Separation Anxiety

[Guest Kona]

Hello! I adopted a wonderful four year old Greyhound three days ago, and so far we're only having one or two little problems. The main issue is that she cannot be left alone for more than 15 seconds in her crate without crying and barking. For about a week or so, there will be someone with her almost all of the time, but I will eventually need to crate her and go back to work. So far she loves her crate. She will run in to it when she gets stressed or wants to lay down, but also roams around and explores the rest of the apartment. When I put her in her crate so I can leave to go to the store, dinner, etc, she begins crying and barking. I'm not sure exactly how long it lasts, but I stuck around for 10 minutes yesterday and it hadn't subsided yet. I have been trying to teach her that I am 'coming back' by leaving and re-entering the room a few seconds later, then leaving and coming back a few minutes later, but it doesn't seem to be working. Any suggestions??? I live in an apartment, and I am concerned that the neighbors may complain if she is crying and barking for hours on end! Thank you!!!!

Edited January 27, 2011 by Kona

[Laurenbiz]

Keep up that alone training! That is the best you can do to help her understand that you come back, and that your leaving is not a reason to panic.

 

I wish you luck! Keep us updated.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

I have been trying to teach her that I am 'coming back' by leaving and re-entering the room a few seconds later, then leaving and coming back a few minutes later, but it doesn't seem to be working. Any suggestions

 

Keep doing that. Make sure you're making both leaving and returning as boring and uneventful as possible.Don't make eye contact or speak to her right before you leave or right after you return. Most importantly: initially you must return before she begins to fuss, if leaving for 5 seconds is fine but 7 seconds is not, return before 7 seconds so she doesn't have time to work herself up. Gradually lenghten the times you are away and don't let her out of the crate when you are back until she's calm. Giving her something like a stuffed kong to work on too will help keep her busy.

 

Personally, I would read a book while working on this. That way I could move from room to room with something to focus on that's not her. It's good you have a week or so of someone being around, you've got lots of time to work on it.

 

Mine had a bit of separation anxiety when I got her. She got used to our coming and going pretty quickly. Now she's quiet in her crate when we leave and return. The worst she does is whine at the door a bit when she knows I'm coming home and DH has already let her out of the crate.

 

Good luck.

Edited January 27, 2011 by Jayne

[GeorgeofNE]

Three days is NOTHING.

 

Get the McConnell booklet, "I'll Be Home Soon," and let your neighbors know you've adopted a Greyhound, there will be an adjustment period, you hope they will be a little tolerant, and maybe bake 'em some cookies!!!

 

My dog howled for HOURS when I first got him--every day.

 

My neighbors were almost universally kind about it when I told them he'd never been alone before. There was one nasty woman who accused me of cruelty to animals for "keeping a big dog in an apartment." Informing her he'd spend the past three years in a cage didn't sway her--but she was just nasty!

 

Mind you, I was chairman of the condo board, so there was nothing anyone could do to me...you have to be more careful, but I really did find that a nice note delivered under the door of all my neighbors with my phone number and an invitation to visit was really well received.

 

He didn't let up, so I eventually stopped crating him and he never made another sound. But it's too soon, at 3 days, for you to think about that I think.

 

Good luck!

[krissy]

Our foster pup was our first dog, and we were counting on quiet because our getting our own dog (who we have now, so you know this has a good ending) hinged on our "trial dog" being good. The first few days we had some anxiety for sure. He'd never been alone before, so it made sense. He barked and whined the first day I was gone (it was a short day, a couple of hours). He would start when I would leave but was always quiet and calm when I came home, so I knew he wasn't working himself up for too long.

 

I would crate about 5-10 minutes before I planned to leave the house, and planned to leave the house about 10 minutes before I needed to. The first 5-10 minutes gave him time to settled into his crate and start working on his frozen Kong and to be ignored completely by me. We live in a basement apartment and this was back in September so I left the bedroom window open and when I locked the front door I went out to the backyard and stood outside the bedroom window. From there I could see him and hear him but he had no idea I was there. If he was just whining a little bit I didn't do anything, as soon as he started ramping up to some barking I would give a good stern "Enough!" and that would snap him out of it. He had no idea I was there, it was just a disembodied voice.

 

I ignored him when I put him into his crate, and I ignored him for 10 minutes after I got home (occasional vocal correction from a different room if he started to make too much noise) and only let him out once he was quiet and calm. After letting him out of his crate I ignored him for another 10-15 minutes or until he was calm.

 

We always leave a radio on so there's background noise, and I would leave my PJs in the crate as well so he had something with my smell on it.

 

What also helped a lot I found was to crate and ignore while we were home, especially days when we were only gone for a couple of hours versus a normal 8 or 9. It seemed to help him understand that he had to be alone and that he couldn't always be with us, even when we were home. After the first week we really had no more trouble with the separation anxiety. He was really just understandably upset for the first couple of days after having his world turned upside down. Once he learned the new routine he was great.

[Guest momofevie]

If you haven't already, do a search on here for "separation anxiety" and/or "alone training." Lots of others have had experiences similar to yours, so you'll find some good tips. With time, patience and hard work, it usually works out.

 

Can you baby gate your dog into one room (ie: kitchen) with her crate, giving her access to her "safe place" while allowing her a little more room to roam while you're away? You might want to leave her with a frozen, stuffed kong, too, to keep her distracted for the first few mins that you're gone. And a walk before you leave may help. Also, don't forget to use your adoption group as a resource; I'm sure they've been through it all!

[Guest Kona]

Thank you all SO much for the replies. I appreciate your advice and support. I do realize it has only been a few days, but it helps to hear the experiences of others for some moral support. Yesterday, she had a great day just laying in her crate with the door open, as I was doing housework for a few hours. I thought she was doing better with the door left open-less anxious at least- so we left her in my bedroom for two hours while at an evening meeting. She ended up pawing the carpet up between the bathroom/bedroom, so I guess that wasn't the brightest idea until I know she is more comfortable in the house. I will keep trying the alone training. We did get her a kong last night and I gave it to her earlier today for the first time. She LOVED it. I have never seen her so preoccupied! Thank you all very much!

[Guest NJgrey]

Sounds like Ellie when we brought her home! I took a couple days off from work specifically to work on alone training. Seconds at a time, minutes etc. My fiancee and I left to get lunch for a half hr, leaving her in her crate, and when we came home we could hear her howling and crying from the street. My heart sank. Next day we left her for a couple hrs total, and our downstairs neighbor left a note on our door - greatly sympathetic and supportive - letting us know that she was howling and crying off and on all day long.

 

Like you, we both work full work days so she was going to have to get used to it sooner than later, and that's basically what happened. There simply wasn't enough time in the day to do all the alone training that was necessary. At some point you're just going to need to bite the bullet and leave her for a few hrs at a time.

 

Fortunately she seems to have the normal amount of "adaptation anxiety" (stealing the phrase from another greytalk person or two) and she'll get used to her new life quickly enough. The fact that she doesn't try to hurt herself getting out, and that she's interested in a kong and other treats are all good signs.