Separation Anxiety & Sleeping On My Bed

[Guest Katka]

Please help. I've made a big mistake and I don't know how to fix it. I went on holiday and put my dogs into a pet hotel. It's a family hotel that we have a good experience with but it was the first time for my dogs. They're very close so I thought that being together would make it easier for them to adapt to a new environment. One of them was fine but my greyhound (3 years old) was suffering bad separation anxiety and he barely ate and he did nothing but lie on the floor, which resulted in him having bad sores all over his body (as greyhounds have very thin skin) and he lost a lot of weight. He looked terrible when I picked him up. The first night he was back home he barely left my side and was extremely clingy. I felt so guilty and so sorry for him that I let him sleep on my bed against my better judgement. And of course since then he only wants to sleep on my bed and throws a tantrum if I don't allow him. The problem is that I have a baby sleeping in my room as well so I can't let him bark and whine and bang on the door etc. What can I do to get things back to normal? (i.e. getting him to sleep in his own bed & helping to get his confidence back) Is it possible that getting him a crate might help? Thank you for reading!

[Jeff]

sounds like you are locking him out of the room where everyone is at, and that could be part of the problem.

give him a bed on the floor and/or crate where you all are. Since you already know he has separation anxiety, it only makes sense.

Don't cave again to the human bed if you don't want them up there. If he barks, and won't settle down, try a stern voice or a water filled squirt bottle.

[Batmom]

Alternative to a crate, to keep him in his own bed in your bedroom, would be a soft-sided ex pen. That is what I use for one of my dogs. The sides are screen/mesh so she can see everything; she has her own cushy bed in there. More configurable than a crate, and easier on the knees/toes if you bang into it in the dark.