# Separation Anxiety???



## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

We adopted a flat coat with separation anxiety last year. She is 4 and a half now. It was much worse than what you describe above and it is not solved. She howled, pushed and destroyed a pet gate. She has one helper and that is her sister who was trained from little that we always come back home.
I have done the same as I have done with Rose. Closed the door and waited couple minutes. If she was quiet I would come back in. If she barked I would wait for a quiet moment and come back in. I would put her in the car and go back inside the house, wait and then go back to the car. Slowly increasing the wait time. 
I am not tech savy but if you have two cell phones you can connect them and leave one on the kitchen counter and therefore you can hear what happens while you are taking a walk around the block.


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## Golden6 (Apr 8, 2014)

Hi Claudia, Thank you for your reply. You said that it is still not resolved with your dog. Is it at least better? What do you do when you need to leave home? Where do you leave the dog?
I had to leave yesterday, so I stuffed a Kong with his homemade food and froze it. I gave it to him and left him in the backyard. When I came back I found the Kong on the grass with all food in it (I think he gave up when he was not able to get it out easily) and the dog was all worked up from running from one end of the yard to the other, I assume. I tell you, it drives me absolutely crazy.


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

My Bear was a howler as well! I didn't realize it until I forgot my headphones on a 4am run and about 3 blocks from home I heard this horrible howling. Yep that was Bear!

In my case, it wasn't as bad as yours, from what my neighbors said she would howl for a few minutes and then be fine.

For short times away (4am run) I would leave her with a frozen stuffed kong. That seemed to keep her occupied.

What I think may have helped for the other times to not make a big deal out of leaving. Someone pointed out to me that when I left for a long period of time (work), I would make a point of petting the dogs one last time and telling them to "be good", vs if I was just running to the store quick and going to be back in 5 minutes I didn't even acknowledge them before I walked out. So, I made a point of not making a production out of going away.

Also, my guys are inside when I'm gone, and I leave the TV on for company. Not sure if that does anything?


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## Bosn'sMom (Feb 11, 2013)

have you tried leaving her indoors with the radio or tv on? we do that with our Bo because it makes him feel like somebody else is home.


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## Golden6 (Apr 8, 2014)

I did not try to leave him indoors. Well, actually I did leave him in crate few times. I think he doesn't like it, but I am not really sure what he does when he is left in crate. I also did not try the shirt, so I will try that. I have heard about the radio and TV, of course that works only when left inside. If I could only reason with him .


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

Since Darcy (who was 4 when we adopted her) was a counter surfer I blocked off the kitchen area with pet gates. She was confined into a crate with a bark collar on her before we got her. 

The first time I had to leave her alone in the house she broke one of the pet gates. That pretty much showed me how bad it was. 

I started giving her a dental chew bone and leave (same way, restricted to bedrooms area and hallway). Come back after about 5 minutes. Then increased to 10 and 20 minutes. She actually figured out that I did not leave because she did not hear my car. So she started sitting at the window howling. 
I then used my daughter's cell phone calling it and keeping it on a "conversation" and then get in the car with Rose and leave around the block. By having that I also knew when to come back and make sure she was at least quiet before I would pull into the driveway. 
IMHO it is more stressful for them to stay outside. The inside is to some degree their den and their safety space. I like to give her room to move around and be able to lay on my bed in familiar smells and spaces. 
The longest that she stays home alone now without howling is about 2 hours. That is why I say we are not there yet. 
With Rose (our golden retriever) she can stay 4 to 5 hours with no problems.


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

Golden6 - it doesn't really sound like severe separation anxiety, since he didn't bark or howl for 20 minutes and then only howled for a minute or two. Could be he gets bored or is barking at noises from the neighbors' houses. He's not destroying things or trying to get out, which is good. 

My stepdaughter had a dog with separation anxiety. Kahleigh would bark and bark for hours. She would tear at the doors, trying to get out. During the day it wasn't too bad, but at night, she would go crazy every time a car passed by or a pedestrian passed the door. But she also wasn't given any real exercise, so she was stressed for that reason as well. 

Generally when dogs are left alone, they sleep most of the time. As others have said, they may feel safer indoors in their own beds and there is usually less distraction than outside, so the barking/howling should be less. Unless you are going to be gone long enough that your dog will need to go to the bathroom, I'd leave him inside, with tv or music on.


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## Golden6 (Apr 8, 2014)

GinnyinPA - that is right, he is not destroying things, he is just not relaxing. I'll try to leave him inside and see what happens. I know that when he is outside he does not sleep for sure, he is likely on the go the whole time, just looking for me.


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