Dog unhappy on her own

[PoniesRock]

We have recently had to say goodbye to our older terrier which has meant that our younger dog - 18 months now has to be on her own at times when we’re at work. Luckily for her it’s not actually for long periods as she comes with me to some of my work but sometimes she does have to be left and she’s not happy about it. She’s never known life without our other dog and I don’t really know what to do about it. She has lots of toys, lots of chew sticks and she always has a decent amount of exercise before she’s left. But when we have videoed her she is unsettled and will randomly start barking and howling - Then settle back down for 20mins or so then kick off again for 5/10 mins. She was never a problem when we had our older dog too.

Any suggestions to help her much appreciated!

 

[nagblagger]

You know what we are going to say on here - get another dog. Any excuse to encourage someone to increase their animal count is always welcome.

Have you tried leaving a radio or tv on?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

The answer is obvious, I'm afraid - get her another dog for company

 

[Roxylola]

Yeah, I had this. I got my dog a puppy

 

[CorvusCorax]

Any reason you can't get another dog?

Unfortunately, unless you are very lucky, you need to condition dogs to being alone gradually, over weeks and months, nothing short-term will work.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I'm sorry about the loss of your older Terrier.

I would try an Adaptil diffuser first, to see if that could help your younger dog. But you said she's "never known life without our other dog", does that mean you always left them at home together? If you tried to train her to be home alone without the older dog, and it didn't work, in your shoes, I wouldn't want to make her dependent on a new dog, and would instead consider getting a kitten/cat as company for her, if the Adaptil doesn't help.

 

[PoniesRock]

We’re unfortunately not in a position to get another dog right now. What’s difficult is that she’s happy left in the car on her own, or in the stable when I go riding. It’s just at home on her own she’s unhappy.

 

[CorvusCorax]

If she's allowed run of the house currently, I'd maybe curtail her to a smaller part, make her a cosy den, leave the radio on etc. I always give my young dogs something yummy like chicken feet or a stuffed Kong or something when I leave, so they make a more positive association with me leaving. My old dog used to get excited when he heard the hairdryer, because it meant I was going to work soon, which meant he was getting fed treat her like a puppy, ideally you start with small amounts of time alone and then build it up, rather than just go straight to a full working day.

 

[Lacuna]

is a doggy sitter a possibility if you can't get a companion for her? I've never used it but there is a service like Borrow my Doggy?