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  1. #1
    Puppy FriesianFury's Avatar
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    Garrus with separation anxiety?

    I posted this on my facebook page but I think I need many eyes to see this and give their two cents about it.

    I'm a stay at home, which means im HOME ALL DAY LONG gah. With that I'm home all day with Garrus who is just 6 months old. He is at my side all the time and a large part of the time if I go out with the kids he comes to. I think Garrus is starting to suffer from what looks like separation anxiety from me and only me since he never likes to be away from me. I can just walk outside to get the mail and he cry's, whimpers, barks and pace by the door if I go out of his eye sight, if in his eye sight he just watches. He don't do this to anyone else in the house but me. I took this video by setting up the cam and walking out into my garage and going outside just to get Elena and tool to fix the pool and came back in. He can't see me no more and in the video shows the results. My husband and 2 boys are just above him watching TV. He just started this up about a week or so ago and if I leave the home for 20 mins or more he gets destructive sometimes. Like today when the kids and I left he was home no more then a hour and pulled all the folded baby clothes out from table, and tore apart the boys xbox game that was laying on the TV stand. When I'm home he dont do any of that and plays with his toys.

    I just bought a crate and will train him in it when I'm here to slowly get him away from me but is there anything else I should do? Anyways when do walk in the room I dont give Garrus any attention I wait till he claims down and moved on before I start talking or petting him, I am concerned this is just the start and want to snip it in the butt so it dont get to that point of him stressing or completely freaking out
    Last edited by FriesianFury; 06-11-2014 at 05:41 PM.
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  2. #2
    Senior Dog voodoo's Avatar
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    If you have the space, make him an outside only dog for a week. Im not saying dont see him, but create some seperation. maybe a basement or another room. Im with chili all day everyday also and I take him almost everywhere.
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  3. #3
    House Broken Maggie's Mom's Avatar
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    I am a stay at home mom as well. I started from the day we got Maggie crating her in a bedroom alone for several periods per day. We usually have activities/errands in the morning so she goes in her crate every morning for 2-3 hours, I also crate her again for an hour or two in the afternoon. I think crating him on some type of schedule may help. The destructiveness when alone is often just a puppy trait- Maggie is always crated when we are not home, if we did not crate her I am sure she would be very destructive only because she just had the opportunity to have some of the fun we keep her from when we are home and supervising her!

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  5. #4
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    With all due respect, I would not follow Voodoo's advice. For one, it can be quite traumatic for your dog (who I am assuming is and always has been a house dog) and make things worse, and assuming you don't live miles from your neighbors, that barking will likely make some people really mad. If you have to go out and quiet him when he barks, that is a reward and it won't work. If you believe this will help, I would board him for a week instead as it would create the same effect, but without ostrasizing your dog. Even crating him in the house with breaks would likely create a fear of crating or at least a major dislike. You need to make it a positive experience for him.

    My advice is to look up crate training a puppy and start from square one. Make leaving and crating positive with filled kongs and treats, and toys that are safe, but make these things only available when you are not there and he is crated. Crate any time you leave the house. Even just to get the mail. That way he never knows if you will be gone five minutes, or a couple hours. Vary it. Do not let him out if he is barking. Wait for him to be quiet. I would with hold bedding as well.

    I'm not sure if this is separation anxiety or not getting his way, or a bit of both. Have you taken him to classes? Do you do obedience work? Do you have fair and consistent rules in your house? Sometimes lack of consistency and leadership causes anxiety. Make him work for his meals. Do the Ian Dunbar sit-down-stand-etc. sequence for handfuls of food. I would adopt the Nothing In Life Is Free lifestyle for awhile (Google it: NILIF) as well. Enroll in basic obedience, even if you have already completed a class.

    Whatever you do, don't feel sorry for the dog for being upset for being away from you as you will communicate that his behavior is appropriate.

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  7. #5
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    Did you practice leaving him alone at all? For trips with the kids, groceries? Did you crate train?
    Barking when you leave isn't "really" separation anxiety. I mean I guess it is but just barking is really low low level. If he isn't USED to being alone then he hasn't learned HOW to be away from you. I talked to the owner of a doggy daycare who said her biggest clients are actually people who work at home because their dogs never learned to be away from their owner and thus were getting to the point of some more major separation anxiety. You have to make a point of leaving the dog and it's best to start from a young age. Make a point of teaching them it's ok to be alone.

    Quote Originally Posted by voodoo View Post
    If you have the space, make him an outside only dog for a week. Im not saying dont see him, but create some seperation. maybe a basement or another room. Im with chili all day everyday also and I take him almost everywhere.
    I really really don't see what the point of this is? Can you elaborate? Make him an outside dog for a week - you mean leave him outside day and night?? how does this "fix" anything?

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  9. #6
    Puppy Benelli_my_Lab's Avatar
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    I agree that making him an "outside dog" will not help. Ugh...

    totally agree with crate training ASAP!! But don't put him in there by himself. Help him associate it with something good by giving him a kong with frozen pnut butter in it. It also helps take his mind off being in a crate. I would do 15-20 minutes at a time and move up the time after a while.

