Separation Anxiety

[Brew11]

Hi, I am new to the forum and desperately need some help. About a month ago we got a new puppy. His name is Brewster, he is 7 months old, and he is a Min Pin/Chihuahua mix. We have gotten phone calls from angry neighbors and also calls from the management at our apartment complex because EVERY TIME we leave he barks and howls for the entire time; whether it be 10 minutes or 5 hours. He is kennel trained and often goes in his kennel on his own. I've tried putting on of our recently worn shirts in there, a blanket over the kennel, a Kong toy with treats and peanut butter in it, various other toys, and taking him for walks before we leave. I'm afraid if we don't get the problem corrected, we will be forced to get rid of him. I don't want to give up on him, but I can't keep putting my neighbors through this. Please help me so I can keep my baby!!!

[Karen]

Have you done any obedience training with him? Separation anxiety can be tricky to combat, but it can be done. It is probably best to work with a trainer experienced with it. How do you react when coming home? How about when you leave? Do you know what his history was before you got him? How much exercise does he get daily? (Knowing a tired puppy is a good puppy ...)

[luvofallhorses]

First of all welcome! When you leave DON'T make a big scene just say bye when you put him in his crate to leave. Give him something to chew on, a tiny dog kong filled with peanut butter or something. Put the music on low when you leave. Some dogs are more prone to SA than others. Do not baby him to death either, that can trigger SA when you leave also. Plus you just got him, it takes dogs time to adjust.

[B&Baussies]

Hey just so you know this is a pretty common problem with pet owners, so try not to stress too much over it (I know easier said than done with all the angry calls). It's important that you remain very calm and neutral when leaving your residence, you don't want to give your dog the impression that something is wrong because they will pick up on that and they will act out accordingly.

What I would recommend you try first as far as treatment, would be to lock the dog up in a kennel in the next room (or just keep the dog in the room in general, the point being the dog needs to be isolated). Then turn on the TV, Radio, whatever you do normally in your free time that makes noise (preferably human voices speaking not singing, it's just an easy transition) but whatever you decide to use for the white noise keep it in the other room with you, away from the dog. Also keep the volume on whatever you normally have it, the key is to make the dog think that the only thing that has changed is that fact that it is in a different room. If you change too many variables or add too many anomalies your dog will be suspicious and might start to associate things you don't want them to. What you’re hoping to accomplish from this is have your dog either associate the white noise with you being close by or the sound of people talking will sooth and comfort him instead of feeling lonely. Dogs are very prone to codependence problems due to their pack (family) mentality; keep that in mind when dealing with any problems that might come up.

You'll need to be home the first couple times you try this, do not do this and leave because then the dog will start to associate all this with you leaving and it will get more counterproductive the more it gets reinforced. Instead wait it out for an hour or so (I'd say an hour min but you be the judge according to how much you leave), just do what you normally do during that hour. If the dog starts to cry out then give it minute (not too long obviously cause of angry neighbors) after that go comfort the dog. Just so it knows that you didn't leave. After it has calmed down then leave: isolating the dog again. Just repeat this till the dog can go the full hour without crying out.

If all has been successful so far then I would try using this same technique for small trips to start off with, errands and so on. If you make the jump from an hour to let’s say an eight hour shift at work, your dog has seven hours to put two and two together. Even if it does not the first day there is a good chance that the irregularity of the time spent in the kennel will cause the dog to test you by whining at which point you won't be there to reinforce everything. The key to a more permanent retention is consistency as well as variability. By staying home the first few times and reinforcing the ideas that you came back, and that you were within ear shot accounts for the consistency. The variability is harder to predict (obviously), but that why you make it a gradual transition.

Also notify your neighbors and management that you are trying to deal with the problem, I doubt you'll get any sympathy from management but as far as your neighbors; I know some people hear barking and whining from the dog next-door and don't really consider the fact that the owner is trying to fix it. I would just leave a note on their door explaining the situation and apologizing for all the noise, hopefully some of them will be sympathetic enough to at least stop calling management long enough to get it resolved. Maybe you could ask them to leave a note on the door if the dog was being disruptive so you can respond accordingly when you see the dog. If a note is left I recommend acting completely neutral towards the dog. If you act negatively the dog will probably not understand why, and if you act positively you will be essentially shooting yourself in the foot. No petting, no praising, no punishment but seem upset in the way you present yourself. Believe me they think it is completely bizarre when you do this and they will go out of their way to figure out what makes you act that way. Keep up the charade for a few minutes if you do try it, if you do it too long they will just assume you are upset about something else. (but will probably remain intrigued by your odd attitude)

Lastly I would like to talk about the psychological state of the dog to put this in a better perspective. There is a psychological principle in cognitive development that is called "objects permanence". This refers to the idea that an object continues to exist despite not being visible, audible, or tangible. To give you an example, human infants usually start developing this around the one year mark. This is when "peek a boo." stops becoming fun because they understand you didn't go anywhere. Now while a dogs logic is completely different then our own, their perception of reality is probably fairly similar to infants. Keep in mind if you decide to try this that consistency in the beginning is key, if you can get that first hour then you've established the basic principle. While addressing the variable issues will be harder, if problems persist you can always change things up to keep the dogs guessing, for instance "fake" leaving the house. See what happens.

I hope this helps