Dog with separation anxiety desperate for help?
Anxiety may not be the right word here. I have a 7 year old Shiba Inu. He is a great dog, but has strange crazy fits sometimes. Normally he is fine at home with our other dog and 2 cats when we leave. When he was little he would stay under the couch while we were gone even if the parents were home. We tried kennel training him but it did not work – he would shriek his head off non-stop for hours. We were dedicated about trying and read all the books about it. He is veryyy stubborn. A year or two ago we were mowing the lawn and left him in the house and he destroyed our basement door trying to get to us. He has eaten through 6 foot fence several times when we tried leaving him outside, and I am just talking about for a couple hours. Our neighbors say if we leave him outside he screams and scratches at the chain link. But not all the time, he seems to go through phases. When we left him at my mother in laws for a night, he ate through her fence. Whenever we left him out it was good weather and he had water and a bed on the porch. A couple weeks ago we left him inside while we were at work and he destroyed that basement door again. We tried kenneling him again – and left him for 2 hours – we came back and he actually bent and destroyed the metal bar kennel and cut his gum and escaped again. He is normally fine inside but seems to have these episodes. He has access to fresh water, several dog beds, the couch, and the company of our other pets – who he gets along with. We have had him since he was 8 weeks old. We have tried taking him to the dog park all the time and walks. Walks actually made him worse – after walks he would immediately go to break out of the fence. We have a large yard and he is in and out of it all day when we are home. He is declared healthy by the vet and up to date on everything. We have taken him to obedience classes. We have tried giving him bones or balls to keep him busy.
Soooo we love him and just want him to stop destroying doors and fences, what can we do???!! We want him to stop hurting himself and we cannot afford doggy day care.
Any suggestions?
Ahhh and we feed him the same food all the time too – Purina One, which is the only one that he will eat and will not make our other dog throw up.
Oh and our neighbors are all nice dog people who I trust. We are not on a busy street and no one who does not live her walks our street – we are off the beaten path.
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Read about this stuff on this link, it may help some of your problems with the anxiety. It’s a plug in that releases pheromones that naturally decrease anxiety/behavioral problems. $30-40 for the plug in, about $20 for the refills, but it is WORTH IT!! You can find comfort zone at a lot of pet stores too. Or, you may need to get some light tranquilizer drugs from your veterinarian to help with the anxiety.
If it is truly separation anxiety, then you may need the help of an animal behaviorist. There are medications that can help with this problem, but behavior modification needs to be instituted as well. Drugs are just a temporary fix until the dog can be retrained. It takes dedication to the retraining process in order for the behavior modification to be successful.
Your veterinarian should examine the dog and run blood tests to be sure there are no other problems present. Your veterinarian should be able to recommend a behavior specialist for you.
* Ignore your pets 15 minutes prior to leaving and upon returning home. This will help them to stabilize their mood and not be so dependant on your presence. Leave home quietly and come home quietly
* Leave a distracting toy with them to keep them occupied or a treat dispenser (try an empty toilet roll stuffed with treats
* As often as you can, step out of the front door while your pet is watching as well as when he/she is not watching. Vary the times you stay out – a few minutes to an hour. This will help your pet to acclimatize to the idea of being alone
* Mix up your routine: take your car keys from different locations in the house and leave through different doors. Try to break the habit of association for your pet.
* A dog that is tired and happy is more likely to sleep and not get into trouble. If you can arrange it, take him on a long walk right before you leave
* Feed your pet before you leave (a stomach-filling meal with complex carbohydrates like oatmeal can make him sleepy and relaxed)
* Leave the radio or television on, as ‘company’ for your pet
* Speak to your vet about a second pet
* Consider consulting an animal behaviorist to help construct a plan of action to help your pet adjust to your absence and lessen their anxiety
In both dogs and cats, conventional therapy for separation anxiety often involves anti-anxiety medication (often leading to prescription for antidepressants or anti-anxiety drugs from the vet) – however these medications may have side effects and may not have been tested for use on animals.
Natural remedies
There are many safe, yet effective natural remedies that can be used to help your pet deal with the impending anxiety of being left alone at home. Herbs such as Scutellaria laterifolia (Scullcap) and Passiflora incarnata are two of the best known natural remedies for soothing the nervous system and may be used regularly every day or occasionally when needed.
In addition, Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort) is often referred to as ‘Nature’s Prozac’ due to its ability to support emotional health and wellbeing. Kalium phosphate and Argentum nitricum are biochemic tissue salts that can naturally help to support the animal nervous system, addressing panic, nervousness, anxiety and fright on a cellular level.
You may get more info here http://www.healthherbsandnutrition.com/pets/petcalm-relax-nerves-cats-dogs.htm