Rescue dog seperation anxiety advice

[Kevlar2501]

Hi, last week we picked up a male, 18 month old staffie from a rescue home, who had bad kennel cough that is starting to improve.

We initially locked him in the kitchen when we left the house for an hour but he seemed in a lot of distress and scratched chunks out of the door and eventually managed to pull the handle down and get out. Where he proceeded to wee upstairs in our spare room.

A day later we nipped out for just over an hour and let him Have a free run of the house to see if it made him cope better but he proceeded to open the doors to all rooms upstairs and done a poo in our main bedroom where we allow him to sleep with us at night.

It seems to be seperation anxiety but we don't know how best to treat it. Will it just improve over time and we continue with what we're doing, after all he doesn't go toilet in the house while we're here, always outside. Strangely he doesn't poo when we go for a walk, only in the back garden so far. After reading forums we don't make a fuss when we leave or enter the house too.

We also leave an item of our clothing near his bed and a bone to chew.

Is it better to buy a lock for the kitchen door and keep him in there instead of allowing him to roam the house? He doesn't jump on furniture nor does he chew or trash anything, so we're not bothered about him roaming the house if that's not an issue.

Please help, we just don't know.

 

[hollysh]

It does sound like he is acting out because he has been left. Very difficult. Coming from a rescue home I suppose you don't know what kind of history he has had. Though guessing not good. Not an expert but I think it will get better over time. Only just got him and he needs to get used to the fact that you are a permanent fixture. And when you leave you are coming back. I've heard people saying about puppies that you should build up time apart gradually. Sounds like you give him loads of attention and probably quite spoilt sleeping in your room at night etc. Maybe just build up for much time you leave him alone, when your in the house. Walk out of a room for a few minutes and walk back in. Lots of toys for distractions. How did you react when you saw that he had messed in your bedroom? Have heard to just ignore it. No reaction. Huge praise when goes outside. I'm sure he will settle as time goes on and he becomes more comfortable in his new home.

Just an idea as well. Being a rescue dog i suppose he may be used to being in a crate. Different environment to being at home I suppose.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Anxiety can cause dogs to wee and poo. The actual act of weeing a pooing gives a feeling of relief. An anxious dog will be looking at ways to relieve their anxiety and so may wee or poo.

Not doing a poo when out for a walk is a sign that he is not confident when out for a walk. Dogs feel vulnerable when squatting for a poo as it slows down their fight/flight response.

There are several things you can do to help him when leaving him. You are right about not making a huge fuss of him on departure and return.

Adaptil helps some dogs to relax. If he has free run of the house then you may need more than one.

It would be very tempting to crate train him (if he is not already trained). This would probably solve the toileting issue. Some dogs, however, are much more relaxed if they have free run of the house. Confining him could set back his progress.

Many dogs that have separation anxiety are over bonded to their owner. These dogs find it hard to cope without the constant presence of their owner and need to learn to be independent. This is unlikely to be the cause in your dog's case as he is a fairly new rescue.

I would think that it is just an insecurity issue that may well settle down in time. For now I would teach him that you may only be gone for a short while by acting out the routine of leaving him on a regular basis but not actually leaving. So, put on all the right clothes and then sit down or carry on with what you were doing. Repeat this lots of times until he ignores what you are doing.

Put on all the right clothes, pick up keys etc and leave the house. Come straight back in again and carry on as before. Repeat lots of times until he ignores you.

As above but stay out a bit longer.

Move on to starting the car and then coming straight back in.

The aim of all the above is to help him think that you could be coming straight back in when you leave the house. If you build it up to five or ten minutes without him suspecting that you will pop back at any second then you should be fine for an hour or so.

Try not to let him get too "bonded". It is difficult with rescues as we tend to want to "make up" for their chequered past. If he constantly rests touching you or being touched he will miss you more when you go out. If he seeks attention and gets it all the time he will feel bereft when it is not available. Try to ignore any attention seeking and make a note to give him attention when he is settled somewhere. He can have as much as you want to give but not when he is seeking it all the time.

Chewing is a great stress buster so see if you can find things that he loves to chew. Stuffed Kong toys are good and can be frozen ahead of time or kept in the fridge. Lots of recipes on line.

If his separation problems continue after the settling period is over then there are other techniques to try.

(just a quick tip on cleaning up after him to prevent him starting scent marking - use a 10% solution of biological detergent, rinse, dry and agitate some sort of spirit into the area)

 

[NorthamptonDogWalker]

It certainly sounds like classic separation anxiety. You've only had him a week so it's all still very new to him. Do you know how long he was in the rescue centre? My collie is a rescue and he's rarely on his own and comes everywhere with me. I'm able to leave him now for an hour maybe two but any longer and it's likely he will eat some of the wall. If you are only going out for an hour I'd be tempted to cage him if he's used to being in a cage. He still won't like you going but at normally they will calm down in their crate after a while. Most dogs actually like a crate and see it as a den, a safe place for them.

If you don't think this will help another thing you could try is to employ a dog walker or pet sitter to spend an hour with your dog while you are able to get things done. Not ideal I appreciate as you need to plan your trips out and have someone booked in advance.

Like others have said chewing is a great distraction. I've used Kongs before packed with dry kibble and the holes stuffed with pate or wet food. If you freeze it then it takes longer for the dog to get all the food out. It's only been a week, normally once they have settled in and see that you always return they begin to accept that you won't leave them.

Good luck!

 

[Kevlar2501]

Thank you for your replies and very useful information! A month on and he isn't weeing indoors anymore, which is great!

We think he was in a rescue centre for about 5 weeks. A few people have mentioned a crate, I hear great things about them but we're a bit reluctant to use one as he is now so used to having a free run of downstairs (we put up a stair gate on the stairs to stop him going upstairs when we're out). Needless to say, he is doing very well now when we leave the house so we think this problem is sorted