Seperation Anxiety Options

[Mushaka]

my new rescue dog Lewis has decided that Im the Bee's knees ..(that dogs got great taste lol) but he has decided that he cant live without me EVER!!
even if theres a house full of people,if im not home,he sits at the side gate crying,..and i mean CRYING as only a Staffy can.
I ignore him wen i come and go and he isnt allowed on the beds or lounge. He is ,as is all my dogs,fed in a similar approach to the triangle of temptation.
He isnt given any more or less cuddles than my other dogs.
He will even sleep on the cold timber floors beside my bed rather thn on the mattresses i have in my room for the dogs.
Should i remove him from my room all together??? this MUST be distressing for him as much as it is me! I mean its cute that he loves me so much,but its bad that is affecting him so negatively.
ANY advice will be greatly appreciated...
I AM going to be getting a trainer in.. U KNOW who u r (not sure i f u want me to name names) BUT i feel that i need to nip thi in the bud ASAP.

[Erny]

How long have you had this rescue?

[Mushaka]

Ive had Lewis for about 2 mths now...Please HELP me HELP him.
Ive left him home completley alone ONCE and he escaped!! The rest of the time the poor family have to listen to the very VOCAL cries of the poor guy...Wish my husband missed me like that! hahaha

[Erny]

I presume you are his main carer? You could try getting other members of the family to share in this. In fact, initially, get them to take over completely (ie feeding; grooming; walking) for a while.

[Kelpie-i]

Over the years of doing private consults, I have seen some patterns emerging with regards to this:

1. Rescued dogs are most likely to suffer from SA compared to non-rescued dogs.
2. Staffies (for some reason) carry this tendency.

Add the two together and this is exactly the sort of behaviour I have come accross many times.

Whilst you wait to see your behaviourist, I suggest you give the dog plenty of mental stimulation and exercise to tire him out each day. Spread the responsibility of this as well as the feeding/caring as Erny suggested to other members of the family. Also, try not to give him any attention when he's whimpering/crying as by doing so, you are reinforcing this behaviour.

[Mushaka]

Should i remove him from my bedroom??? I was thinking of moving them all to the dining room area rather than in my bedroom??? they are on a mattress in my room currently.
I know im going to have a few whingy nights but anything that will help.
I never pay him attention to his whines. When i do come home he doesnt notice cause he is SOOOo focused on the gate awaiting my return so i normally walk to the backyard and wander round till he notices me. I NEVER speak to him pat him NOTHING for at least 5 mins or more,and then i just act as normal. No gushy business.
My husband is going to think im making things up when i tell him he has to take over the training and feeding lmao!!!
Oh well, i will sip wine and watch the fun begin..he is CLUELESS!!!

[Kowai]

Over the years of doing private consults, I have seen some patterns emerging with regards to this:

1. Rescued dogs are most likely to suffer from SA compared to non-rescued dogs.
2. Staffies (for some reason) carry this tendency.

Add the two together and this is exactly the sort of behaviour I have come accross many times.

Whilst you wait to see your behaviourist, I suggest you give the dog plenty of mental stimulation and exercise to tire him out each day. Spread the responsibility of this as well as the feeding/caring as Erny suggested to other members of the family. Also, try not to give him any attention when he's whimpering/crying as by doing so, you are reinforcing this behaviour.

I love your #2 point! I agree too.. Staffies are the biggest sooks..

Since moving mines become much more attached to me.. Before he had my whole family to sook up to, but now he only has me and my boyfriend. He also started to show some seperation anxiety signs especially when left home alone. (Knocking over the bin, absolutely going -nuts- when I got home..)

Luckily now we've gotten another dog which has helped so much when we're not home, he doesn't freak out anymore, and he's really starting to get attached to my boyfriend now.. You've said you got other dogs though so I guess what worked for me isn't for you!

I wish I had something to suggest.. I know it can be so hard when you're dogs just panicking like that, and it can be dangerous for them too..


--Edit--

I reckon getting your husband to take over the responsibilities for your dog might help.. Thinking about it, before I had my mum helping out alot, and my dog was very attached to her as well. Seeing as my mum was home most of the time, especially when I was out (at school/work etc) he had someone there he trusted!

I don't know about making you dog change rooms though.. I can't talk.. After not letting me sleep at all the first night I had him as a puppy, and winging non-stop, he's slept in the bed ever since!

This post has been edited by Kowai: 3rd Aug 2007 - 01:04 PM