Help Seperation Anxiety Please Help

[Guest harpinjp88]

hi im jim and me and my family have been the proud owners of a black, 5yo ex racer for around 5 months wince we rehomed him.

 

he is a lovely dog with a very doscile temperament, he is very very lazy, doesnt want to play or get excited much, just enjoys lots of fuss, cuddles and closeness.

 

when we are with him he is not a naughty or anxious dog.

 

we realised that he was using our living room as his favourite toilet spot and this became a problem as he would only do it when we were not home. when we used to leave him we gave him free roam of the house and he did not destroy anything, the only problem was despite clear access to the garden, he would poop and pee on our carpet. he wouldnt even do it in our kitchen with easier to clean, laminate flooring.

 

we took the step of closing him into the kitchen with our garden door open when we had to go to work. he set about destroying the door. so we took the next step of buying a child gate and then he set about destroying the walls and floor instead. he has now also started to eat his way through cupboards where his food is stored and chew anything in his way, if we experiment and leave him with a free run of the house, he doesnt wreck a thing, but still poops / pees in our livign room.

 

it can be quite cold if we lock him outside, also he can be quite clever in finding ways to escape, as we have found him in our neighbours gardens before, and he happily chews through anything but very very tough fencing.

 

everything seems to point towards buying a large dog crate and keeping him in there. but for periods of time sometimes between 5/8 hours as me and my wife work a range of shifts, it seems cruel and im sure he could harm himself in the anxiety.

 

i dont know what to do ive tried training him and he is just so persistent, i dont know what to do.

[greysmom]

A crate can be helpful. It can also be useless for some dogs. I would see if you could borrow one from your adoption group or a friend before spending the money to purchase one.

 

Once you get a crate, don't just shove him in and leave. Spend some time making sure he knows the crate is a good and safe spot for him. Use YUMMY treats and throw them in the crate for him to go in and get. Over and over. Until he is happily going in and out. Then throw one in and shut the door for a SHORT time, and let him back out. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Until he is comfortable being in the crate with the door closed for extended periods while you are still in the house. You can also see if he will sleep in there at night, and perhaps feed his meals in the crate, as well. You want him to view the crate in as positive a light as possible.

 

Then begin doing "Alone Training."

 

Do a search here for "alone training" and "separation anxiety" and you will find a high number of threads with instructions, information, and more suggestions of what to try. If you try all the suggestions and he is still being destructive, it will be time for you to talk with your vet about trying an anti-anxiety medication. Many vets in the UK aren't as familiar with this as are ours are becoming here in the States.

[Guest harpinjp88]

thank you so much, i needed some sort of affirmation in my eyes that a crate can be a good thing

[Willowsmum]

It might help to take him for a LOONG pack walk before you go out to make sure he's fully potted out before you leave.

I'd also pick up an enzyme cleaner from the pet store (We have something called "EWWW") to thoroughly remove the remaining

smell--dogs will potty where they smell urine or feces, and their noses are much better than ours.

 

Greyhounds have little body fat and not much fur--I would not lock one out in the yard for any period of time.

In warm weather they can also overheat pretty quickly.

 

I'd go with the crate training mentioned above, do a keyword search for "alone training" and "crate training" here, there are a lot of threads where good advice has been given.

 

Some greys don't like smooth flooring as they can slip on it. I wouldn't gate him into the kitchen. If you must, put down a non-slip area rug and one of his beds or folded blankets so have has a place to rest.

 

Leaving a stuffed Kong (Dog toy you can put bits of kibble or stuff with peanut butter--something it will take your dog awhile to get the food out of) or rawhide to chew on sometimes keeps them distracted.

 

They prefer a room they associate with you and hanging out with you.

Do you have a family room, tv room, or den you can gate him into and leave the living room off limits?

 

For some dogs 8 hours is a long time, especially if he's not used to it. Can you get someone you trust to give him a walk and some love mid-day to make it easier for him to hold it?

[silverfish]

Here's a link to the short piece I wrote for our adoption kennel about separation anxiety and how you might begin to deal with it. Click here. I'm afraid it's on Facebook, which is where our member's group is. Or you can find it here.

I'm afraid there is no easy, quick-fix. Alone training takes time and it takes effort, but in my experience it works very well. If it doesn't work within a week or two, you have a more serious problem and should consult an expert - a vet for anti-anxiety meds, maybe, but certainly a good behaviourist. One who doesn't use the old-fashioned 'dominance theory' stuff which will do more harm than good. Training should always be gentle and patient, and kind.

 

Bottom line is that some dogs do much better with a companion, although it's fair to say that it doesn't fix every case of separation anxiety.