Help my dog can't be a lone

[Oliver123]

I adopted a Daschund/Terrier mix about 5 months ago (he is 1 yr. old). When I first got him he showed minor signs of abandonment, but he was okay as long as he was not crated. However, about one month ago, I took him to stay with my father while I went on vacation and he went crazy. He chewed a hole in the screen window and jumped out when left out, then he chewed through an airline approved crate when crated, and either jumps over or chews through a gate when confined. The behavior continued once I returned. I have tried several things such as calming scents, calming gel and excessive exercising, but he still freaks out when left alone. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to work with my dog on his abandonment issues. I am willing to put in the work, but I have limited funds, so I would like to try to do as much work as I can myself before hiring a trainer.

[minmin12]

Your dog has separation anxiety issue my male has had it since birth. He needs alot of attention and no more crating reasurance is always helpful, talk talk and repeat same words all positive you would be surprised how quickly a dog learns. I have to males both going on 13/11 and they understand everyword that I say now only the ones that I taught them I am Jewish and taught them to understand only since this year so it is never to late as far as the anxiety problem that left after the afformentioned

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Oliver123

I adopted a Daschund/Terrier mix about 5 months ago (he is 1 yr. old). When I first got him he showed minor signs of abandonment, but he was okay as long as he was not crated. However, about one month ago, I took him to stay with my father while I went on vacation and he went crazy. He chewed a hole in the screen window and jumped out when left out, then he chewed through an airline approved crate when crated, and either jumps over or chews through a gate when confined. The behavior continued once I returned. I have tried several things such as calming scents, calming gel and excessive exercising, but he still freaks out when left alone. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to work with my dog on his abandonment issues. I am willing to put in the work, but I have limited funds, so I would like to try to do as much work as I can myself before hiring a trainer.

I was told by a trainer not to made a big fuss over leaving my dog in his crate when I go out and not to fuss over him when I return home. If we made a big deal out leaving our dog alone is only feed their abandonment issues. I use to leave my dog in his crate and just go outside for a few minutes, then go back inside . I did this to let my dog know I was coming
back . Once he knew I was going back I was able to leave him alone for a hour . Now I can go out for a few hours and Marty is OK.

[Terrie]

I just invested in a thunder shirt/ vest. It's
100% guaranteed against separation anxiety,
Stress, aggression. It's only been 4 days that
I have been using it but noticed remarkable
Improvement. Shiloh would tear the floor
apart in his cage and start taking his bars off.
I've been through 3 floors, lampes, carpets, furniture, he freaks out at
Loud noises, thunder, car stereos, even if
We drop dishes. Since he's been using the vest,
He's quite calm and pays no attention to the noise,
the vest is expandable, so it breathes with the dog. It's not very hot,
but i would not recommend exercising the dog with it on, unless it's winter.
I was told to keep doing what I've been doing when
In his crate which is leave the TV on, don't
Make a fuss, and it's working. The vest acts
Like a tight blanket around a crying fussy baby.
I highly recommend them!

I have posted a couple pics to show you what it looks like, it's very comfortable, and Shiloh is getting use to it, he doesn't fight with me, when I put it on.
He has an xl because at 7 months old, he already weighs 65 lbs, and the vest
is for 60 - 100 lbs dogs.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Terrie

I just invested in a thunder shirt/ vest. It's
100% guaranteed against separation anxiety,
Stress, aggression. It's only been 4 days that
I have been using it but noticed remarkable
Improvement. Shiloh would tear the floor
apart in his cage and start taking his bars off.
I've been through 3 floors, lampes, carpets, furniture, he freaks out at
Loud noises, thunder, car stereos, even if
We drop dishes. Since he's been using the vest,
He's quite calm and pays no attention to the noise,
the vest is expandable, so it breathes with the dog. It's not very hot,
but i would not recommend exercising the dog with it on, unless it's winter.
I was told to keep doing what I've been doing when
In his crate which is leave the TV on, don't
Make a fuss, and it's working. The vest acts
Like a tight blanket around a crying fussy baby.
I highly recommend them!

