poochmad Posted May 5, 2009 Author Share Posted May 5, 2009 Anyway, my mother checked on him three times today and it seems the light on the porch seems to have done the trick. She checked him at 5.45pm and all was quiet. When we came home, except for the fact he chewed one of the remotes (well hubby did leave in easy reach), there was no sign of any stress, which is a great relief. Perhaps what we're now doing, going out the front door periodically in the evening, not giving him so much attention is paying off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Hi, I have just finished reading this thread and havent seen any of your previous threads but I just wanted to add, have you ever watched Cesar Millan (dog whisperer) he lives by the rules excersise first, discipline then affection, and it really does make sense, I understand what you are saying about humanising the dog it is so easy to do and Im sure we have all been guilty of it at one point or another in our lives. When you say that you give Henschke a 20 minute walk in the morning is it on or off lead? If he could expend a bit more energy he may be more settled while your not there. Also with regards to training, we have had people come to our obedience and if they are show dogs they dont make them sit when you halt in a heeling routine as it does make it harder for them to stand when shown as they are used to sitting all the time. One lady doesnt make her dog sit at all, he is standing all the time. someone mentioned tricks also a good way for them to do a bit of thinking type of work. How big is your back yard? could you set up a few agiltiy type obsticles for him to have some fun with?? Sorry if this has all been suggested before and good luck with Henschke. I would think Medicating him would definatley be a last resort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumbeat Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Anyway, my mother checked on him three times today and it seems the light on the porch seems to have done the trick. She checked him at 5.45pm and all was quiet. Just wondering if you have your indoor lights set to come on with timers and if it makes a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I am so glad that you are now giving Henschke the treatment you are Well done- and I hope he matures into a much more self-reliant companion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted May 5, 2009 Author Share Posted May 5, 2009 Anyway, my mother checked on him three times today and it seems the light on the porch seems to have done the trick. She checked him at 5.45pm and all was quiet. Just wondering if you have your indoor lights set to come on with timers and if it makes a difference? We leave an internal light on all day and the tv on (sound only). The heating is also left on. The porch light was set to sensor mode so it was turning on and off depending if someone was there. Our line of thinking was that perhaps he was thinking it was us and when it wasn't, was getting more and more stressed. Also, as it's dark now, his 'body clock' is probably a bit out as well. My mother will continue to check on him for the next couple of weeks to see whether leaving the porch light on 'fixes' the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Flying Furball Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Thanks for this thread, with such clear details of all you are doing. I have dealt with the separation anxiety of my papillon and recognise a lot of the same issues with how I have experimented with decreasing the anxiety, and also in recognising how I have let my dog become very dependent on my presence to feel okay. It was not so much of an issue anymore until I tried to leave him at night and with daylight saving; barking when I came home and neighbors said he barked on and off...so now have to work on it again as I definitely want to be able to leave him at night sometimes! It sounds like you are doing well. At one point I also rang Dr Seksel's practice to have a consultation, but $595 just felt wrong. Can anyone tell me what would justify that charge? I am sincere in that question; would like to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbaudry Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Thanks for this thread, with such clear details of all you are doing. I have dealt with the separation anxiety of my papillon and recognise a lot of the same issues with how I have experimented with decreasing the anxiety, and also in recognising how I have let my dog become very dependent on my presence to feel okay. It was not so much of an issue anymore until I tried to leave him at night and with daylight saving; barking when I came home and neighbors said he barked on and off...so now have to work on it again as I definitely want to be able to leave him at night sometimes!It sounds like you are doing well. At one point I also rang Dr Seksel's practice to have a consultation, but $595 just felt wrong. Can anyone tell me what would justify that charge? I am sincere in that question; would like to know. Sounds like you're getting there Poochmad! Flyingfurball, to answer your question, I am one of the ones who forked out $595 for the initial consultation (and am due for a follow up very soon ). I did it because my pup had OCD issues (had them since I got him) that were not getting any better as he grew and I was not able to cope with these on my own, despite all the best intentions and trying to do the right thing. If it had only been a "normal" form of separation anxiety as described for Henschke, I do not think I would have bothered going to a behaviourist vet and would have tried by myself through trial and error.... I think going to someone like Dr Seksel is more justified when you are dealing with more serious issues (like OCD / aggression / extreme fearfulness etc....). It sounds like you guys will overcome it! It's the first time that I have a dog who is unsettled by darkness... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappie Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 At one point I also rang Dr Seksel's practice to have a consultation, but $595 just felt wrong. Can anyone tell me what would justify that charge? I am sincere in that question; would like to know. Kersti is a registered specialist in veterinary behavioural medicine, qualified as such on 3 continents with an excellent international reputation. Her consultations generally last for 3 hours and include written discharge instructions and follow up with you and your veterinarian. It's not cheap, but she is fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Flying Furball Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Thanks for replies to my query...don't want to hijack OP any more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted May 6, 2009 Author Share Posted May 6, 2009 Thanks for replies to my query...don't want to hijack OP any more Feel free to hijack away. It's a lot easier when you can put all the comments in one thread then you can go back to the one thread each time. It's also good for us owners with 'stressed' dogs to join together and share our experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted May 6, 2009 Author Share Posted May 6, 2009 Third day return. All was quiet when we rocked up...although when we were putting the key in the door he started with the high pitched barking. Waited until he was quiet and then opened the