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Hey guys, I am still having bad crate issues with Brodi and it
Help with severe separation anxiety
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Maybe your vet can help. The vet who works with the no-kill shelter here mentioned some kind of medication they give the dogs if the separation anxiety is off the charts.
I'm not big on medicating dogs, but if it's at that point, maybe just getting his nervous system calmed down temporarily you could work better with him. It has to be exhausting for both of you.
I'm not big on medicating dogs, but if it's at that point, maybe just getting his nervous system calmed down temporarily you could work better with him. It has to be exhausting for both of you.
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Wow Shari, I was hoping it was getting better...This is not good....I know Sully had some severe problems with Oggie, as bad as you...You might try PM'ng him for some advice....You can get some homeopathic remedies(i'm not fond of using meds either) that MAY help...Dr Fosters has some, the one I have heard good things about is Comfort Zone Plug In...It releases DAP(dog appeasing phernomes) that supposdly soothes...I am so sorry you are having such a problem and that you have been sick, makes things even worse...Get better sweetie and keep us posted, ok?
Wow Shari... I know being sick sure doesn't help the situation. Poor Brodi... and you for that matter. I've also heard of Comfort Zone Plug In being a good product. Contacting the vet would be good too so then you can see what your options are. I'm so sorry you're going through this, both of you. Please keep us posted... and feel better soon!
I definitely feel your pain! It's tough to say exactly what the next step is here, some more info might let us help you better. What is your and Brodi's schedule? Do you have a work schedule? Are you home a lot? How often is Brodi left alone? How long have you had him? Is Chloe crated?
Definitely sounds like SA, it's not a crate issue because he reacted the same way in the bathroom. Basically, the way to break this cycle starts even when you are home. You have to get Brodi to be comfortable enough alone in a room. I would forget the crate for now, its just a bad experience for him at this point. Don't let him be with you all the time. You don't have to leave the house, just leave the room/close the door. Start with 1 minute. Move up to 5 minutes. So on and so on. You get to the point where Brodi is able to chill out in the house without being next to you. Once he's comfortable with an hour or so, you can try leaving the house. Start small, check the mail, take out the trash, etc. The key is to return before his anxiety kicks in. If he's already at the panting/drooling stage, you were gone too long and try quicker times. Once you work up to 10 minutes alone, you can go for a drive for 20 mins. Ignore Brodi when you leave, and when you get back. Don't make a big deal out of greetings. Make it seem like you leave the all the time, and he won't be as anxious. Once you can leave him for 30 mins and he's ok, you are most likely on your way to freedom. SA is said to be at its worst within the first 30 minutes.
All of these exercises work best when the dog is tired. Get him exhausted. If he sleeps when you're not around, that is huge. Dogs are less anxious when they are tired, and if you can get him tired and sleep while you're gone, suddenly being alone isn't a bad experience. Doggie daycare can really help with this stuff too, even just once a week. It helped Oggie a lot. Without knowing any more of the background info, thats my advice for now. Let me know if theres more to the story. Good luck!
Definitely sounds like SA, it's not a crate issue because he reacted the same way in the bathroom. Basically, the way to break this cycle starts even when you are home. You have to get Brodi to be comfortable enough alone in a room. I would forget the crate for now, its just a bad experience for him at this point. Don't let him be with you all the time. You don't have to leave the house, just leave the room/close the door. Start with 1 minute. Move up to 5 minutes. So on and so on. You get to the point where Brodi is able to chill out in the house without being next to you. Once he's comfortable with an hour or so, you can try leaving the house. Start small, check the mail, take out the trash, etc. The key is to return before his anxiety kicks in. If he's already at the panting/drooling stage, you were gone too long and try quicker times. Once you work up to 10 minutes alone, you can go for a drive for 20 mins. Ignore Brodi when you leave, and when you get back. Don't make a big deal out of greetings. Make it seem like you leave the all the time, and he won't be as anxious. Once you can leave him for 30 mins and he's ok, you are most likely on your way to freedom. SA is said to be at its worst within the first 30 minutes.
All of these exercises work best when the dog is tired. Get him exhausted. If he sleeps when you're not around, that is huge. Dogs are less anxious when they are tired, and if you can get him tired and sleep while you're gone, suddenly being alone isn't a bad experience. Doggie daycare can really help with this stuff too, even just once a week. It helped Oggie a lot. Without knowing any more of the background info, thats my advice for now. Let me know if theres more to the story. Good luck!
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I don
I can relate, I work from home and I believe that is a big factor in developing SA. A puppy especially gets used to being around all the time and they panic when they are alone. I think the exercises I stated above will help you, it worked for me. It can take several weeks though so you have to be patient. Oggie used to go crazy in the crate, he'd drool, eliminate all over it, ignore all treats/toys, and bite the wires. I stopped the crate, worked on the SA (above), and now he basically gets free roam of the house and can be left for hours alone if need by. If you have to drive regularly in the meantime, I would bring him with you. You don't have a basement, a garage, a porch, a free room to leave him in? Because if you can get him comfortable in one room, that should be the room you leave him. I mean if you practice these exercises in the living room and he chills out on the couch, it's not going to work if you lock him up in the laundry room. That's not his comfort zone. It's going to take time, but in the meantime, I would take him with you as much as possible until you can gradually build up his alone time comfort level.
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I don't have anything new to add, but we have one with these kind of issues. She would poop, pee, vomit and head bang (until her head was bleeding) in her crate. We tried a separate room, too and she broke through the door! The vet wanted to put her on Prozac! We didn't do that, but we did try keeping her with us as much as possible for a while. That helped. We now just leave her out (free roaming in the house with certain rooms off limits) with lots of chew toys and the TV on. She occasionally will break or chew something she is not supposed to, but she has stopped the peeing and pooping.
Good luck. It is hard to see your dogs hurting like that.
Good luck. It is hard to see your dogs hurting like that.
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