I have posted a couple pics to show you what it looks like, it's very comfortable, and Shiloh is getting use to it, he doesn't fight with me, when I put it on.
He has an xl because at 7 months old, he already weighs 65 lbs, and the vest
is for 60 - 100 lbs dogs.

Your dog is beautiful! Is he a black German Shepherd?

[Terrie]

Hi and thank you, yes he's only 7 months old
And weighs a healthy 65 lbs. he is a purebred.
and a forever dog.

[BenMax]

I have one dog with separation anxiety and I accidently came across a way to crate the dog without them freaking out when I leave. It is pretty simple.

Since I work from home now, I have crates in my office that I kept for fostering dogs or cats. They are readily available in case of an emergency. The doors are open and beds are in them all ready for visitors. My GSD walked into the crate on his own one day and made himself comfy. He absolutely hates the crate normally and has destroyed 3 in the past. To my surprise of course, he lay in there while I worked. Everyday since that day I invite him into the crate and now I close the door. I do not speak to him and he is located in the back of me, so there is not eye contact. I am treating this like a norm and not making a big deal out of it.

So fast forward to leaving the home. He goes into his crate for a while before I leave. I do not put him into it as I leave, I give him time to settle in and then I leave without saying a word. I come back home, leave him in his crate as he never even knew I left in the first place. After a few minutes (maybe 10) I open the door and still no speaking to him. I treat everything like it's not a big deal and eventually it's not.

So give this a try if you are watching TV, making dinner or anything else if something takes a while to do.

Thunder Shirts by the way is an excellent suggestion as well.

[Niall]

Good morning,

I'm new here, and just read your post, please accept my suggestions as such. When in doubt find a qualified trainer in your area.

The symptoms you are describing could be anxiety, relief of boredom, stress or amazing skills. For me the question is have you trained your dog to use a crate? They are a great tool, think of a crate as your dogs bedroom. You have one, even when you were a young child you had your room. Were you sad in there, scared, or did being in your room mean you were being punished? Do you ever go in to your own room to get away from things or for some piece and quiet? Why shouldn't our dogs have the same association with their crate?

When crate training, a key is to train before you need the crate or before you leave for the day. Your dog will need to learn that he doesn't have access to you or the house 24x7, that's just a fact of life. Start by having your dog go in to the crate to retrieve a treat or toy, do this as often as you can for a day or two (min 15x day). Step two have them go in to the crate and then give the treat. Step three, they go in and wait for a treat. Step four they go in, the door closes. If they are okay with this open the door (this is the treat) and they get to come out. Repeat increasing the time the door is closed. When you are up to 5 minutes of door closed without barking or other inappropriate behaviour you can start moving away from the crate (duration then distance).

What to do if he barks and fusses? Wait it out. Like putting a toddler down for a nap, if they yell and cry and Mommy doesn't wait it out it takes longer the next time. Same goes for fido. It's an extinction burst, you have to wait. Once the temper tantrum is over, you can reward by opening the door and letting him out.

Good luck!!

[maryevaoh]

Going to have to agree with the poster above. Try the Thundershirt. Introduce it slowly and positively, when you are with him and he's happy and hungry. Feed him in it, play with him in it, and when it comes time... Leave him alone in it for a small amount of time. It worked wonders on my Siberian Husky, who would howl like a wolf no matter what I tried, and how shortly I was gone. Even tried hiding treats around the house everywhere, and only leaving for a few minutes, but he still howled and ignored the treats (and his stuffed Kong!) but he can now have a nice long nap while I'm gone for hours, as long as his Shirt's on.

[Terrie]

Hey Niall
I've always crated my new arrivals problem is, he
Ate both of his floors, and blew the doors off countless
Times and destroyed the house. I have used
An industrial bolt on the door to keep him in but
He bent the door all the way in. I have an cream large
Kong crate. Cost over $200.00 dollars so now he has a wooden plank
For a floor and well his door is pretty much a mess but we bolt it
At the top and bottom.