Separation Anxiety

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nativepony

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Our 13 month lurcher suffers really badly from SA from my husband. If I'm there and he goes out she paces the house whining then stands at the gate waiting for him to come home. If she is left on her own she wrecks the house and has chewed sofas, tables etc. This was even if she'd had a really good off lead run and was left with Kongs/chews etc. We are now crating her whenever she has to be left and you can hear her whining from outside the front door when you come home - she is so anxious she won't even eat her favourite chews if you leave them in the crate with her.

I think all this stems from the fact that my husband works mainly from home so she is very attached both to him and someone being with her all day (we've had her from 9 weeks) but obviously he does have to go out sometimes.

So, really the question is do you think another dog would help her, we've been vaguely thinking about getting a JRT (her favourite breed of dog!) but don't want to make matters worse by having two of them to worry about!

Any advice appreciated
 
I had extactly the same problem with my rescue dog. I made the mistake of taking 2 weeks off work to get him to settle in, then of course I had to go to work. He wrecked everything he could including going right through the back door. I would totally recommend getting another dog, but you need to put a few things in place so that the new dog doesn't pick up her habits of worrying & she learns off them. Encourage your husband to not have the dog with him all day just putting her out in the garden for a bit on her own or in another room, which is where another dog comes in handy as they will play & occupy each other, it will take a while & a very slow process, just 5 mins to start with. If the dog currently sleeps in your room then try to slowly move her bed outside the room & then finally downstairs. I have also invested in a big outside run & kennel (a crate just stressed my dog out so much) that I put the dogs in if we have to go out during the day, then if they chew it doesn't matter, but they have got used to the fact that if they go in there we won't be to long, if we are out all day we get someone else to let them out & spend time with them. I don't put them out there at night but I go through their bedtime routine, wee's, bedtime treat etc & then when they have settled we go out they are usually fast asleep none the wiser we have been out. If you get another dog then you both need to spend time with each of them so niether one gets too attached to either of you.
Good Luck
 
I would not advise another dog just yet, instead I would send more time takling the seperation issues.
You say the dog is crated when you are out, but is the dog crated at all when you are IN? this is the biggest issues with SA,I only last night visited a home where they are having the same isues wit their puppy husky x akita, and she was deficating all over herself through sheer anxiety when left in her crate and destroying the house when left out.
The couple never had her spend any time in the crate when they where in, she spent all her time with them, so my advise was to crate her when they are in for periods of time, so she does not always assosiate the crate with them dissapearing, I advise tire her out and place her in, and dont release her until she is quiet, when you do, dont fuss or praise just let her straight to the garden as this will be her new routine, as before they would come in release her and make a huge fuss of her, hence she would then anticipate their return.
She slept in their room at night, so I advise if they still want to do this get crate number 2 and crate her in the bedroom, so once again she is with u, but crated at the same time, this will make it alot easier to use the downstairs crate as she will not distinguish between the 2.
The girl placed her in the crate which they keep downstairs as I requested whilst I was there and she went straight to sleep:D, so this is their new routine, she is crated for periods when they are in aswell as out, kong can be left or pigs ears/butchers bone and she must always be tired out physically, they will not as you suggest eat when anxious but she may begin to when u are there, so def give her the kong when you are there and see what she does, if you can crate her where u are most, or sit in the area the crate is to start with until she is settled, then introduce a cover, so she can no longer see if youare there and leave the radio on, also may be worth investing in a Dap diffuser to help with the anxiety, and never greet her when u come home, do so after she has been out to the garden and keep it low key.
It can be done, I have crate trained hundreds of rescue dogs that have never been crated before in their lives or left alone, you just need a good routine.
Another good seperation tatic whilst u are in, is having her spend time in the kitchen with a baby gate on, again it's all about her spending time in her own space/area when u are in the home, to prepare for when you leave the home.
 
What I do with my fosters with SA is this...

- Always carry keys around with me for a while - they stop associating the key jingle with you leaving
- Periodically go and put your coat on, only to take it off again - again stopping the association with you leaving
- Go as if you are walking to the door to leave and immediately walk back.
- Repeat until she shows no reaction.
- Then walk through the door and back out again.
- Again repeat until she shows no reaction
- Gradually increase the time - 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes and so on.
- She should eventually get less anxious when she realises you are coming back every time

I have never used a crate although I know they can be very useful - only pointing this out to show it can be done without one. I do limit the roam space though to one room so its just a very big crate I guess?

How long is her exercise by the way? A tired dog is a contented dog. A good hour of off lead exercise before you go out to work should have her tired enough to sleep for a good while :) Some dogs though may need longer - I find collies in particular need 2-3 hours of intensive exercise to tire them.
 
Grrr I type too slow - edited and it wouldn't let me post and now its gone...

I've just reread your post and seen you have lurchers - I have two. I've found the best tiring exercise is allowing them to play chase with other dogs (with the owners permission of course). Other owners love my two as they tire other dogs out very quickly making a walk easy for other owners lol.

One thing I had to address with my two is diet - they really struggle with high protein commercial food (and Bakers is the worst!). I switched them over to a working dog food (Dr Johns) with 18% protein maximum as a filler and they now get their protein from humongous butchers bones. My dogs aren't interested in treats, kongs, chews or the like but will happily munch through a bone the size of their head over the course of a day. The real bonus is that they are free from the butchers :)

Have you joined Lurcher Link forum? They are an invaluable source of advice and support. They are a charity that rehomes lurchers and its almost like a doggy dating page - the dogs all live with fosterers so aren't kennel sour (and any behaviours addressed) and the fosterer gives quite a lengthy progress thread. They have a wonderful trainer/behaviouralist called Jim Greenwood (I think he has a website) and they frequently do regional group clinics to cut down the cost :) They also arrange lure coursing and race days which usually involve food and baking :) They are a lovely bunch - have a look :)
 
Thank you - all of you. Some really sound advice and I will most definately follow it and let you know how we get on. Not too bad this evening - my husband has gone out and she went and stood by the gate for about 15 mins then came in and is now fast asleep on the sofa!
 
Dear lord I just checked my post and the spelling is shocking:eek:" must learn to be in less of a rush and type slower:rolleyes:
Why have we never seen piccies of your lurcher NP?:rolleyes: gazey is always looking for lurcher owners to fend of the spaniel owners:D
I have 9 dogs and 4 of them are lurchers:eek:
As suggested it can be done without the crate, but I always use them, not for mine but for the rescues, for 1 they are more a safety mechanism, as I am not luckily enough to have one dog at a time, and I take alot of aggressive dogs on to rehab, but also as a big rescue we have limited time to train and rehome for the next arrivals:D
Good luck and piccies please:rolleyes:
 
CAYLA here she is

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Oh wow, my OH would steal her, she is stunning I think you should do a seperate post and head it "to gazey cayla said you would like this" Im not a spangle owner u see inside:D:D
 
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