seperation anxiety?
However if I leave the house even for 10 minutes, he vomit's or poo's in it,and then LAYS IN IT. It takes me HOURS to clean him (full coat) and his crate, and my white carpets...which are not so white anymore 
So I have tried leaving him in just 5 minutes, we just sit outside so the house is quiet. In that 5 mnutes he is freaking out when I come in, any longer than 5 minutes and he pee's/poo's vomits! I have to be able to leave him in his crate sometimes..Like to go to the dr etc. any ideas? we do leave the t.v. on, and some lights, as well as give him his favorite toy. Next, he Loves people we meet at the pet smart or vets office. He sits nicley and will let ANYONE love him, but at home the story is completley different. I took him out in the yard and a neighbor came to pet he started jumping and snapping and barking. He seemed more upset and nervous than aggressive and mean. A week later we were walking around the neighborhood, we were a good 2 blocks from home. 2 kids asked if they could pet. I asked cooper to sit, told them to approach slowly hands out. they did. They were petting his head he was...Okay, aggitated for sure,but tolerant. Then one moved to his back,and he FLIPPED. what is going on? thanks! |
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| I guess he just feels he needs to protect "his home" and if you where close to home he sort of extended his territory...that includes you ...he feels he had to protect you and if the kid moved out of his vision he sort of felt a bit threaten....
In the crate....try this....make a tape of your voices and play it while you are gone (outside) maybe he can be fooled (Pisco did) and leave an old sweat shirt...something that smells like you in the crate with him as well that way he still smells you around...and wont feel left out....remember dogs are pack animals they need to know they are part of your pack and by leaving him behind he feels an outcast...and thats one of the worst punishment (his thinking) he can have....slowly he will understand that he is not left behind and you will come back to him....try after you are gone and are back to go outside with him,if only to the yard. that helped me a lot with Pisco....hope it helps you.  |
| I dont know anyone who uses a crate in the uk. Dougal is never crated when we go out I make sure he has a good run so he sleeps . At present he stays inthe kitchen when he is older he will have the lounge and kitchen.
when I used to leave winnie my rescue sheepie who passed on he chewed everything in sight but after i had had him for about a year he settled during this time he ripped up a three seater sofa and two chairs completely emptied the fridge, ripped wallpaper off the wall talk about protest because i went out but with patience and love he came round. pepe |
| I don`t use a crate either for Pisco...never did need it really...he has the run around of the house,at first I couldn`t leave anything he could rip apart in sight....now he is calmer...but still the one thing he loves and pounces on them if he sees some are pills and meds....Don`t know why but he loves to eat them....had to wake my vet twice because he had a bunch of antibiotics and allegy pills...but in all he is nice...he won`t `poo or pee anywhere inside...he does everything out since he was 12 weeks old. |
| I'm not familiar with whether you have had Cooper from a pup or rescued him. I know that when I got my first Odie, a friend gave her to me when she was 1 yr old and she was a very laid back girl. She started to test me after the first week and and it went on for about a month. She started chewing on my shoes and taking dishes out of the sink and items off the counter. My friend said she had never done this with her. I seemed to solve the counter problem by putting pepper along them and since she must of sniffed them before getting up on them it seemed to cure the problem. The shoes were another matter, I went thru several pairs of shoes until one day my new moccasins arrived and I put them in front of her nose and told her if she touched them that would be the end of her in so many terms. Well it must of been the tone of my voice, but she never touched another pair of shoes from then on.
Now Rosie on the other hand was 1 yr when I got her and she had been a crated show dog. She seemed a bit more emotional. I had never crated a dog and didn't want to. The previous owner seemed a bit concerned about that but of course I had been spoiled by Odie. Needless to say, she started to test me by chewing on my furniture among other things and after about 4 weeks I came home to find she had taken every bit of makeup and other assorted things off my dresser and chew them all open. I found her on the bed covered in lipstick, nail polish, powder, hand lotion, everything. At this point I called my brother up and asked if I could buy the crate that he had for his dog but he'd given it away. Well, again, like Odie, this must of been my breaking point and my tone of voice must of been different and I'm sure Rosie thought it out after hearing that telephone conversation and decided the run of the apartment was better than staying in a crate all day and from that moment on she never touched a thing. Rosie was a big teddy bear but people when they walked up to her always wanted to bend over to her face and she had a tendancy to buck up and hit them in their face or nose. She tended to aim for a different "area" on men though. I had to start saying "Kisses Rosie, Kisses" whenever anyone approached and this seem to calm her down enough for me to warn them not to bend over so quick to her. I don't know if any of this helped, but maybe you can get something out of it. I liked Vero's idea of the shirt and voice recording, that might very well help. Good luck with Cooper. |
| well we had tons of errands to run yesteray so I walked him and made sure he had done all his business, then we left for an hour, came back let hi out, loved him for being good in the crate, gave him a treat, and left for another 2 or so hours, and he was fine when we got back. He drolled all over himself but he was okay.
I bought him when he was 13 months. so about a month ago. he was used to being in a crate, but I guess feels we will lock him in and not let him out =( thanks for the tips! we put a sweater with him in there! |
| Big Ben did fairly well in his crate for a long time but eventually started getting agressive going in and and would have accidents if he was in there too long. Be sure the crate is the correct size - anything too big or too small may be the issue. We slowly weened him off the crate (and did the same with the Lhasa we had prior to Ben) and I can't tell you how much happier of a dog he has become. Unfortunately he wasn't easy to potty train and in that respect the crate worked wonders!
