Seperation Anxiety With A Pup

[songbird]

Hi All,

I need some help and advice in regards to a foster pup that was adopted this week. He is the last of his litter to be adopted and is almost 14 weeks now. He has been adopted to an only dog household where the couple is home most of the time but do venture out for a few hours each day. When the leave he is confined to the courtyard and once the door is closed he will begin howling and whining getting very upset. The new owners have tried to ignore him but it has lasted over 20 mins and they don’t want to stress him anymore… the funny thing is that he has always been a vocal puppy even whilst still with his mum and 2 other pups from another litter to play with at my place, he would still whinge and howl when I went inside but it would only last a few mins and then he would get over it.

Does anyone have any advice to that I can pass on to the new owners as they are very happy with him but are concerned that they are causing him stress…

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks Songbird.

[Sarah L]

Hi songbird,

Make sure the new owners have lots to occupy the pup with when they go out.

A comfortable bed ant lots of stimulating toys for the pup to find lying around.

Also there is a comfort toy that comes with battery operated heart beat in it, which would be good to put on the pups bed next to the door. This reminds them of when they used to sleep next to their mother. Stuffed kongs with food, that are yummy and well scented are great too. Get the owners to give this to the pup when they are putting him/her out. Another thing they can try as well as the toys and kongs is keep some of the pups breakfast aside for when they go out and then spread this into 3 or 4 small dishes near the door when they go. This usually is good way to stop the initial whining or barking as the door closes. This encourages the pup to find things to occupy itself. This is why I also recommend toys to left lying around the court yard. Get the owners to play with the pup and its toys in the court yard when they are at home also.

Hope this has helped with some ideas for you.

[pie]

Get them to make sure that they are not going back to him when he is still crying, they have to wait until he is quiet or he will see that crying pays off, and he will keep doing it.

[songbird]

Thanks for the info and replies, will definately pass it on...

[Eileen]

I give my pup (who was displaying some rather unnerving sep anxiety signs to begin with) one really high-value food item to distract her as I walk back in and close the door. She has toys, kongs and other bits and pieces all over our yard, but she gets a bone or a pig's ear - something she thinks is better than me - to cover my departure. Works quite well.

[Dogsfevr]

I would dare say the pups first experience of being placed out alone in the courtyard was for a few hrs not a few mins.

They need to whilst home allow pup to spend more time outside whilst there still there so pup can be weaned to what is expected.Small doses & confidience building to being independant go a long way.

The pup doesnt now & when suddenly its left for a long period it most likely panics.

[Tatelina]

I would dare say the pups first experience of being placed out alone in the courtyard was for a few hrs not a few mins.

They need to whilst home allow pup to spend more time outside whilst there still there so pup can be weaned to what is expected.Small doses & confidience building to being independant go a long way.

The pup doesnt now & when suddenly its left for a long period it most likely panics.

Ofcourse! That makes complete sense and alot of people don't even consider this! *light bulb*

[sas]

I'd probably be more inclined to do some work with him prior to leaving if he's not used to it, also with him being a puppy he may be being fussed over.

This is what I'd probably do:

Pop to the book store and get a book called Dog Listener by Jan Fennell and follow her bonding methods, suitable for dogs of all ages, very briefly this is what it involves:

Each time the owner is serpated from the dog by a door, this could be a bathroom door, hallway door etc, they ignore the dog for 5 minutes on re-entry, they need to act as though they do not hav a dog, this means no eye contact, no verbal repremand when the dog is trying to get their attention etc. After the 5 minutes you call the dog to you, if the dog comes to you (granted it knows what come is) you give the dog a quick pat and carry on with your day until the next time you are seperated by a door. If the dog does not come to you straight away then you continue to ignore the dog until you are seperated by a door again.

When we first brought Dante home he would spend just a minute outside by himself and then we would build this up over time, I had 2 weeks off work to settle him in. Remembering never return to a dog who is crying/screaming/barking otherwise they win. Let your neighbours know what is happening so they can give you some grace.

Remembering not to overly fuss the dog is well is important, no free pats, not even for a puppy, implement the NILIF program.

