Well I raised my dog Abigail from a little puppy and she is my life, but I have a problem with leaving her because she becomes depressed and desperate to find me. My family has recorded videos of her pacing my house and circling my bedroom, refusing to eat, or drink, vomiting and howling hours on end. I take her a lot of places with me but even if I get out of the car at the market she has to be tied to the seat because she will try jumping out of the window and will howl and bark until I come back. I even got another dog to keep her company but it did nothing to help. It is increasingly stressful on my social life with a dog who becomes so stricken when she is without me. She is a 6 year old German Shepherd mix and is very well behaved, but I just don't understand this level of seperation anxiety can I get some advice?
I rescued a shelter dog, and Akita/GSD/lab mix last September and for the first few months she had sep anxiety pretty bad. She would cry, howl, and chew anything the smelled like me, anything that we used recently before leaving, etc. But she wouldn't chew on her own toys or eat the food we left for her. First we tried crating her - but she figured out how to get out of her crate. So we ended up deciding to leave her tethered at the back door when we leave. She has plenty of space to move, play, eat, sleep, whatever, she just no longer has free roam of the house. We also had to train her that we would always come home.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com You do this by doing your leaving routine - grab jacket, keys, shoes, bag - anything you normally do before you leave. Then undo it without even leaving. Put your coat on, and sit on the couch and take it off. Do this until she gets used to your routine without going nuts.
Then you can start to leave. Leave for 30 seconds and come back. Leave for a minute and come back, then 5 minutes. If she freaks out, go to the last time segment. Do this regularly when you have time.
Also, leaving the house should be no big deal. Give her something before you leave that will keep her occupied. A rawhide treat, or a kong with peanut butter. Something she'll work on for a while.
Then, when you come home, leave her alone. Take your coat, and shoes off. Put the groceries away. Let the dog calm down. Even if she's gone to the other room by now - that's ok, greet her when she's calm. Show her it was no big deal that you left and came home.
Since working on this with my dog (esp. the peanut butter), she's just fine.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Hope this helps.
It sounds like separation anxiety. Your vet can actually prescribe a medication, much like an antidepressant, which may help. Also, when you leave just leave without saying a word to the dog. I know that's hard, but sometimes it helps with the anxiety. Much like leaving a toddler when they're not looking, so they don't get so upset watching you go.
my mom has a chihuahua that suffers from bad separation anxiety ... not to that extreme, but we started crating her when we left the house and noticed a big difference. give her a nice sized crate with a few toys, a blanket or bed, and even an old shirt or something that you wouldn't mind getting rid of with your scent on it just to put her at ease a bit. but a nice calm space might help.:)
I to have a German Shepard mix and she gets like that only not quite that bad but still seems stressed when my mom leaves. Talk to your vet about it. That sounds serious and they can give her Dog medication to help her anxiety levels go down a bit.
few years back I bought some CDs on songs for dogs to hear and you could play it while you
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com are out for a while so the dog could associate it with you coming back later, it's sang for animals to hear lyrics like "good boy, I am coming back to you etc.
Dogs minds dont work like humans, so its hard for them to understand the concept of "im just popping out for a little while, i'll see you soon". Before i tried drugs to treat this, i would get the help of an experienced dog trainer. Firstly if the dog trainer is succesful it will save you a lot of money on expensive medications in the long run. Secondly, i dont think its good to drug a dog when they have a problem which may be fixed with out medication. Shop around for a good trainer, it will probably cost you a couple hundred dollars, but if you find some one who is there to help you and your dog and not make a quick buck then you and your dog will be happier for a very long time to come
