Lola Had A Meltdown

[LaFlaca]

Last Sunday, I had to have a sleep study so I spent the night at the sleep lab.

Lola stayed home with DH. I was gone less than 12 hours. When I got home, DH told me that Lola had a total meltdown; whining, pacing, leaping at the front door and even mouthing the doorknob. She just could not be comforted. This went on for hours. He crated her and she broke out of the crate twice.

 

I have read Patricia McConnell's "I'll Be Home Soon!" and will begin intensive S.A. training immediately.

 

Any advice will be supremely appreciated. I hate the thought of my sweet Lola suffering so much not to mention poor DH loosing a night's sleep and feeling so helpless to comfort his girl.

[XTRAWLD]

This is very strange to happen even when someone else is in the house! My goodness!

[krissy]

This is very strange to happen even when someone else is in the house! My goodness!

 

I have read Patricia McConnell's "I'll Be Home Soon!" and will begin intensive S.A. training immediately.

 

It's a bit weird that it was so extreme, but I don't think it's necessarily weird that it happened, and I don't think it necessarily means that your dog has true separation anxiety. Is she okay when you guys leave during the day?

 

My dogs are fine being left alone when we go out, but when I am away (I don't come home at night), they become agitated. Not to the degree that you described with Lola, but my boyfriend definitely notices that they're not normal. We baby gate the dogs into our bedroom at night, and they will stand at the baby gate and stare down the hallway at the door until he turns out the light and tells them to go to bed, and if there is any noise in the night they will be up and at the gate watching the door again. They could care less if he doesn't show up by bedtime though because I'm their person.

 

So it could be that your dog has separation anxiety, or it could be that she was upset by a very obvious and potentially alarming change in her life. She is used to you coming and going during the day and maybe into the evening... but not coming home at night has never happened before. Set up a camera and watch her during the day while you're at work. If she's stressed or agitated, you have a separation anxiety dog on your hands. If she's fine... I'll bet it was the fact that you vanished overnight.

[LaFlaca]

I am retired so therefore at home more than working folks. This may contribute to the problem. Lola is crated when I go out; probably no more than 4 hours at a time. I've been told that she vocalizes for a while then settles down. She definitely dislikes the crate but gets into mischief if left loose mostly knocking knick knacks down. Lola is not an anxious or spooky dog so this behavior is disturbing.

[greysmom]

Separation anxiety is *usually* from being left alone (duh). But it can also occur as a separation from a person, as krissy described above. Your leaving coupled with your leaving at a weird time of day, probably was more than she could handle.

 

I would not be surprised if she now has trouble being crated. Any work you can do to make the crate a good - or at least acceptable - thing again will be good. Otherwise she may really injure herself trying to get out. I would definitely be monitoring her to see how she reacts when left alone if I was in your situation. Ideas: Feeding her in her crate, having really yummy chews or long lasting treats in her crate, some short (very short) sessions in-and-out of the crate while you're home followed by a really yummy treat and playtime wth you.

 

And you might force yourself to leave the house a little more often for a while. Believe me, I know how difficult that is! Both DH and I are retired and we seldom do anything out of the house - certainly not together! One of us is almost always home with the dogs. We brought Felicity home in June and we haven't actually left her home alone (with the other dogs) yet!

[LaFlaca]

Separation anxiety is *usually* from being left alone (duh). But it can also occur as a separation from a person, as krissy described above. Your leaving coupled with your leaving at a weird time of day, probably was more than she could handle.

 

I would not be surprised if she now has trouble being crated. Any work you can do to make the crate a good - or at least acceptable - thing again will be good. Otherwise she may really injure herself trying to get out. I would definitely be monitoring her to see how she reacts when left alone if I was in your situation. Ideas: Feeding her in her crate, having really yummy chews or long lasting treats in her crate, some short (very short) sessions in-and-out of the crate while you're home followed by a really yummy treat and playtime wth you.

