# Separation Anxiety



## Wilbea (Jul 16, 2013)

Help! Any suggestions appreciated, I'm having a hard time with Murdock's separation anxiety he is about 5 1/2 months now, he is a calm, happy go lucky boy until I walk out of the room, then he turns into a crazy, whining, barking, peeing, and pooping mad man! He even acts like this if I step over a baby gate my sister Murdock sits him during the week, but there is times when I just have to leave him at home and I'm tired of cleaning up a big mess and bathing him every time I return home, help!

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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I would suggest desensitizing Murdock to your leaving. Since it sounds like he has gotten very worked up about this you will start with putting him on a sit stay and walking a few feet away and return with a life reward (pets and praise) for having sat quietly even if just for a few seconds. Work at increasing the duration of the quiet sit, then add distance, then add stepping out of sight. Go as slowly as you need to in order to help him be successful. Eventually you will set him up for how you want to leave him when you leave the house and you will go out the door. Listen for him being quiet, then return and praise even if he has just been quiet for a few seconds. Increase the time while insuring his success.

While you are working on this the other thing to do is to make sure that when you have to leave for real that you don't make a big deal out of going. When Lily was a puppy my vet gave the best advice about this which was to leave her in her crate without saying goodbye. I still do not say goodbye unless the dogs happen to be in the room with me when I go. If you don't make a big deal out of leaving then it just isn't a big deal for them to worry over.

You might also want to consider a homeopathic calming aid for while you are training to improve the separation behaviors. I also recommend Patricia Mc Connell's short book on separation anxiety. The title is I'll Be Home soon: How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety. She is a certified behaviorist and I have learned lots from everything of hers I've read.

Finally, don't be angry with your pup when you get home even if you find a mess. He won't understand why you are upset. Your calm demeanor with help reassure him that your return is a good thing, rather than another thing to be anxious about. Good luck with fixing this. Keep us updated. We will be happy to help you get to where you need to be.


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## Carrie-e (Oct 23, 2012)

Can sympathise with you,my spoo billy had separation anxiety after I got him at 8 months and he got very attached to me,couldn't even have a shower without him whining outside the door. First time I left him to go shopping for half an hour that's all,came home to find he had peed,pooped and got himself in a panting slobbery mess. Took him ages to calm down. Read a lot on the subject on the Internet,there is loads of advice on there,eventually my vet suggested he take zylkene,which is a natural type of supplement,not a drug. Within a week we noticed a difference. I also put him on skullcap and valerian herbal tablets which go well with zylkene. I play a relaxation cd when I go out,leave kongs and bones and as I leave I put my hand up flat and say "be back" I also did this when I went through doors at home so he came to associate my flat hand with me coming back. We got a little mini poodle girl pup to keep him company although to begin with that made no difference. The thing is you have to get into the dogs mind. Billy had a look of sheer terror when I used to leave,it was awful. I couldn't even leave him with my daughter. She started feeding him which helped them bond and now he is fine with her. After being on zylkene for 6 weeks,plus all the other little things I do,I can now leave him and he doesn't panic any more,his mindset has changed. I leave the house and he just goes and lays down with his kong. I never thought he would do this. I wish you luck with solving this,it is not an easy thing and people who say to you he will grow out of it,do not understand separation anxiety,dogs do not grow out of it,but there is help available. Definitely worth talking to your vet.


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