I have a 14 months old german shepherd, Chief. He has separation anxiety and we dont know how to overcome this.
We let him roam the house, but then he began to destroy everything in site. Even after dog proofing the house, he still managed to find soemthing to get into.
We had a cage for him, which he had bent the wires, crys all the time when he is in it, broke one of his teeth, and broke the metal welding on the cage to the point where he could escape with it being closed. He was only put in the cage when we left the house.
since he destroyed that cage we threw it out and let him roam the house again. And he began to destroy the house yet again. We put him on separation anxiety pills and it helped for a while and then we got him fixed. Now we are in dog training and the trainer told us to try crating him again and put him back on the pills. So we have a crate but he doesnt see it as a "den" like he should.
We take him for 45 min walks before he goes in and fill up two kongs with peanut butter and give him a bone. We feed him in there and yet he does not go in it to lay down voluntarily. Now does he seem happy to lay in it.
He currently has his cage opened to him whenever he wants to go in and when we leave the house he roams the house and has asscess to his crate. I do not want to crate him for the rest of his life when we are at work and i dont want him to stay on his pills forever either.
If anyone knows some actually tips that can help me cure this lovable dog, make his crate more appealing to him or either stop his destructive behavior while we are away, that would be great! thanks!
max time he is left alone is 4 hours
Recommended Answer:
The first step is to trust your dog to be good when you go out. The second step is to leave him in the crate sometimes. When you're at home leave him in the crate. Treat him when he goes for a set amount of time without being anxious. Gradually increase this time. After a while start leaving the house for short amounts of time. Gradually increase these periods. If you come home and everything is fine, praise him. A LOT.
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We let him roam the house, but then he began to destroy everything in site. Even after dog proofing the house, he still managed to find soemthing to get into.
We had a cage for him, which he had bent the wires, crys all the time when he is in it, broke one of his teeth, and broke the metal welding on the cage to the point where he could escape with it being closed. He was only put in the cage when we left the house.
since he destroyed that cage we threw it out and let him roam the house again. And he began to destroy the house yet again. We put him on separation anxiety pills and it helped for a while and then we got him fixed. Now we are in dog training and the trainer told us to try crating him again and put him back on the pills. So we have a crate but he doesnt see it as a "den" like he should.
We take him for 45 min walks before he goes in and fill up two kongs with peanut butter and give him a bone. We feed him in there and yet he does not go in it to lay down voluntarily. Now does he seem happy to lay in it.
He currently has his cage opened to him whenever he wants to go in and when we leave the house he roams the house and has asscess to his crate. I do not want to crate him for the rest of his life when we are at work and i dont want him to stay on his pills forever either.
If anyone knows some actually tips that can help me cure this lovable dog, make his crate more appealing to him or either stop his destructive behavior while we are away, that would be great! thanks!
max time he is left alone is 4 hours
5 Tips to Choose Effective Dog Training Courses
Recommended Answer:
The first step is to trust your dog to be good when you go out. The second step is to leave him in the crate sometimes. When you're at home leave him in the crate. Treat him when he goes for a set amount of time without being anxious. Gradually increase this time. After a while start leaving the house for short amounts of time. Gradually increase these periods. If you come home and everything is fine, praise him. A LOT.
Small Dog Training Advice
- Well thats a little tough. I take my dog to training classes which makes a HUGE difference for them since they are using their minds and are tired after training. He sounds bored and he needs more stimulation. Take him off those pills, there is no point in them. Crating your dog his whole life is a good idea and in no way is bad. Your dog needs to realize that the crate is a safe a quiet place for him so get a large wire crate that he can see out of and cannot destroy. Start slowly and reward him for going into his crate and reward randomly. Every time he displays good behaviour reward him. Give him large bones to chew on in his crate while your gone to keep him busy, but not rawhide, they can choke. Never put any toys that he can destroy in his crate to avoid choking as well. Discourage him from chewing or touching anything he isn't supposed to have. Its all about reinforcement. Make sure he get a ton of exercise before you leave the house and when you get home THIS IS KEY. He's bored and needs to be tired out, they are working dogs and are bred to be energetic. Walks are not exercise but running after a ball for an hour or make him pull you on rollerblades or a bike. You can also put weights on his back (in special vests) that will make him work harder on a walk. Just make sure he gets out and get lots of work both mentally and physically. Train him and exercise him for at least two hours a day, if you don't you will always have problems. Hope this helps!
