Q. for pet owners....

babymaddux

Is he crate trained? Wondering if he'd feel safer in crate with a blanket over it, TV on low. Leave him with a couple of Kongs (Google it if you don't have any) filled with frozen goodies that will take him a long time to work on.

ETA: Does he just howl/whine for a while, or is it really all day long? Is there any way to know if he's hearing something outside or can see something out the windows that is setting him off? Did he do it at your last place, or is it a new behavior?

he isn't crate trained but i'm thinking thats going to be my next move. i bought him a crate recently just haven't gotten around to the training part.

he did it at my old place too, its not a new thing at all. he just always had separation anxiety. he's a rescue so that should explain a lot.

what do u like to put in kongs? i've tried it before with peanut butter i believe but he didnt go for it.

hopefully he will go for the crate, but i know with my dog, that panics him even more. i've put him in one in a different room to me as well as in the same room, covered and uncovered, and he works himself up into a frenzy. he dug grooves in the base of it trying to get the door open. the longest i've had him in it was an hour (exercise dvd) and he was exhausted when i let him out again. but he also cries if i'm in a different room and the door is closed...
the only time i've known him be ok in one was when he was put in it to fly from the uk to the usa, possibly because it wasn't me who put him in there.

glbragg

Crate training is probably the way to go but you need to make sure you actually train him to trust the crate. Most people just lock the dog up in there and think that will fix them. You need to build up the truast, first let them in the crate and right back out, then give him a treat. Then put him in and have him stay for a minute with the door open then let him back out with a treat. Each time you will build more on to the last move so he will learn that he will not be stuck in there for ever. There are many websites that walk you through how to properly crate train, it is very time consuming and you will need patients but it will be worth it in the end.

twinketta

I am probably going to get lots of negative responses to this, but, here we go, your dog is like a small child in some respects and it will need stimulation and company.

If you have to leave it alone for more than a couple of hours then source doggy day care or a friend/neighbour to look after it.

It is not a breed of dog that can be crated and be happy. It is a `yap yap` breed of dog and will whine and bark if left alone for periods of time. If you have a friend with a larger breed of dog it will get along and make friends?

CharityGC

When I started crate training our rescue (who also has separation anxiety) I would put her treats in the kennel and toss whatever toys she wasn't playing with in there as well. When she got bored with whatever she had out, she would go in there to get a new one. I would also hide a treat in a blanket or two for her to find since she wasn't a fan of the Kongs. She now goes in it to sleep occasionally and will go right in when I tell her to go to her kennel so I can run or go out for errands.

And it's definitely something you can train him out of but it may take work. I have one full breed chihuahua who has been left alone at home off and on his whole life (he's 13) and our rescue is a chihuahua mix.

AmandaReimer1

Is it the landlord or neighbors that is complaining? Are you sure they aren't complaining to complain? Just another thought. You do have great suggestions.
You can apparently buy a dog collars that would spray water when the dog barks to also teach it not to bark. It's expensive (100 bucks), but cheaper than finding a new place to live.

Edit is instead of us.

Summerberry1012

when we were training our pup to stay at home alone (because he was used to having someone there all the time since my fiance works from home) we initially did krate training for short periods of time and then up to 4hrs with cartoons on tv and toys. Then we left him in our bedroom with the door closed so he couldn't roam the house - again tv on and toys. Now he can roam the house because he is used to it but he usually just ends up going to bed with his toys until we come back anyways because of the trainig. dogs feel like they need to control/protect the entire house when their owners are gone and that can be stressful for them so having a smaller space to "control/protect" eases their anxiety - and then you can allow them more space to "protect" as they learn that it is not necessary to do so constantly and get used to being by themselves.

Melo1966

Do not let your dog be lose in the apartment some of them can not handle it, I know mine can not. My furbaby goes into her crate willingly with yummy treats and lays and sleeps all day. I know this because I have come in quietly and find her sleeping. I cover the crate with a blanket. When there has been construction going on outside I turned the TV on to a jazz music station so she is not bothered with the outside noise. She gets plently of exercise in the mornings and evenings and is a very happy dog.

If you do not want to use a crate then do look into paying for doggy daycare.

whipdancer

Rescue or not, separation anxiety is not "normal". It happens but it's up to us to fix it. We only deal in rescues and I'm pretty sure we've seen it or dealt with it (we are currently fostering 1 in addition to our 3).

1. Crate training - make it a priority


Consider doggy-daycare for a period of time until you fix the anxiety issues

nolachick

Definitely look into doggie daycare/sitters... a lot of vet offices do it too- for a dog his size I think it would've been around $6/day at the office I worked at a few years ago.

i wish they were this cheap here. I checked last night and the best rate around here is $17/day. but i'm thinking of doing this as a temp. fix while I train him. Hopefully it will work.

but don't worry my last option is to give him up or put him down.

nolachick

Crate training is probably the way to go but you need to make sure you actually train him to trust the crate. Most people just lock the dog up in there and think that will fix them. You need to build up the truast, first let them in the crate and right back out, then give him a treat. Then put him in and have him stay for a minute with the door open then let him back out with a treat. Each time you will build more on to the last move so he will learn that he will not be stuck in there for ever. There are many websites that walk you through how to properly crate train, it is very time consuming and you will need patients but it will be worth it in the end.

i tried this for a few weeks during the holidays because he was going to have to be ina kennel to fly home with me. he HATED it. he flipped out if i would close the kennel if even for a minute. poor thing. that was a soft kennel that was dark so i bought him a new steel caged one so he can still see me and not flip out. but i know what u mean.

I'm going to try this again tho.

PaulaS1220

Also don't believe all that crap about alpha and dominance, it's BS. Please give Patricia McConnell and Victoria Stilwell a try, they really know what they're talking about.

Ditto! This has nothing whatsoever to do with dominance or the dog trying to control you. (I also have 4 rescues, and don't think it has anything to do with being a rescue, either, more likely just his personality)

Anyway, you could experiment with what he'd like in the Kong. Canned food, then frozen? I've made a weird mixture with things like yogurt, PB, dog treats, chopped carrots and then frozen. Then again, my dogs eat anything, lol.

I also agree with working on the crate training in small increments, when you're home.