    He needs to learn that being alone in a crate is a good thing and how to deal with it.

    Good luck!! :-)
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  11. #7
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    agree if you haven't worked on crate training at all I would start with just introducing it. Desensitize him to it and take a week or two to do so. Google crate games and you will find free videos online for games. Feed him in there, throw high value treats. no closing the door at first.

    ETA: why crate train? it gives them a secure place to chill. they don't have room to pace and move around. that can help force them to relax.

    Also, if you don't want to od the crate thing, just keep practicing leaving him alone for short periods. daily. give him a kong to work on.

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  13. #8
    Puppy FriesianFury's Avatar
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    I should of stated this in the first post, im sorry for this miss info.

    All started about a week or so ago he has NEVER done this till last week, this is not something he has done since I have had him at 2 months old. So it boggles my mind why he started up. Garrus is an indoor dog, always have been so the option of just throwing him outside is not an option at all. I know how to crate train which is what we are going to do now starting from the very basic that people start with puppies. I just want to see if there is anything else I can do. I had someone tell me to make a game of the open and shut door but before he barks but im not sure of that option.


    Quote Originally Posted by Labradorks View Post
    With all due respect, I would not follow Voodoo's advice. For one, it can be quite traumatic for your dog (who I am assuming is and always has been a house dog) and make things worse, and assuming you don't live miles from your neighbors, that barking will likely make some people really mad. If you have to go out and quiet him when he barks, that is a reward and it won't work. If you believe this will help, I would board him for a week instead as it would create the same effect, but without ostrasizing your dog. Even crating him in the house with breaks would likely create a fear of crating or at least a major dislike. You need to make it a positive experience for him.

    My advice is to look up crate training a puppy and start from square one. Make leaving and crating positive with filled kongs and treats, and toys that are safe, but make these things only available when you are not there and he is crated. Crate any time you leave the house. Even just to get the mail. That way he never knows if you will be gone five minutes, or a couple hours. Vary it. Do not let him out if he is barking. Wait for him to be quiet. I would with hold bedding as well.

    I'm not sure if this is separation anxiety or not getting his way, or a bit of both. Have you taken him to classes? Do you do obedience work? Do you have fair and consistent rules in your house? Sometimes lack of consistency and leadership causes anxiety. Make him work for his meals. Do the Ian Dunbar sit-down-stand-etc. sequence for handfuls of food. I would adopt the Nothing In Life Is Free lifestyle for awhile (Google it: NILIF) as well. Enroll in basic obedience, even if you have already completed a class.

    Whatever you do, don't feel sorry for the dog for being upset for being away from you as you will communicate that his behavior is appropriate.
    To get to your question

    Have you taken him to classes? as much as I wanted him to go to classes, No. I have no way to take him to classes with 4 kids and husband working

    Do you do obedience work? Yes I have worked with him from the very first day I got him he knows how to set, stay, lay, come and walks very nice on a leash those commands are in use and enforced every day

    Do you have fair and consistent rules in your house? Yes and he knows them well but at times I have enforce it when he tests them
    Make him work for his meals Garrus does some work but not all the time.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tanya View Post
    Did you practice leaving him alone at all? For trips with the kids, groceries? Did you crate train?
    Barking when you leave isn't "really" separation anxiety. I mean I guess it is but just barking is really low low level. If he isn't USED to being alone then he hasn't learned HOW to be away from you. I talked to the owner of a doggy daycare who said her biggest clients are actually people who work at home because their dogs never learned to be away from their owner and thus were getting to the point of some more major separation anxiety. You have to make a point of leaving the dog and it's best to start from a young age. Make a point of teaching them it's ok to be alone.

    Yep, I use to leave all the time with no fuss. I use to go out to get the mail with no problem and gone to the zoo etc with no problem. The last time I left him alone we had server weather threat that dropped loads of hail and flooded us here in Omaha NE. After that is when he started acting like this, the barking, the whinnying and pacing and now destructive behavior when I'm not around could the storm have triggered this behavior? I didnt mean to sound im home 24/7 cause im a stay at home mom. That I dont go anywhere, i just meant I stay at home a large part if not most of the day but do go out of house for normal things and I dont take him.

    I hope that make sense.
    Last edited by FriesianFury; 06-11-2014 at 07:49 PM.
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  14. #9
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    It sounds like he was upset by the storm and perhaps he is getting older and deciding he wants to try to get you to stay. I think the only thing you can do is crate him, make it a positive experience, perhaps leave the TV or radio on for him to drown out other noises. Make sure he is very tired as well, and is getting lots of mental and physical stimulation. That helps a lot!

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  16. #10
    Senior Dog WhoopsaDaisy's Avatar
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    Yes I completely agree with crate training. Now that I am home for the summer I noticed Daisy being really clingy and following me into every room of the house. I love that she is a velcro dog. But I still give her mid-day naps in her crate because it helps her to relax.
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