 

And you might force yourself to leave the house a little more often for a while. Believe me, I know how difficult that is! Both DH and I are retired and we seldom do anything out of the house - certainly not together! One of us is almost always home with the dogs. We brought Felicity home in June and we haven't actually left her home alone (with the other dogs) yet!

 

I 100% agree with this. You are correct...she is now hesitant to get in her crate. I've begun doing exactly what you say - tossing in high value treats and loaded Kongs. Still she hesitates to enter. Once she does and starts munching, I close the door for 3 minutes then let her out. I also step outside frequently for brief periods and give lots of praise if she waits calmly.

[KickReturn]

I will double down on the crate issue. My vote would be to get rid of the crate and move the "knick knacks" out of reach. Dog proof the whole place. Lola is telling you the crate causes her stress. As much as she wants to please you it may be too much for her to handle no matter how appealing you make it. And IMO, a dog that breaks out of a crate should never be in one.

 

Second issue. How much does DH walk Lola? If he doesn't, maybe doing so would really change things between them. Indeed it is strange for a dog to get so desperate with a person present.

Edited October 12, 2017 by KickReturn

[LaFlaca]

I will double down on the crate issue. My vote would be to get rid of the crate and move the "knick knacks" out of reach. Dog proof the whole place. Lola is telling you the crate causes her stress. As much as she wants to please you it may be too much for her to handle no matter how appealing you make it. And IMO, a dog that breaks out of a crate should never be in one.

 

Second issue. How much does DH walk Lola? If he doesn't, maybe doing so would really change things between them. Indeed it is strange for a dog to get so desperate with a person present.

Just last night, as I was going over this situation in my mind, I had the same thought; eliminate the crate and baby gate Lola into a safe area.

 

DH accompanies Lola and me on the evening walk but does not walk her himself, per se. He does love on her and she routinely seeks him out for affection.

[DocsDoctor]

Just last night, as I was going over this situation in my mind, I had the same thought; eliminate the crate and baby gate Lola into a safe area.

 

DH accompanies Lola and me on the evening walk but does not walk her himself, per se. He does love on her and she routinely seeks him out for affection.

I would encourage you to ask DH to walk her, groom her, and most of all feed her some of the time. All those are things that will encourage her to think of him as another caregiver, who is competent to look after her in your absence.

[GeorgeofNE]

I would also suggest getting rid of the crate.

 

One good thing about having cats in my household is I'm already pretty much "puppy proofed" since cats walk wherever and I just don't keep anything I can't stand to see broken out in the open, just in case.

 

George would cry the ENTIRE time I was gone if I left him with my parents when I visited them if I dared do something like go on a walk without him. He adored them both, and they had two dogs. Didn't matter. I wasn't there and therefore he felt he had to vocalize his displeasure. I noticed when my FATHER described his behavior, it always sounded worse than when my mother described it. I assume mothers have a higher whining tolerance than men??

[LaFlaca]

All excellent advice...thank you! Lola and I are going to the park and to PetSupermarket in a few minutes after which I've got to go do groceries. We'll try the baby gate and see what happens.

[cleptogrey]

I would encourage you to ask DH to walk her, groom her, and most of all feed her some of the time. All those are things that will encourage her to think of him as another caregiver, who is competent to look after her in your absence.

that's exactly what my response is. i did this with my dogs, now i have a permanent get out of feeding card and love it! DH has really bonded with the dogs as well. As to gates, when a dog wants out they will- my 24# welsh terrier destroyed or knocked down gates when he didn't want to be kept away from the gang. i personally would NOT put the crate away, use is as her bed- with the door open. If Lola has been fine in the crate, then hopefully this is a one time episode that will not occur again. Also, can the crate be relocated into the bedroom? That could help.

[LaFlaca]

I have begun an intensive "alone" training program with Lola. So far, I can stay outside for a whole 10 seconds before she starts howling. <sigh> Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.