Desperately need help with severe separation anxiety!

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welshies

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Sorry i have put this in the dog section but am desperate for lots of help so have posted here to!
My welsh springer suffers from extreme separation anxiety and i am absolutely despirate for help! What does everyone recommend? He is 5 years old on Monday and has never really been left. I have always been told welsh are not on there own dogs but it is pretty rediculous, we can't even leave him to pop up the village shop. He literally screams the place down! and i mean scream, not a bit of a cry or a whimper, it likens to the shreak of a new born baby! Plus he gets soooo distressed, the few occasions we have tried to leave him it takes ages for him to stop crying and shacking when you return, we worry he will make himself v ill if it was for too long. The main reason this has to stop now is my dad semi retired last year and now works 2-3 days a week. Before he retired he ran a shop and took pooch when he needed to when mom wasn't at home and always worked out great. Now he works part time somewhere else he is able to take him for the 1-2 days it clashes with mom working but (now we finally get to the prob sorry) we are due to get a new pup (hopefully) the end of march and dad gets the impression a pup wouldn't be poss at work!!!! How gutted am i! But it is going to happen, i am not giving up the pup due to such a stupid thing that needs soring anyway, it's not just work we aren't able to go anywhere without him any way! The pup is his daughter so is making me even more determined! My mom only works 5 hours a day and it would be for a max of 2 days a week, not too much to ask i don't think. The daft thing is all he does when he's at home is sleep! It would be great to get it sorted before little n comes home as he has enough bad habits to teach her without this one (only joking he's good really)! PLEASE HELP!!!!!! thanks
 
Wow thats a pickle you got there!
I would get someone professional in to help, as that really does sound truly awful. My young bitch is a bit clingy, I bred her myself, so she lives with her mum and dad, mum gets travel sick so they dont go out much in the car, but I do make an effort to get her out on her own, but when I leave her she barks for a bit.
Hope you get sorted and enjoy the puppy!
 
A friend of mine had a dog like yours with separation anxiety which stopped when they got another dog. you could seek help fron a canine behaviourist, they will be able to help. good luck
 
There are Natural calmers from DAP which you can plug into the wall and send out pheremones. You can get them from your vet... i would then just gradually increase the time you spend away, first can you leave him in a room by himself? maybe do that then next, you leave the house for 5 min, only coming back in if he has a brief moment of quiet.. then just really gradually increase it making a huge fuss of him when you come back in! I expect youve probably tried something like this but if not... as other people say an animal behaviourist will help you!
 
Perhaps you could not change his routine of going with your dad but teach the puppy to be left. We have a young mastiff and a JRT. The mastiff is left alone at night because he sleeps in the kitchen whilst JRT sleeps with my daughter (has done from birth), if we go out he is in kitchen she is in her own room or she is with my daughter at her dads. Because the JRT had an established routine we simply taught the mastiff when he arrived his new routine and stick to it. Your current dog is not the problem if his routine works for you all, it is just a case of giving the new pup a routine of it's own. Both ours are happy with their routines and know where they will be, the mastiff was a bit confused at first but they very soon get used to it. I hope this helps but the only other thing I can think of is a behaviourist as suggested by others.
 
Oh dear, sounds like quite a difficult situation. Personally I would get a proffesional to help you. Or perhaps you should contact that TV programme Dog Borstal or whatever its called
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I think it is possible the new pup will help but I would, if you can try and make a start on sorting it before the new one comes home. I am sure the vet will be able to point you in the direction of help.

Sorry not much help, but I do have my fingers crossed and hope it all works out for you.
 
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only coming back in if he has a brief moment of quiet.. then just really gradually increase it making a huge fuss of him when you come back in!

[/ QUOTE ]

I would highly suggest NOT making a fuss of him when you come in. This is what he is waiting for so you are only re-enforcing the problem. I would actually do the opposite and totally ignore him. See if you can find a copy of Victoria Stillwells book and see if it has anything about separation anxiety in it. If you still aren't getting anywhere I would go with a behaviourist (or see if you can get on It's Me or the Dog!)

Good Luck
 
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