[Lizcantjump]

So I'm thinking that Baz is showing some pretty serious signs of seperation anxiety.  He won't leave my side I mean more then normal.  He knows we feed him his lunch or dinner an hour before we leave and he won't eat his food.  I've even tried to sit next to his food bowl.  He seems almost lathargic, I gets tuckered out at daycare but it seems to be deeper then just being tired from playing.  I'm not sure what to do about this.  I don't want to nurture this behavior but I also don't want to reject him.  I'm so confused.  
Thanks!

 

[boxerlove]

Our Calli was had seperation anxiety but we were able to correct most of it with a crate.  She just felt safe in it and it worked wonders for us.  We were also in a situation that we didn't have to leave her for too long at a time so that helped.

Could it be something at the daycare that is making Baz uncomfortable?  Does he go every day?  How does he do in a crate?  It might be a phase that he will get better with.  I know our Teaki REALLY hates to be left alone but she does so much better with another boxer here with her.  Zig is still caged when we leave for longer periods but Teaki will just lay by his cage and is okay.  Sorry not much help here!

 

[Lizcantjump]

Baz seems to love daycare, the only signs that he might be uncomfortable there is that his poo becuase runny.  I figured it was just too much excitement.  He doesn't go everyday, I only work there twice a week and he goes with me as long as it isn't too cold or too muddy.  
Baz doesn't like the crate it's the worst place in the world to him.  If we weren't in an appartment I would let him free in the house while we were gone.  It's always a struggle to get him in there.  He knows when we are getting ready to leave and he'll hide his head under the blankets.  I'm not quite sure how to get him use to being in the crate.  He's just not happy in there, he loves to be with us all the time.

 

[sully]

He goes to daycare but he never leaves your side?  I'm confused.  

My boy spent 24/7 with me for most of his early life.  I wasn't surprised when he had separation issues.  Dogs get used to whatever hand is dealt to them.  If they are with you all the time, they get used to that.  If they are alone sometimes, they get used to that too.

 

[Lizcantjump]

See I work at Doggy Daycare, so he hangs out with me there.  When I am working away from the pack he crys and wants to be with me.  He'll hop up and down at the door with a window to watch what I am doing.  When he plays at daycare he'll always look back at me to make sure I'm there, but he fits in really well with the pack.  Sorry about that! I didn't realize that I didn't make it clear that I work at daycare.

 

[sully]

Oh that's funny.....b/c to me daycare is a good way to treat separation anxiety!  I was confused.  I'm actually trying to put my boy in daycare once or twice a week so he's not so attached to me.  See I work from home, he spends 24/7 with me.  He's the best dog in the world but he hates being alone.  I tried to crate train him from the beginning.  Everytime I left him in there, I'd come home and have scrub the crate, floor, and walls with bleach and pinesol.  So yeah, I know SA.   :lol:

I realized he was just too used to being with me all the time so I gradually started gating off part of the house so he couldn't follow me everywhere.  That was a good start.  Then I left him alone for 10 mins....then 20....so on and so on.  Then I would make it part of the daily routine to leave the house everyday for 30 minutes.  I abandoned the crate, I just left him free in part the house.  He's fine now.  I've left him for an entire Patriots game (tailgating included) and he's fine alone.  One time he did chew part of the couch so I've gated off that area, but basically he just sleeps and chills out.  

I never thought I'd be able to leave him home alone.  Even now he whimpers when I leave the room sometimes.  He's just a spoiled puppy.  But they learn....

 

[Lizcantjump]

Maybe we should try leaving him alone in the apartment.  What is a good way to make the apartment "Baz proof" I'm worried about the trashes that's all. I don't want to come home to trash everywhere.  We could lock them up in the bathroom... he gets into the bathroom trash when we take showers! That's the only reason I'm worried about it!  I could give it a try tonight when we go out to eat.  Do you think that's a good idea?  
My Fiance works from home 4 days a week so Baz is kind of use to someone always being here or going to Daycare with me.  When I was going to college I would be gone for a few hours and then come back for a few hours and that didn't seem to be awful, I should talk to my neighbors about it, see how long he cries and if they even notice.  I would notice I can hear it all the way around the corner!

 

[sully]

If I put Oggie in the crate, he immediately starts drooling, panting, and barking.  If I just leave him in the house, he curls up and goes to sleep.  It's amazing.  My advice is to leave him in a room that he's comfortable with.  You can't expect him to hang out in the living room/bedroom when you're home all the time, and then leave him in the basement or the bathroom.  They don't like being confined to a small area that they aren't normally confined to.  So if you can create a "dog proof" area, and it's not a normal area for him, I would start making an effort to have him hang out in that area as much as possible when you are home.  That way when you leave, it's not a big shock.  Oggie is fine if I just leave him as he is, in the area he is comfortable with.  But if I gate off the bathroom and stick him in there, he'd freak out.  You want to make that deparature as little of a disruption as possible.

 

[Lizcantjump]

I think I confused you again I am so bad a getting my thoughts across, it's my worst problem! I wasn't saying I'd lock Baz in the bathroom just all the trash can in the apartment! So trash doesn't get everywhere.  I figure Baz would be just like Oggie as long as the trash cans are out of the picture.  I figure he would sleep on the couch or on the bed, I just am nervous if he sees this as an opportunity to "investigate" the areas we wouldn't actually let him "investigate"

 

[Lizcantjump]

Re: update on seperation anxiety

Happy Update! Last night we left Baz out in our living room and he did very well nothing was out of place.  We were gone for and hour and a half he cried for a few seconds and we corrected him and then nothing... as far was we know! I'm really really happy with this. Tonight we have a family Christmas dinner so we'll leave him out quite a bit longer and see how it goes!
Thanks everyone for all the help!

 

[samsonsmom]

That's great news! It will take time, but believe me Baz will get used to not being with you all the time....Samson was a lot like that actually, my fault cos I took him with me everywhere so he got bent out of shape when he got left home...Now that we have Angel, it isn't so bad