Separation Anxiety

A friend of mine adopted a puppy from the shelter, and the puppy has pretty bad separation anxiety.

I thought I'd ask the experienced - what's the best way to go about training a dog to relief the separation anxiety?

He is crate training her..and I've told him he need to make sure she gets lots of exercise (she's a medium/large mixed breed).

How long has he had the puppy? It can take a while, I think, for an adopted dog to get secure.

Whenever I get new fosters, some of them develop anxiety, which lessens as they become more comfortable and secure with me.

I remember reading an article from the US Humane Society that was very informative -- http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/separation_anxiety.html

We've never experienced severe separation anxiety. For more minor cases, we had a lot of success with creating a consistent ritual when we leave. Even to this day, whenever we leave the house, we turn on the TV or radio and they get a treat last thing before we walk out the door. It's our signal to them that we're leaving now and we'll be back later. Start slowly - walk out the door for 5 minutes and then come back. Then 30, etc. It's a slow process of giving them a sense of security. It takes time for them to accept that you will always come back and that they can count on the ritual. And until your friend gets a handle on the situation, have him try to keep to a very consistent schedule in terms of when he comes home (no last minute dinners out and the such). That will help things too. It's a hard problem.

We tried Rescue Remedy for Chester. I honestly don't know if it helped or not but it didn't hurt.

There's a wonderful book about this called "I'll Be Home Soon" by Patricia McConnell. It seems to be pretty common in newly adopted dogs and once the dog adjusts, it usually starts to diminish.

Are they sure it's separation anxiety? Many times owners have told me their dog has separation anxiety because they chew on things and poop and pee in the house, but it's really just young dog stuff. Does the dog have to be with the owner 24/7 to the point of becoming anxious if the owner is out of sight. Does the dog chew/claw at the door or window the owner enters and exits from? Is the dog a young puppy or an older puppy? Young puppies by design are clingy.

I read Saira's link to the Humane Society tips , there's lots of good tips there, but I disagree with not getting the dog into obedience classes for the simple reason that it gives the dogs something to do other than panic, especially if the owners have had the dog for longer than a month or so and the stress of settling into a new home are over. Most dogs with separation anxiety are usually under confident and overly focused on their owner and the classes are a huge confidence booster and give the dog something else to focus on besides the owner. And they also can help the owner with getting more control over the dog and the instructor should have some tips to help the owner cope with their dog too.

I have inadvertently created mild separation anxiety in Beavis after all these years of going to work with me every day and now that I'm not a dog trainer any more he has to stay home more often than not when I leave and he's not happy about it.

I talked to him a little more today, and I do think some of it is separation anxiety, and some of it is young-dog activity (boredom).

He doesn't have the extra $$ for obedience classes, but I will try to work with him on some techniques. (why he has extra $$ for a dog, I'm not sure...heart in the right place I suppose).

And I was wrong - she's a small dog mix - they said chi/JRT, but she is more likely chi/weenier dog from what I see. oy...

thanks for the info!!

pugasaurus wrote:There's a wonderful book about this called "I'll Be Home Soon" by Patricia McConnell. It seems to be pretty common in newly adopted dogs and once the dog adjusts, it usually starts to diminish.

Are they sure it's separation anxiety? Many times owners have told me their dog has separation anxiety because they chew on things and poop and pee in the house, but it's really just young dog stuff. Does the dog have to be with the owner 24/7 to the point of becoming anxious if the owner is out of sight. Does the dog chew/claw at the door or window the owner enters and exits from? Is the dog a young puppy or an older puppy? Young puppies by design are clingy.

I read Saira's link to the Humane Society tips , there's lots of good tips there, but I disagree with not getting the dog into obedience classes for the simple reason that it gives the dogs something to do other than panic, especially if the owners have had the dog for longer than a month or so and the stress of settling into a new home are over. Most dogs with separation anxiety are usually under confident and overly focused on their owner and the classes are a huge confidence booster and give the dog something else to focus on besides the owner. And they also can help the owner with getting more control over the dog and the instructor should have some tips to help the owner cope with their dog too.

I have inadvertently created mild separation anxiety in Beavis after all these years of going to work with me every day and now that I'm not a dog trainer any more he has to stay home more often than not when I leave and he's not happy about it.

The Patricia McConnell booklet is GREAT! And well worth investing in. And reading up on what IS separation anxiety is worth doing. As Karen said, lots of folks think their dog has SA when it's not.

I'll be picking this book up!

Duke has what I call a sort of reverse separation anxiety. He's good, for the most part, when I leave, but when I come home he's a lunactic. If he hears me, he stratches at the door and carries on and on. And when I'm in, he's jumping all over me and pawing at my legs and barking. I can't even get through the kitchen and he's beating me up. I've tried ignoring him, walking away, telling him to "watch me" to get him to refocus but he's in this sort of panic that he can't snap out of. And he only does it for me, not Jeff or my dad (who walks them when I'm not working at home). I'm hoping the book has some ideas.

Any thoughts?

Tinker had separation anxiety when he was a puppy. Even though he had just peed and pooped, if I left for an hour, he would do one or both in his crate. I would put him in there while I was in the shower in the bathroom with me, and he would be crying and throwing a fit. I tried to make it a very happy place, but he would chew up anything I put in there. This went on for about 8 months. He gradually got better, but I had to clean up pee or crap or both almost every time I came home. I could not put him in a playpen because he could climb it. I had no choice but to crate him. I was lucky in that he did not try biting his way out and breaking any teeth. A friend of mine had a boxer that did that