If puppy is 14 weeks old he is currently in his fear period and may be sookier than usual but he needs to gain confidence too.

[Sarah L]

This is what I'd probably do:

What you have described to do below I would definitely not do unless, while the owner is out of sight behind a door the dog is whining or barking or scratching the door. If the dog is not doing this while the owner is behind the door then it would be far more important to reward the dog for quite calm behaviour immediately on re entry than ignore it and leave it wondering. This is why it is a good idea to ask what the dog is doing first when the owner is behind a door. Otherwise it could put more problems in when there wasnt one in the first place.

Each time the owner is serpated from the dog by a door, this could be a bathroom door, hallway door etc, they ignore the dog for 5 minutes on re-entry, they need to act as though they do not hav a dog, this means no eye contact, no verbal repremand when the dog is trying to get their attention etc. After the 5 minutes you call the dog to you, if the dog comes to you (granted it knows what come is) you give the dog a quick pat and carry on with your day until the next time you are separated by a door.

This method was originally formulated for dogs that were jumping and scratching at doors or on the owners with excitement when they initially returned home and greeted the dog and had nothing to do with treating separation anxiety. Why this has creeped into treating separation I have no idea. In most dogs with separation anxiety the name is very self explanatory and is a problem for the dog when the owner is not there and not when the owner is there. So the treating of this condition is solely focused on providing the dog with enough stimulation to keep its mind off the owner not being there.

I do agree with showdog that possibly the pup was left outside for far to long the first time with none of the things I recommended in my first post in this thread for it to keep itself occupied or feel secure with. So it would be a good idea for the owners to do some work with putting the pup outside for short frequent intervals with plenty of what I have already recommended.

If the dog does not come to you straight away then you continue to ignore the dog until you are separated by a door again.

[Erny]

Many people diagnose "separation anxiety" too quickly - probably because they don't realise the difference between that and anxiety at being left alone.

SA is where the dog has a strong attachment to a person (or sometimes to another animal such as a 2nd companion dog) and regardless of other company, feels it cannot function properly in the absence of that person or animal to whom they are so attached. SA is a very strong emotional and complex issue.

Anxiety at being left alone is simply that - the dog becomes anxious being left alone with no company and is often reasonably happy if alternative company is provided (such as another person, be it friend etc. etc.).

The anxiety normally becomes symptomatic the moment the dog is left alone (or the person of strong attachment leaves) if not in the preceding minutes before hand (eg. dog cues onto the signs that indicate being left, such as picking up car keys; putting on shoes; etc.)

Either way the training for each is similar - ie teaching the dog that it is ok to be without the person to which it has a strong attachment or teaching the dog that it is ok to be alone. The steps described in the posts throughout this thread - such as disappearing behind a 'blind' (eg. door) and re-entering BEFORE the dog has begun to whine/bark/create .... and gradually building up that time in increments is the common methodology for it.

It is also good to ignore the dog for a full half hour prior to leaving (paying NO attention) and to randomise the 'leaving cues' the owner might have otherwise inadvertently taught the dog.

Also teaching the dog that "denied access" is ok too - this is incremental training and starts simply by having the dog (eg) in a pen (can be inside) and the owner sitting outside of the pen at a small distance - whatever the dog can first cope with. Without going into the step by step process, the owner works up time and then distance, eventually being able to be out of sight of the dog without any fuss. Of course the dog is rewarded by being allowed to regain "access" to the owner only when it is quiet.

I would avoid making a big fuss of the dog at any time of re-uniting - regardless of how incremental the training step is.

Pinnacle :

This method was originally formulated for dogs that were jumping and scratching at doors or on the owners with excitement when they initially returned home and greeted the dog and had nothing to do with treating separation anxiety. Why this has creeped into treating separation I have no idea.

(A) Everything should be on the 'pack leader's' terms - and this includes initiating contact. A dog who clearly understands its position as 'follower' is relieved of the responsibility to guard and protect its pack. Being a 'pack leader' of your dog is good for any dog - but essential when working through anxiety based issues.

