Guest klipper Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 We adopted Echo (see thread in the "Cute and Funny" under the hedgehog topic. On saturday. We worked with her Sunday with alone training as we both work full time jobs and she'd have to spend some time home alone while at work. Luckily my wife works within 5 minutes of the house and runs home during lunch to let her out and play for an hour. Thanks to other threads (Thanks Luna the Greyt) on Separation Anxiety we felt pretty well prepared and did our best to train her. I even set up my Echo cam to watch her while at work. She seems to be doing pretty ok. Maybe once every two hours (in between naps) she gets up and whines / paws at the crate for maybe a minute or two..then settles back down and goes back to sleep. So that's great she calms herself down, I was just wondering if there is anything else I could do to avoid the mini stress attacks (as that wouldn't be fun / comfortable for anyone) I realize ideally we would have had a lot more alone time training time (but life is life and we have to pay the bills to feed us all) and we may get to the point of trusting her with the full house...we just need to make sure that house breaking is done first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Wow. Talk about rushing! REEEEEEEEEEEE LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAX! It's Tuesday! If all she's doing is a little whining, you're doing awesome! Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest k9soul Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 A lot of people use stuffed kongs to give them a little something to do when they leave. It sounds like so far she doesn't have an issue with you actually leaving, but a little something to chew/work on might help her relax more if she likes them. Many people fill them with peanut butter or other goodies and freeze them, and then give them when they leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest klipper Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 We tried a kong this morning with some peanut butter that she happily worked on for a few minutes after my wife left. She then got up and vocalized / nibbled at the crate door for 30 seconds and is now happily sleeping (or so it seams) I'm probably expecting WAY too much WAY too early..I just don't want to stress her out too much and start to fear the crate. I think part of it comes down to our morning schedule: 1. Wake up 2. Breakfast 3. Walk 4. A few mins at home before the wife leaves to work 5. Crate I think item #4 isn't quite long enough as she's getting a bit too much attention before going into the crate. I think we'll try to adjust item #4 a bit longer where we largely ignore her before leaving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acadianarose Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I don’t see an issue. Waking up and whining for a minute or two and then going back to sleep is not an anxiety attack. Don’t look for problems where there are not any… Quote Payton, The Greyhound (Palm City Pelton) and Toby, The LabAnnabella and Julietta, The CatsAt the Bridge - Abby, The GSD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_daerr Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 It sounds like you're doing fine. I wouldn't even call it SA if she's only whining for a few minutes. Just take a deep breath, and take it slow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest laura150 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 You are doing fine! Practice more alone training this weekend when you have some time. I was worried when I first brought Ernie home but I think I was mistaking new house/nervous in general behavior and it truly wasn't SA. We have a routine in the morning that NEVER changes and now when I close the door for work, he maybe lifts his head up over his pile of blankets to acknowledge that I'm leaving. Remember, a lot of greyhounds have never been alone before so it's an adjustment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobesmom Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 You're doing just fine. Remember - if you didn't have the webcam - you'd never even know she moved! Getting up, making a bit of noise, pawing at the crate - that not SA - that's "huh, I'm kinda bored, I wonder what will happen if I do this? Nothing? OK, nap time." The fact that she comforts herself in a very little time is a wonderful thing - "if" she was even anxious at all - remember to not read too much into vocalizations. Some dogs just vocalize. I agree that a kong is a super idea. It's something to do. You'll want to mix up the fillings - so it's a "NEW" thing all the time. Lots of threads on here about that. I'm a big believer in giving them frozen - they last longer. And - don't freak out if she does start to have some issues in a month, after the honeymoon's over. That happens. Just work through it when it does. I think it's WONDERFUL that you're working so hard to make this a good transition for Echo. Just don't fret too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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