Possible seperation anxiety
she is starting to bark when we leave her and she CAN be heard thru the door all the way to the elevator...at this time, we are the only ones on our floor...so hopefully we can get the barking under control... i have told brian that we need to leave her for just a few minutes at a time and work our way up on our time limit...also, that going back in and scolding her for barking will only reinforce a bad habit....that after a few minutes to go back in and praise her when she doesnt bark... is there anything else that i can do to help ease her into hi-rise living? |
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| Darcy...congratulations on your move!!! I am no expert, but I think what you outlined is right on. Leave her and go in only if there is NO barking. It is lucky you have the luxury of trying to deal with this without the added stress of other tennants being disturb. Poor Panda!!!! She doesn't know what is happening!!! She is accustomed to looking out the window and seeing grass and trees...NOW, she sees tall buildings and sky!!!! I am sure she will be fine after she becomes use to her new home... IN the meantime, it might be a good idea to get her a temporary roomie..say, Heart???? to keep her company!!!! Let me know which airlines she will be flying out on, and I will make sure her bags are packed!!!!!!  Good Luck and keep us posted!!!!! |
| Hey Darcy. Poor Panda. To combat Harry's separation anxiety we say nothing when we leave BUT we always lay a Kong down filled with peanut butter and two treats. This means that something good always happens when we leave and therefore is a less anxiety ridden occurance. The key here - he never gets a Kong in any other circumstance. To fix this temporarily - find something she really likes to eat and place it on the floor of the kitchen. Then calmly walk out the door. ALSO - DO NOT MAKE A BIG DEAL WHEN YOU COME BACK HOME!!!! Put your purse down, say hello calmly and go about your routine. This helps keep the leaving as a calm thing because the return is not hyper. I know that this goes against our natural grain of "Panda be a good girl" or "I'll be back" when leaving and "Mommy's home!!!!! Where's my Panda girl?!!!" when coming back home. We all want to do it but it helps the dog in the long run if it is all very low key. Plus the goodie helps tremendously. Good luck! |
Everything Judi said. But its so hard not to fuss over them when you get home.  A treat to make the fact that you're leaving a good thing is a big plus. Mine are almost shoving me out the door when I put my coat on because they know they'll get a treat. Does moving tomorrow mean you havent moved your furniture yet? She may cope a lot better when all your familiar smelling things are around her. |
| We use a Kong filled with kibble and a bit of peanut butter to make it interesting, or a kong full of plain yoghurt then frozen, to give Mady something fun to do when we leave. Before I give her the kong, I make sure that I am completely ready to go out the door and I leave with just a quick 'see ya later'. I don't make a fuss when I return either, like the others have said, although this completely goes against my instinct to scoop her up and squish her. I don't think going back in and giving her heck for barking will work, as it lets her know that, neato, presto, if I bark enough, they will come back! Good luck with this, I know that I have my own separation anxiety when I am away from my Mady girl! |
| Panda is making the transition pretty easily....just some small quirks..but not too bad.. she is VEL-cro....it is actually very distracting...panda is usually THE most independant girl ever...since we have moved in, i sit on the sofa, she lays right below me..i get up to go potty, she follows me and sits at my feet...i am cooking, she is under my feet... i make her lay down somewhere out of my way. she stays for a bit but not long....we are going to have to work on this some more.... finally, today is the first day all by herself...after feeding her and getting ready, i usually pick up my purse, grab a cookie and give it to her on my way out the door...kept the same routine and panda, the cookie monster, takes the cookie gingerly and spits it out...i got the look ''this is what i think of you leaving..''lol she did not bark as i waited for the elevator...so fingers crossed, being alone for a while will do this princess good! |
That's good news that she didnt bark while you were waiting for the elevator!!!   |
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