(B) Ignoring the dog on re-uniting also helps to relieve anticipation of the owner's return and any excitement that may otherwise come with that. A dog should by all means be happy to see the return of its leader, but not to the point of busting. Excitement in itself is a form of stress. Initially ignoring the dog also removes the possibility of the owner inadvertently reinforcing the dog for any stress that may still momentarily remain on being relieved at having its owner return.

[Trisven13]

Hate to bring a subject back to the top but was doing a search. I just want to confirm I am doing the right thing with Marie the wonder pup. After being an absolute angel for the first 2 days she has been a right little shite for the last 3 . When I get home from work she starts a combination of barking/howling. I have been ignoring until she is quiet for a minute and then allowing her inside. Once inside she is normally okay.

All our dogs eat in their crates as with rescue dogs the dynamics change too often for them to eat together - she starts barking/howling once she has finished eating. Again I am ignoring her until she stops and then letting her out. Is it like controlled crying and they will get a little worse before they get better? Am I doing the right thing????? Really want to nip this in the bud early.

[Guest Willow]

I adopted an adult Staffy 6 months ago, who had dreadful anxiety when left alone for just a couple of minutes. If inside, he would claw at the doors & windows and runalong the top of the furniture, all the while howling, and if outside he would just hop over the 6 foot fences like they were nothing.

6 months on, I am able to leave him in the yard for short periods (am still building my own confidence to leave him there for a few hours) and all he does is watch me leave & fall asleep!

I used the Jan Fennell "gesture leaving" technique, and it has worked wonders (when used in conjuntion with the rest of the techniques)....if I were to explain it in this post, it would be huge, but it is all in The Dog Listener book.

[Trisven13]

Well, it didn't take very long at all - about 4 days - and Marie appears to have learnt that screaming at the door is not the answer. If she does have a scream it doesn't last as long and once she has been quiet for a little while (a very little while at the moment) she is brought inside.

[Erny]

All our dogs eat in their crates as with rescue dogs the dynamics change too often for them to eat together - she starts barking/howling once she has finished eating. Again I am ignoring her until she stops and then letting her out. Is it like controlled crying and they will get a little worse before they get better? Am I doing the right thing?????

Without being able to see or know your dog, I can only 'guess' that what you're doing is correct, just as I can only 'guess' at why your dog is doing what he is. It is possible that the increased whining/crying is the dog going through the "extinction burst" which often occurs when its attention seeking activity is being ignored.

As an analogy, think of the drink dispensing vending machine. Each day you put your money in and the machine delivers a can of drink. You develop an expectation that this will occur. But one day, the machine doesn't deliver the can of drink as you expect it should. So you kick the machine (ie the extinction burst).

IF the machine still doesn't deliver the can of drink you might cuss at it but would (maybe after another kick or two) go off about your daily business. You might try the machine the next day, thinking that yesterday's events were a "one off". But it still doesn't deliver, even though you've kicked it harder this time (another extinction burst). Perhaps you try this the next day as well, but if it still doesn't deliver even though you've kicked AND shaken it (a final extinction burst), chances are you'll give up on it and not bother anymore - so, your extinction burst has peaked and 'extinction' of the behaviour is now achieved.

BUT - let's just say that on the day the machine didn't work you kicked it and the machine DID deliver the can of drink. You would be thinking "oh, so that's what I need to do to get what I want". The following day, it didn't work, you kicked it as you did the day before (because you expected that is what you need to now do to get what you want) but it STILL didn't work. So you then kick AND shake it ...... and it works. Chances are, the next day you will put your money in AND kick AND shake the machine because you EXPECT it to work when you do that.

This last is an example of someone who doesn't continue to ignore the dog's attempts to get what it expects to get. In otherwords, the person has 'quit' the extinction training BEFORE the extinction burst has peaked, and so the dog learns that trying harder IS worthwhile.

Provided the dog's anxiety levels and circumstances are not of a state where the whole event is so traumatic as to become detrimental to the animal itself, extinction training is a method that often works.

The problem is that extinction training is easily cancelled by the dog receiving, one day, the attention it wants for this previous activity. In other words, it is not necessarily a permanent cure if a mistake by the person occurs.

Hope that all makes sense.