting and anxious.
He is a fantastic dog, well behaved when we are there, good on and off the lead, well socialised and very loving but we are very worried about him becoming distressed and the neighbours dreading us going out any time. Please, please any advice

[Karma]

Is he crate trained?  Or would you consider crate-training him? 
As he eats his food before becoming anxious it doesn't sound like it is simply being left that is concerning him, so he is possibly anxious at having so much space...    Some dogs really react well to having just a crate when left, as they feel secure and don't feel they have to look after the property...
Beyond that, build up slowly the length of time you leave him - if from watching the video you can see how long he is happy for, the first few times you go out, return within that time, so he has no need to start the anxious behaviour.
Then gradually build up (though it's a good idea to occasionally throw in another shorter period while doing this, as it doesn't take a clever dog long to work out that it keeps getting longer and longer...) until you are able to leave him for a decent length of time.

[stuffster]

Is he crate trained?  Or would you consider crate-training him? 

Great advice there. My 2 howl the house down if I leave them loose in the house, but they just settle down and sleep in their crate, because there isnt room to pace around etc. They seem to feel much safer in there.

[Eve]

Excellent advice alreay given. I was going to ask whether he has a crate or not too.

Eve

[cdk1]

no he isn`t crate trained, its something we have thought about and looks like we

[cdk1]

No he isn`t crate trained, and it was something we were going to consider. He gets anxious if he`s left in a room on his own, but he`s getting better. We know its not an overnight cure but i hope the neighbours are patient. Thanks for the replies so far.

[ben and rosie]

Hi there and sorry to hear about your problem. I agree that perhaps he has just to much space- Right from the start with my first dog, Ben, a rescue from SSPCA, when going out for school runs etc and also at night, Ben was put into the utility room, with his bed (got him at 7 months and never crated him), with the door open but a pet "stair" gate across the door- he settled perfectly, did the same with Rosie when i got her at 8 weeks (she was in a crate to start with within utility room) and now having adopted Lotty, she is also in utility room. They don't have much room to move about but as they are usually tired after a long walk before hand etc- they tend to just sleep. I also tend to put some of their toys in!!

have you also thought about putting the radio on low in whatever room you are going to leave him in- sometimes just background noise soothes them.

have also heard of people using "kong" toy filled with filling (frozen sometimes too) to give him something to do when you are out.

hope this is of some help

[mooching]

Another vote for the crate here. Alfie loves his crate, and as soon as he sees me putting stuff in his Kong, he runs to his crate, expectantly and doesn't bat an eyelid when I close the door and we leave.  

[Ninasmum]

I agree too & think the crate may be the way to go    Also if you make it like a den with a blanket covering the crate & really cosy inside, the idea being to make him love going in there along with feeling safe & secure, it might just stop his anxiety when you are out.    I would also recommend getting him used to it when you are at home & encourage him to go in there with some fav. treats & perhaps a kong, whilst leaving the door open for him to be free to go in and out of his own accord.  Then perhaps shut the door for short periods & see how he reacts.    If he likes furry toys i would also put one in the crate too.

Hope you can get this sorted very soon & let us know what happens. 

This may also encourage you as i had never used a crate in 20 years of living with cockers, but recently we had a puppy join our gang of (now) 4.  I thought it would probably be best to crate train her, especially with having 3 adult dogs that she may annoy or vice versa.  The adult 3 had never slept in crates but everytime i look now one of the adult dogs have sneaked in it to have a quiet snooze    What i am trying to say is they all seem to absolutely love the crate & if i had the room would probably buy one now for each of them.    instead they will have to take it in turns! 

[Black Red + Yellow]

Yet another vote for the crate here too......done correctly with love and patience, it might be an answer to your little lad's anxiety.

I've seen simple things even on tv dog training programmes which have shown dogs are stressed and over- excited by things like being able to see out of the windows and doors and once covered or access to them taken away when the dog was left improved the situation immensely.....yes we don't want our dogs to be bored but being over stimulated by outside noises and sights might have a negative effect on some pups.

Hope you manage to find a solution

[mooching]

I've seen simple things even on tv dog training programmes which have shown dogs are stressed and over- excited by things like being able to see out of the windows and doors and once covered or access to them taken away when the dog was left improved the situation immensely.....

I was thinking about this too - the OP mentioned him being able to see out of the window. If the dog is anxious about having too much space, the window might make that space seem even bigger.

[Sarah.H]

I've seen simple things even on tv dog training programmes which have shown dogs are stressed and over- excited by things like being able to see out of the windows and doors and once covered or access to them taken away when the dog was left improved the situation immensely.....

I was thinking about this too - the OP mentioned him being able to see out of the window. If the dog is anxious about having too much space, the window might make that space seem even bigger.

It's a definite trigger for Millie if she gets a chance she stares out with her head jerking from side to side until she spots something moving and then she starts shaking and squealing. have to agree with others about the crate training but just wanted to ask how long is he left for when you go to work? Also leaving the radio on is a good thing and what I always do for millie, as well as being a comfort it blocks some outside noises so she has less to react to  .

One other thing is I expect your boy is physically quite fit so five or ten minutes mental stimulation such as clicker training may help to tire him out just as much as going for a walk.

[Mel]

Tali isn't particularly crate trained and I suspect if I left him there when I was out he may howl just as much as he does out of the crate. However, yesterday OH and I were having our presents and OH was playing with the wrapping paper tube. This spooked Tali and he ran off to his crate. The door was shut and we both remarked he ran off to it, so I opened the door and he went in there. He eventually took the tube in there to chew, but it shows even a dog who is not fond of the crate will actually find it comforting.

[cdk1]

Thanks for all the advice, i`m off to pick up a crate this morning, as i`m off for a week now and it seems a good time to introduce it to him. Going to go slowly and with lots of praise and treats  .
We tried him with the tv on but it made no difference. We will take things slowly and will explain to the neighbours that we are trying.
I`ll let you know what happens, fingers crossed

[Poppypuppy09]

I really feel for you  as its horrible to know that your dog is upset when you are out and that its disturbing others 

I was in the same position that you are in with a rescue cocker that I had errrr 13 years ago. She had such terrible SA that she would chew holes through her skin and several times had to be sown back up by the vet. The vet at that point actually told me that the kindest thing I could do was to have her put to sleep  It took along time to get through to Lucy that she wasn't going to be left for long periods of time (previous owners had left her for days on her own  ). This was really before crate training was popular but I did put in her in a place where she couldnt see out of the windows as this really upset her..I literally was going outside and around the corner and leaving her for say 3 mins and gradually increasing the time I left her...and always left her with a treat or 2 

With time she ended up being completely bomb proof bless her and had such a gentle nature, amazingly  considering the way the human race had treated her previously.

I now crate train my girls and as others have said Pops seeks out her crate and loves her den.

Lots of luck