# Separation Anxiety - Anyone got a success story?



## cardaph (Aug 12, 2009)

Hi, I have a 5 month old tibetan terrier and am trying to deal with her huge separation problem. After leaving her for only 5-10mins at a time with a filled, frozen kong , we thought we were making progress. On listening to the tape recording on our return she was howling and barking but not non stop and on two occasions we came home to her sitting quietyly on top of a chair looking out of the window. Then suddenly she stopped ignoring us on departure,ignored the treats and was at the door jumping up and howling at us - couldn't even get her to sit, she was totally unfocused and upset. My trainer at puppy school has advised going back to closing doors in the house, putting coat on without going out etc. At the moment, I feel we are never going to make any progress with this and it would be so lovely to hear of actual success stories and the methods used. She won't be confined in a crate so that's a no no. She will go in of her own accord to have a snooze or when we put treats and food in, but close the door and she goes ballistic.


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## sophiew (Sep 20, 2009)

Separation anxiety can be a nighmare, both for the dog and the owners. We took on a terrier cross a few years ago that had been used to 24 hour attention and who panicked to the point of injuring himself if he was left confined - it was awful to see him, he would drool and attack the door until his paws bled. The vet put him on something like doggy valium, which turned him into an anxious little zombie and didn't help the behaviour.

We have gradually (and it's taken years) improved the situation - he can now be left, as long as he has the run of the house, and as long as nothing happens while we are out. If something upsets him (like the window cleaner arriving when it's just him in the house) he can have the odd episode, but generally he's a much calmer dog.

There is a workbook on Separation anxiety that you can get buy from Crosskeys books online. You have to be so careful not to inadvertantly give them signals that you're about to go out. We usually leave a light and a radio or the tv on and he's never left very long. He had another dog for company too, which does help but not always.

It's horrible to see a dog so distressed and one of the things that you need to get help with sooner rather than later as it can easily escalate. I'd be tempted to get professional help in the way of a home visit

Good luck!

Sophie
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## K 9 Listener (Sep 29, 2009)

Hi i deal with sep anx on a regular basis, you will be pleased to know it is very common! How much exercise does your dog get daily and by this i dont mean a run in the park, i recommend a structured walk of at least 45 mins every morning plus additional exercise later that day. a lot of the time it can be frustration and boredom not sep anx! by exerciseing the dog before you leave the house you will drain their energy leaving him in a calmer state, you must leave the house with minimum fuss giving your dog a kong as you leave isnt helping,he must be calm as you leave! also find out what is triggering the problem is it you picking up a set of keys or putting on a certain jacket perhaps? once you have established this start doing this more around the house also you must establish yourself as the pack leader, never greet your dog when returning from an absence either,im affraid this is only a brief outline if you wish to go into more depth check out my web site


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## cardaph (Aug 12, 2009)

Glad to hear of your success Sophie. K-9, yes I discovered yesterday that the keys were a trigger, so kept them at hand all day and jiggled them every so often and today she hasn't reacted at all to the sound , have also been putting my outdoor things on but not going out. When we were leaving her it would be after her walk - she gets about 1hour a day each morning and most days an outing in the car and a walk around the shops. She gets her dinner after which time she's normally sleepy and that's when I would go out. The kong would be put inthe crate and I would leave without speaking to her and would ignore her on coming back in. It was our trainer who suggested the kong to keep her mind busy - do you think I should start trying to leave her again minus the kong? 
Thanks for taking the time to reply 
daph


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

My Dixie use to have really bad SA but she doesn't now.
The only thing we changed was moving her crate into a different room to the one we used all the time.
Before we were actually sleeping in the liing room (damp bedroom, then puppies) so if we were in, Dixie was with us, all the time. Dixie was crate trained when we were in, but when we went out she got stressed.

When we moved we had a dining room so the dogs crates went in there. Dixie would be put in her bed at variosu pints through the day and when we went out she wasn;t bothered anymore.

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## cardaph (Aug 12, 2009)

We have her crate in the dining room straight opposite the computer and it's the room we use the most. Glad you overcame the problem gives me hope when I hear that it can actually be cured!
daph


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