# 20 month old male not eating/ anxiety...



## Looni2ns (Mar 26, 2010)

Could it be that your anxiety about his velcro behavior may be creating more anxiety in him? In other words, could he be picking up on your anxiety and adding to his own? 

If you are calm and secure in how you feel, and that he is getting enough attention, exercise, etc., is there a way to convey this to him in a healthy, positive way so he can feel secure in his environment? If you're rocking the baby, and he is laying quietly in the room, give him a good boy reinforcement for being quiet. Make a big deal about the behavior you want (quiet, calm), and not the freaked out (shaking, whining) behavior you don't want.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Keep in mind, he probably was in a situation where he always had company and did not get very much socialization. <- I hope I'm not generalizing here, but it sounds like that may have been the case. 

Can you baby him right now while he transitions? And slowly start getting him more confident with himself as he sorts out that you guys are home? Right now he is super needy and you need to gently help him adjust and give him a lot more time than a few months. 

So let him follow you around the house while you take care of the kids. Feed him in your space. It can take some dogs a bit longer to adjust to a new place, and your dog might be worse off because he may never have been away from his previous owner. 

Our collie was well-adjusted and socialized, but even he did not become confident and relaxed around everyone _until nearly a year and a half_ after we brought him home. And he developed a health issue from stress that he will likely have for the rest of his life.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

What is BTDT?

What is the official title of the behaviorist?

Have you considered a consult with a veterinary behaviorist?

Did your vet give you any behavior modification activities to do along wtih the medication?


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## Looni2ns (Mar 26, 2010)

Megora's probably right. Your guy is still transitioning into your family, and didn't have a lot of socialization in his previous home. When Heidi came to us, she was afraid of everything. By being patient, calm and not making a big deal of her shaking, freaking out, etc., she eventually came around and is completely socialized and a delight (except for thunderstorms, which are still a work in progress). Took us almost a year, so you may have a ways to go.


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

> What is BTDT?


I think it's Been There Done That

I'd like to thank you for taking in this boy and giving him a loving home. No, I haven't had to deal with this before so cannot really offer any advice. It does sound like he's nervous/worried about being 'left' again, poor guy. I would hope that your love and care over time will help him to realize he's with you to stay and his anxiety will go away. He does need to eat. Hopefully he'll get hungry enough that he'll start eating again. If he usually gets kibble, try giving him canned food. Maybe that will entice him to eat. I know my Sam thought that canned food was a special treat.


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## tuckerbailey (Feb 3, 2011)

I think one of the first things you need to do is to contact the previous owner if at all possible and discover if this is new behavior or is it a continuation. If new, then likely is some type of separation anxiety. If ongoing then, phew...might be a tougher nut to crack and trying to find out what caused it could be difficult. Sorry cannot provide much more advice at this point...


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## NJW (Nov 9, 2010)

RedDogs said:


> What is BTDT?
> 
> What is the official title of the behaviorist?
> 
> ...


yes sorry, its Been there, done that. 

I am not sure of her official title. She is a vet that works in the practice that our usual vet does. After our "normal' vet ran all the tests and they all came back clean, we had a consult with her as well. She was the one who gave us the tips of easing him into time apart, creating a safe place for him where he can be without noises etc, and having a command that let him know in a calm, friendly way that he needed to back off for a second (we use "go lay down" and it does work, but he is very upset while on his mat/ safe place, its actually worse for him. 

Thank you so much for everyones input. I have been trying canned food, raw food, I even made satin balls and he just wont touch anything.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Crate*

I am even afraid to suggest this, but I guess there is nothing to lose.

Have you tried a crate for him for SHORT periods of time and tried to feed him in that. His collar should be taken off before going in the crate though.

I suppose if I was in your position, I would feed him anything he would eat: ie: treats, hamburger, cheese.


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

I agree to contact his former owner and find out if he acted like this before you got him. 

Do people think it would be helpful or detrimental to have him visit his previous owner? Maybe putting him on an anti-depressant? 

Good Luck!

ETA: is he intact or neutered?


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Did you contact the "behaviorist" and let the person know that your dog was getting worse/some of the exercises weren't as effective?


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I think getting him on a very tight schedule with crating should help. Give him a frozen marrow bone or a kong in his crate, put a cover 3/4 over it, and ignore him. If he is staring at you and you are worried and conflicted, this will fuel the situation. If he is exercised, fed, played with, and pottied, a two hour nap in the crate is so appropriate you can just have detached compassion and not fret. Be matter-of-fact and decisive. Is this boy losing weight? Satin Balls are a nice recipe for adding calories. Try Chicken and Sweet potato Earthfirst baby food as a topping.


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

I was just reading about this in Dr. Dodman's book. He suggests that you have to teach a dog how to become more independent via the following treatment plan:

1. Switch the food to a low protein diet.
2. At least twenty to thirty minutes of aerobic exercise each day.
3. Re-direct the clingyness but having the dog work on basic commands. So, instead of having your dog follow you around or lay on top of you, use this time to do basic command work. Do this at least twice a day for about 10-15 minutes.
4. In your case, when you see your boy getting anxious wait a few minutes before you offer comfort and extent that time frame as you go along.
5. Ignore the dog when you leave and come back home up to twenty minutes - work up to this.
6. No more laying all over you or constant following around. Teach him to go lay down - once he has his separation anxiety fixed then you can allow this again if you wish.
7. Give the dog long lasting treats like frozen kongs/marrow bones filled with goodies to chew on.
8. Try crate training taking it real slow if the dog has not been crate trained before. Put yummy treats in the crate and keep the door open for the first little while.

Meds: amitriptyline is the standard drug for separation anxiety. Some dogs do great with Xanax but your boy didn't. 

It's going to be hard to ignore him and I would certainly seach professional help. I, too, am really concerned about the not eating. Best of luck to you.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Ljilly28 said:


> I think getting him on a very tight schedule with crating should help. Give him a frozen marrow bone or a kong in his crate, put a cover 3/4 over it, and ignore him. If he is staring at you and you are worried and conflicted, this will fuel the situation. If he is exercised, fed, played with, and pottied, a two hour nap in the crate is so appropriate you can just have detached compassion and not fret. Be matter-of-fact and decisive. Is this boy losing weight? Satin Balls are a nice recipe for adding calories. Try Chicken and Sweet potato Earthfirst baby food as a topping.



I'm not questioning your advice since I know you are a very knowledgeable person, but... couldn't this backfire? When Flora had such a terrible time with her crate the behaviorist told us that by putting her in the crate and leaving her we were actually exacerbating the issue. She would get anxious IMMEDIATELY and it just escalated the longer she was in there. I could have put raw kobe beef in the crate with her and she would have completely ignored it b/c she was already so upset.

Maybe I over dramatized things with Flora but I found that small increments of time in the crate (and I'm talking, like, 30 second increments) and working up to 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, etc. is what truly got her to accept her crate. She never liked it, but she eventually accepted it. The OPs dog may be able to handle it better and maybe she can start off with longer periods of time in the crate.


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