By the way it doesn't sound like separation anxiety, its definitely that he is just bored and not worked hard enough. Working class dogs need more than walks, its just like us sitting on a couch for 45 mins, it does nothing for them they need to run and be worked mentally. - Desensitize Your Dog To Your Getting-Ready-To-Go Cues
Figure out what begins your dog's anxiety. Is it when you put on your work shoes? Brush your hair? Pick up your keys? Find the earliest item in your getting-ready-to-go sequence that makes your dog anxious. Then practice doing that action, over and over again, until your dog is no longer anxious about it. For example, put on your work shoes, then take them off, then put them on again, over and over. You don't need to talk to your dog or do anything else special. Act just like you do every morning when you put on those shoes. When your dog is no longer anxious when you put on your shoes, move to the next step in your normal morning sequence; perhaps brushing your hair. (Note that if your dog's anxiety does not decrease after several repetitions, you are probably not working on the first item in your getting-ready-to-go sequence, and you'll need to back up).
Repeat this exercise several times a day (5-10 times if possible), starting each sequence at a time when the dog is relaxed. Do NOT repeat the exercise if your dog seems MORE anxious when you start, or if he can't settle down in between repetitions, or if he follows and watches you MORE between exercises.
You will have to spend a LOT of time with the early items in your getting-ready-to-go sequence, but as your dog learns to deal with this sort of thing, it will get easier. Opening up the front door (presumably the last item in your getting-ready-to-go sequence) will take fewer repetitions than the first item (putting on work shoes, in this example).
Practice Short-Enough Absences
When you've worked through your whole getting-ready-to-go sequence and your dog is no longer anxious, you're ready for your first absence session. Up to now, your dog with separation anxiety has associated absences with intense anxiety. The dog has to now learn to associate absences with a lack of anxiety, or calmness. You and the dog will practice being apart from each other for very short lengths of time - the time that your dog can handle - and you will gradually practice longer and longer lengths.
So you've gone through your whole getting-ready-to-go sequence, and your dog is not yet anxious (if your dog is anxious, you are not ready to do any absences. Go over repeating the sequence items until your dog is calm about them). Now you're ready for your first very short absence. First you're going to want to give your dog some signal that this is just a "practice session". This could involve asking the dog to stay in a different area (such as the pen or room you practiced in), leaving a radio on, even spraying a certain scent in the air. This becomes a "practice cue" or a "safety cue".
Walk out the door, shut it behind you, lock it, and then turn around, unlock it, and come back in. Don't make a fuss over the dog. Repeat. When your dog is not anxious, lengthen your absence to 2 seconds. Repeat until your dog is not anxious. Lengthen your absences to 3 seconds, with occasional 1-second absences. Repeat until your dog is not anxious. Continue with this process, gradually increasing the length of time you are gone. Every once in a while practice a shorter session - you don't want the dog to learn that each absence will be longer, as this might make him more anxious. Gradually increase the average length of time of your absence until the dog is alone for longer than your normal absence. (although some researchers write that two hours is a benchmark, after which the dog may be able to handle significantly longer time.) Yes, that means you will NOT be able to really leave the dog alone in the "safety zone" for longer than you've successfully practiced. Keep your dog in the old place where you had him wait, and/or hire a dog sitter, etc.
It might help to set up some cues that the dog will not be alone for longer than he can handle, in other words, that this is just a practice session. Do you normally leave the radio or TV on when you're home? If you do, the silence when you're gone is a good indicator that the dog is alone. During this training, set up a cue that says "this is just a practice", such as the sound of the radio or a Mozart CD that you leave on "repeat" on the CD player. When you really do leave, you will continue to play this same cue - the dog will always believe that this is just a practice session.
Note: Some medications, such as the tricyclic antidepressants, buspirone and benzodiazepines (possibly clomipramine hydrochloride, "Clomicalm" or amitryptalline), may help your dog get over his anxiety. These MUST be prescribed by a knowledgeable veterinarian. However, some of these may take a few weeks to take effect, so you will need to make sure the medications are in effect before you try to use them in combination with the desensitization. The medications will not work in the long-term without the desensitization/counter-conditioning work - the process of teaching the dog how to deal with
