Not Sure If Typical Sa Or Not?

[Guest candydish]

Hi all. I've had Luna for about 5 months now, and she is really the perfect dog. She is 4 years old, and has no problem with dogs, kids, people or anything else. She is very sweet and not destructive. But starting from the beginning she had problems with SA.

 

For some background, I'm able to take her to work with me, so she doesn't have to stay home a ton, which I think is part of the problem. I typically take her with me to the office 3 days a week or so and then spend time with her often on weekends. But I do have to leave sometimes, and her typical response is to howl and cry the whole time I'm gone. She also will chew on herself.

 

Currently I'm boarding her at a daycare facility because I am traveling for work, and she is very stressed to be without me. They let me know next time I should consider an in-home sitter or something similar because she seems to not enjoy her time there. I'm having her picked up early by my parents who usually aren't willing to watch her but they agreed to help for a few days.

 

I'm a little bit at a loss of what to do. I tried extensive alone training at first, and she seemed to respond. She seems to be backpedaling, now, though. I crated her originally which seemed to make it worse. I always make sure I leave her with a treat, the tv on, and a bark collar (because I live in an apartment and have already gotten one complaint).

 

I'm just hoping to get insight on my new plan:

 

1) More alone training. Leaving her home during the week more???

 

2) Herbal collar and anti-anxiety treats. Maybe a thundershirt?

 

3) Longer walks before work or before I leave her to go somewhere.

 

I really can't afford to get another dog right now. I just feel so bad that she is so stressed and sad. I want her to be more comfortable and calm and I'm just having a hard time getting her there. Any advice woud be greatly appreciated!

[juliemac]

Where are you located?

 

You can try all of the above items, but when I used to work from home, one of the main things that I had to do is to leave the house EVERY DAY without my pups. They didn't like the change in routine, so leaving every day (even if it was to go out to mow the lawn, or go to the drycleaners) helped them realize that I would always come back.

 

I also found that I needed to have a clear routine immediately before I left & when I came home. Before I left, we potty (as in, I must leave the house within 5 minutes after a potty break, or my little girl will find something more in her body to expel while I'm gone). My hounds get the TV on (a radio might work in your house, but I don't mind leaving the tv on as long as the dogs don't learn how to dial the 800 # for QVC) -- in your house, you may need to leave the tv on just loud enough to drown out normal hallway traffic noise. I also have a set of KONGs in the freezer, ready to go ... that distracts my pups for the few minutes it takes me to leave & lock the front door.

 

The other option is to connect with other greyhound owners in the neighborhood ... I would LOVE to trade playdates with someone who has a schedule like yours. While I do have to go into the office every day, I've negotiated to work my first few hours of each workday from home (I work with people in other countries during that time) ... so I don't have to come home midday to let the dogs out.

 

good luck!

[PatricksMom]

Hi all. I've had Luna for about 5 months now, and she is really the perfect dog. She is 4 years old, and has no problem with dogs, kids, people or anything else. She is very sweet and not destructive. But starting from the beginning she had problems with SA.

 

For some background, I'm able to take her to work with me, so she doesn't have to stay home a ton, which I think is part of the problem. I typically take her with me to the office 3 days a week or so and then spend time with her often on weekends. But I do have to leave sometimes, and her typical response is to howl and cry the whole time I'm gone. She also will chew on herself.

 

Currently I'm boarding her at a daycare facility because I am traveling for work, and she is very stressed to be without me. They let me know next time I should consider an in-home sitter or something similar because she seems to not enjoy her time there. I'm having her picked up early by my parents who usually aren't willing to watch her but they agreed to help for a few days.

 

I'm a little bit at a loss of what to do. I tried extensive alone training at first, and she seemed to respond. She seems to be backpedaling, now, though. I crated her originally which seemed to make it worse. I always make sure I leave her with a treat, the tv on, and a bark collar (because I live in an apartment and have already gotten one complaint).

 

I'm just hoping to get insight on my new plan:

 

1) More alone training. Leaving her home during the week more???

 

2) Herbal collar and anti-anxiety treats. Maybe a thundershirt?

 

3) Longer walks before work or before I leave her to go somewhere.

 

I really can't afford to get another dog right now. I just feel so bad that she is so stressed and sad. I want her to be more comfortable and calm and I'm just having a hard time getting her there. Any advice woud be greatly appreciated!

I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I can only imagine if it's doing something unpleasant when she barks, and you're putting it on to leave her alone, she's associating that unpleasantness with being alone.

[SPDoggie]

I think you need to re-do the alone training. Spend a weekend, coming-and-going (actually leaving the property, not just standing outside the door).

 

Leave, walk around the block, come back in... do it again.... and again. You said you thought she responded to the alone training when you first got her, so maybe with some more she will learn how to be alone. If she doesn't like he crate, don't put her in it (assuming she does not destroy stuff in the house)

 

It's sad that she seems to be stressed even with other people around (not necessarily just when she is at home, alone). I hope some more alone-training, and hence, more time away from you each day might help her ease into this new world... hate to see them so stressed.

[Guest chickenpotpie]

aww poor pup. I too agree with retraining.

 

I work at home and I leave the house every day for a couple of hours during the day, leaving Lucky to her own devices. I don't crate her, though she does have access to it (I always leave the door open), but I do put her in a room with her favorite bed, a treat, and the radio and that works fine. When I come home, I ignore her for 10 minutes. She used to whine whine whine but now knows that she has to wait until I'm settled first. One thing I picked up on is if I'm stressed when I leave, she's stressed too. I try to make it into something fun for her so there's nothing bad associated with me leaving. These days, she barely raises her head when I come through the door after a few hours

 

She used to have some pretty terrible SA. Not that she would be destructive, but you could hear her whine , howl, and bark from the outside of the house! Over time she got used to the fact that she couldn't always go with me.

 

Even in the house, she's not allowed in my office until after 1pm. That means she had to learn to entertain herself with toys and food puzzles because I just ignored her when she would whine, howl so on. I taught her to ring a bell when she has to go potty (which she does...but sometimes she rings it because she wants attention ) She'll never be totally independent of course, but, she knows that if I say "go play" then she's not allowed in my office and no amount of whining will give her access. The evening is our cuddle time, and she does look forward to that. Even if I go out to dinner, I still have to give her cuddle time before AND after I get back!

 

Before you leave, try to tire her out, which may help considering you're in an apartment. Give her a yummy treat like a filled Kong with frozen peanut butter, yogurt, or something that will take her mind off you leaving. Give it to her right before you leave out the door. NEVER tell her bye bye. I don't say a word when I leave.

 

I take Lucky to daycare twice a week. Not because she really wants to be around other dogs all that much, she's a picky girl that way, but I do it for my sanity. Lucky is my baby but I need my time away from her sometimes. She loves the staff there and they just adore her. At first they were concerned about her just laying down and watching the other dogs play but I told them, no worries, she will get used to it over time, just pet her and give her ear scritches and encourage her to play on occasion. They followed that suggestion and it worked out fine. She does still lay around a lot but, she's more interactive with the pups in her playgroup. When I do the handoff, I use the same methods as I do at home when I'm in my office.

 

Certainly along with consistency, being patient is key, but also, if you're anxious or frustrated, your pup will also feel that too, so try not to be during the training.