door. Ignored Henschke until he was nice and calm. He seems to be calming down a lot more quickly once we get inside which is a good sign. However, we are still ignoring him for 10 or so mins. All affection now is given when Henschke does something for us. Obedience training has been stepped up. When he drops a toy into our lap, he immediately sits back (the old game was we'd automatically throw it), he is told to drop or stay and the toy is either given back or put in front of him with a command to wait, before him being released. He is also a lot better whenever I close the door on him, his scratching has either stopped or is minimal (i.e. one scratch). Each time I go into a room, the door is shut on him. He now sits outside the room waiting for me, or better still, will go back to his bed (which is separated from hubby). A good note is that he is not perturbed now when either hubby or I go out the front door. He no longer scratches or whines when one of us leaves. It's more like he looks at the door as an inquisitive thing or out of interest. He also no longer jumps on us when we walk back inside. It's becoming more of a natural thing for us to come and go. We ensure we both go out the front door at least twice a night each. This seems to be really helping Henschke with associating us leaving and not stressing about it. We have also noticed that his behaviour is less 'enthusiastic'. For example, he used to lunge out the front door or gate, even when we told him to wait (and he was the last to walk through), he'd still lunge as soon as he was released. Now he's calmly trotting through, which is just lovely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Well done!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbaudry Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) Well done!!! :rolleyes: Really well done Poochmad! it sounds like Henschke is very bright and a quick learner too! When you're done with Henschke, can we swap pups pleaaaase? I thought I would highjack your thread too, regarding behaviour upon owner's return. One thing I have been having trouble with from day one is what to do with an over excited pup when I get home from work. At the moment, the "routine" is: - get home, and inside the house, where the dogs can see me (they are in the backyard, and the whole back of the house is glass sliding doors). Archie gets all excited and starts jumping on doors. - I go upstairs, change into dog-friendly clothes, and come back down. By then he is normally sitting by the door. - As soon as I move towards the door, he gets all excited again, so I normally unlock and then move away again until he calms down - this can be repeated a few times until I lose patience and decide we need to get moving. I will normally then go out, and he goes completely bonkers and runs around the backyard by himself (or with a toy in his mouth). I try to ignore him (no talking, no eye contact), but he will remain in this over excited / aroused frame of mind. - I get him to sit and stay by the back door (he complies, but barely and I can tell from his body language he is about to explode), open the door and let him in (again, goes bonkers, runs around the house etc etc) I am obviously doing something wrong, as there as been very little improvement in the 8 months I've had him... I was hoping that ignoring him until he calms down would teach him the proper etiquette, but I am afraid his excitability is much stronger than my patience Any tips from the professionals around here ? Edited May 7, 2009 by fbaudry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 fbaurdy - not a 'professional' by any means, but it seems to me that you're not giving him enough time to calm down. Even giving him a command is giving him attention. When we walk into the house we ignore Henschke for everything. The only time we might utter a word is if he jumps up on us, but that is said with a stoney voice and not much action. So no words, no commands, no eye contact. Nada. I know what you mean about being impatient, when we are trying to put the lead on Henschke to take him for a walk, we have to wait for him to stop running around like a mad dog, which he does and try to wait until he's calm. He's slowly getting better, it just takes time. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 On another note, we are going away at Christmas time for 2 weeks and were thinking of putting him in a kennel. Is that going to affect his calm state, or do you think it will be good for him? If it's going to put us backwards again, I'd rather look at getting a pet sitter...thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussienot Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 On another note, we are going away at Christmas time for 2 weeks and were thinking of putting him in a kennel. Is that going to affect his calm state, or do you think it will be good for him? If it's going to put us backwards again, I'd rather look at getting a pet sitter...thoughts? Hard call. My first reaction is that you have set up a great routine and schedule for him, and he's learning how to behave independently in your home. If you are going to cause an upset to his routine (by going on holidays), it would be better for him to be a completely different location with different people handling him. So I'd vote for the dog kennel. Change everything about his day. That way, when he does return home with you, nothing will have changed about his home rules and it should be easier to slip back into his known routine. Assuming you know and like the kennel you have chosen and they have a good understanding of dogs. He may do better there than you think he will. With a pet sitter in your home, you are changing just one thing- you will be gone. Leaving the environment the same, he is likely to be confused and anxious about your absence. Overall, you have made great progress with him, and your committent to him is wonderful to witness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 Hard call. My first reaction is that you have set up a great routine and schedule for him, and he's learning how to behave independently in your home. If you are going to cause an upset to his routine (by going on holidays), it would be better for him to be a completely different location with different people handling him.So I'd vote for the dog kennel. Change everything about his day. That way, when he does return home with you, nothing will have changed about his home rules and it should be easier to slip back into his known routine. Assuming you know and like the kennel you have chosen and they have a good understanding of dogs. He may do better there than you think he will. With a pet sitter in your home, you are changing just one thing- you will be gone. Leaving the environment the same, he is likely to be confused and anxious about your absence. Overall, you have made great progress with him, and your committent to him is wonderful to witness. I think the dog kennel sounds like the way to go - thanks. Spoke with hubby about your thoughts and he agrees. We are checking out a kennel next weekend and will discuss his 'issues' with them. I'm sure since he's such a sticky beak, he will enjoy all the activity around him! Thanks for your comment too regarding what we've done with him. If it wasn't for DOL, we wouldn't be as far as we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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