Separation Anxiety - 3 Months And Counting

[Guest skipperannie22]

We've had Lucy, a 2 year old greyhound for three months now. She's our 3rd greyhound and we've been fostering for 7 years now. Lucy broke her leg when she was a puppy, and never left the farm she was born on. We were told she had free reign to go in or out, was never kenneled and was never left alone - all after we adopted her.

This information came to light after she destroyed her kennel bedding while we were out for a few hours. I work from home, so she is near me all day, but when we leave to go out is the problem.

We kenneled her at first, during the night, but each night about 3am she woke us up whining, rooing and even barking.

we also had the kennel destruction incidents this first week and quickly realized the kennel was evil in her eyes. ok, so we had her on a dog bed in our room and she slept like a champ all night. Full circle back to when we leave. She essentially tore up the house with whatever she could chew or eat. The litter box, cat food, bird food and its bag, the garbage and recycling, anything on the cabinets, dining table, end tables. She was frantic when we got home, panting and crazy jumping - very distressed.

 

Here's what we've been doing so far, consistently:

she does not sleep or lay down in my home office any more. At first she slept right in the doorway, but now she's comfortable in the living room without seeing me.

We open and close the garage door, the back door, we grab our keys, I move my purse randomly throughout the day or evenings. This should help with De-sensitising her to the cues she's become accustomed to before we leave.

We do not pay her much attention 15 min or so before we leave.

we do not pay much attention to her when we come home.

I try not to pay too much attention to her during the workday.

We leave her with kongs stuffed with frozen peanut butter to keep her busy when we leave.

We have dog proofed our house now by closing off doors and using child proof devices on items she'd get into before.

I kennel her randomly for 10-15 min a couple of times a day.

we feed her in her kennel - she goes in on her own.

 

our goal is to get her comfortable in her kennel, for when we are gone and/or when we travel to relatives homes. We are learning this may not work with this dog, but she's still quite anxious when left alone.

one final note - she has always been with other greyhounds and when we've taken her to other houses with greyhounds, and they leave her with the other dogs - no problems at all. we are not a two dog house though.

if anyone has additional ideas or thoughts on what we can do to help her through this anxious time, I'd sure appreciate it.

Edited July 18, 2017 by skipperannie22

[greysmom]

All the things you are doing are good things. I would add in doing some structured Alone Training along with all the rest - you need to get her used to being alone, not only to all the things surrounding you leaving and returning. You can search this section of the forum for many threads about how to do Alone Training, and/or Patricia McConnell has a great book on the subject called "I'll Be Home Soon."

 

And, ultimately, you may need to consider that some dogs simply cannot be only dogs. The best thing for your girl might be to return her so that she can find a placement she can thrive in. That way, you can also find a dog who better fits your lifestyle. It's a hard thing to do, especially when you've already bonded with a dog, so I always say to consider that you've been a good foster home for her.

[JohnF]

They can mellow but it only happens gradually. I think rehoming to a family where there are other dogs is the answer if you can't allow her a companion in your own home. You will be upset more than the dog because once a home environment is right for them they very quickly settle in (like a week).

[3greytjoys]

Is there any possibility of fostering a longer-term, confident hound to help your new girl adapt to your home environment?

 

Your multi-Greyhound theory needs to be evaluated in your own home where she's already been living for 3 months, so you can determine if another dog truly offers her that much comfort during repeated alone time. Video or web-cam shows results. Otherwise, she's likely to be further affected by another move, another home, new people, new rules, etc. You already work from home, are Greyhound savvy, are more familiar with her behavior, etc.

 

When she's left alone (without another dog), consider using her basket muzzle to prevent her from damaging furniture, etc. Keep working on crate training while you're home, and alone training, but keep in mind that if she's super crate phobic, baby-gating her in the most used room could initially help reduce her heightened level of anxiety. Sometimes helps if you're able to depart house from a door that she can't physically reach (e.g., door on opposite side of a baby-gate).

 

If she doesn't gradually improve from your training efforts, consider getting a vet prescribed anti-anxiety medication to help enable her brain to be receptive to learn from alone training. Medications are not a substitute for alone training, but can be paired together effectively during the learning process. Meds. are meant to be used temporarily.

 

BTW, although very dangerous, many young dogs (aka: large puppies) destroy kennel bedding, especially if left alone a few hours before they've reached a multiple hours long tolerance threshold (not to mention needing more potty breaks when new dogs are feeling anxiety when left alone).

 

Most hounds improve greatly with time and patience.

 

 

[seeh2o]

I really agree with the muzzle. Carl couldn't be crated, he dismantled a wire create and meet me at the door, when I put the muzzle on him out made a huge difference. He stopped being destructive. Ultimately, though, I had to medicate him for a while. That and training helped him tremendously. Good luck!

[GeorgeofNE]

While I am a believer in crates for puppies (for housebreaking) and dogs who like crates, taking a 2 year old (who, despite all of our talk here on GT is in fact an adult dog) and attempting to get her used to a crate is going to be tough.

 

How much exercise is she getting?

[Guest skipperannie22]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. We have been using her basket muzzle now when we leave, along with the items I mentioned above. This has helped with the destruction of items as you can imagine, but she's still pretty distressed when we get home. I just went for a run and was gone 1:15 min, I left her un-muzzled and with a kong and other treat toys and when I pulled into the garage I could hear her barking and when I went into the house she jumps and jumps and nibbles/licks my hands constantly while I try to ignore her. the good part of that is nothing was destroyed, but she was still anxious being alone.

I will search "alone training" and see what I can find - thank you for that tip.

We have tentatively talked about finding her a new home through the GPA folks we got her from - one that has another dog, but that would break my heart...but maybe save my marriage? =)

and the meds...we've also talked about that but wanted to try it as a last resort. I guess I thought these were "forever" meds, but maybe just for awhile? I have her going to the vet next week so I'll ask more.

thank you again - I feel a little better now!

[greysmom]

Anxiety meds *may* be needed long term depending on your girl's level of anxiousness. You won't know until you try.

 

All the meds do is put her brain in a state to camly accept counter conditioning training. You will still need to do Alone Training and all the other things you've been doing throughout administering any medication. But just like with people, one drug may work better than another, and you may need to try a few to find the one that works for your dog. Most vets begin with Clomicalm, since that is a drug specifically approved for dogs. Other drugs that you can try are off label uses of human anti anxiety prescriptions. Benzodiazapines and tri cyclic anti depressants have been used for many years, but newer drugs like SSRIs and SNRIs are becoming more common and useful. Trazadone, which is a SARI, is the one which has helped dogs I have had the most.

 

FWIW, barking, jumping, and a bit of velcro-ness are all pretty normal reactions for a dog greeting, and wouldn't by itself indicate to me that she's anxious while alone. Could you hear her vocalizing from farther down the street, or have your neighbors reported hearing her while you're gone? Has she destroyed anything in the house since she's been left out of the crate and in a dog proofed the space?

[seeh2o]

I have always looked at behavioral medication like a tool. Similar to what Greysmom said, they reduce the dogs anxiety so they can learn/develop new coping skills. As a wise colleague of mine once said(she was a psychologist), "All new behavior is false". Under these circumstances, meaning new coping skills are "fake" or artificial behavior until they become habits. You get the dog on the meds, make sure it's one that works for that dog, put in the time working with the dog doing alone training, do this over a long enough time that it become an ingrained habit, wean the dog off (under a vet's supervision) and continue to monitor and reinforce. It is do-able! If I could do it with Carl, you can do it, too!