Ben has been pretty good when the kids have friends over but he's settled down a lot the last year or so. (He'll be five next month.) There was one little girl who he snapped at. The little girl has a tiny dog at home and apparently likes to drag her dog where ever she wants. She wanted Ben to follow her to our upstairs gameroom (Ben never seems to want to go up there) and she tried to direct him by grabbing his collar and ended up with some of his hair in her grip, too. We just watch Ben very carefully around friends - he'll take any voluntary petting they'll give him! It just takes a lot of practice for both the dog and the guests. Raggamuffin - I see you are from Ballston Spa! That's a blast from the past. We lived in Luther Forest right after we were married until we moved to Hagaman, NY (north of Amsterdam.) After lots of transfers we are now outside of Houston but we still talk about how pretty it was there. Funny how this forum connects us in so many ways via our sheepies! |
| I read you got Cooper when he was a little over a year old, that could be where his separation anxiety comes from. I have found oes's to be very emotional animals and they get attached quickly. He may think you are not coming back. What I do for my girl is I have put a sweatshirt, or tee shirt, something with your scent on it, and I purchased a disney lullaby cd that I play for her, which seemed to calm her, but now she has a box fan. I have a box fan set up at the end of her crate and I put in on med. and she is out like a light. Now, if I don't turn it on, she barks until I do. I sleep with a fan on for background noise, so I thought maybe it would work with her, and it does, so anytime I leave, I have the fan on for her, and it soothes her. Hope this helps! |
shulgirl35 wrote: I purchased a disney lullaby cd that I play for her, which seemed to calm her
My guy listens to Smooth Jazz 106.1 ! Seems to like a little Miles Davis, which is good. Though I hope he doesn't start liking Kenny G. ! |
| Have you tried desensitizing him to your coming and going? You have to play with your keys while your washing dishes pick up his leash just to move it.(all the time)make NO big deal of your leaving(no saying any thing to the dog just leave) come home pay no attention to the dog for maby 5 min than normal pet on the head.Go to the web site on animal behavior I posted under cool site they may have a few pointers too.There are new meds out one is called clomicalm .there is also a new pharamone plug in that is supposed to be great.you just plug it in and a new happy dog.good luck.My good friend had a rescue dog with sever separation anx. but thanks to her dilegent work and clomacalm he is a great dog and can be left un crated. it did take time and there were relapses just keep at it. |
| I wonder if Cooper is sensing some of your anxiety with leaving him - as well as - with his "greeting" of strangers. Take it one step at a time and try and relax - he may be picking up on you being tense - particularly when meeting the kids in the neighborhood.
There is a great product, Rescue Remedy, that if his anxiety level increases with the crate - you could try it - it's natural and you put a few drops on their tongue. You can also try some lavender oil - I heard that a few drops on their snout help calm them. Out of curiousity, is Cooper neutered? His "territorial" behavior may be relative to that as well. |
| cooper is not yet nuetered. we got him on valentins day,a dn the breeders suggested we wait about two months, that it would be traumatic enough adjusting and what not. so he willg et nuetered in april or may.
He is okay in his crate if i go out, I think it's when the house gets "silent" that he gets afraid. aslo he hears the garge open and close. I'm going to try opening and closing the garage while he is in the crate andI'm home tog e thim used to the noise. thanmk you for all your suggetions I REALLY apprecaite them! |
Sleepymom wrote: He is okay in his crate if i go out, I think it's when the house gets "silent" that he gets afraid. Did anyone suggest leaving a radio or TV on? |
| we have tried both. Last night as a little test, I snet hubby and kids out, and sat siletnly on the couch,waiting to see how he reacts when he thnks he is alone. I heard him give little whines and barks like "hello, mommy? are you there?" I remained quiet, he whined and brked and fussed, but seemed okay. I was out of eyesight and he did fine for 30 minutes, he increasingly became more upset, so I pretended to "open the garge" and come home. I did my usualy put my keys away wait a few minutes open closet as if to put coat away, get a drink and then tried to non chalantly let him out,and go about business. He was very excited to see me and spent a good ten minutes running around kissing me and running for his toys. were getting there I think!
He still dislikes neighbors. I walked him last night, and there was a woman walking along by herself across the street. He immediatley started barking and freaking out. I said "CALMN." and then asked him to sit..ofcourse he would not, so I held him tightley forced a sit, sqwuatted next to him and repeated for him to calmn and settle. He was very upset and hyper and was trying to run home. much work ahead. |
| My Merlin is like Cooper on a walk, except he doesn't bark. I am reading an excellent book The Dog Listener: Learn How to Communicate with Your Dog for Willing Cooperation, by Jan Fennell and from what I have read in the book, Merlin thinks he is Alpha of our pack, and feels the need to protect us and at the same time that is too much responsibility for a pup(1 year old) to handle.
If I were to leave Merlin and he was not in his crate, I am sure that he would have the same reaction as Cooper does when you leave him. Merlin doesn't freak when he is in his crate and we leave because I think he is not sure if we are home or not. I put him in his crate for quiet time every day, sometimes I go out and sometimes I just need to get the floors washed LOL. His crate is in my bedroom and he can't see if I leave or not. Even if I don't leave, I open the door as if I am leaving.(just like you did) The separation anxiety is not because the dog thinks "Oh no my mom and kids are gone" but rather the dog thinks he is in charge of the house and thinks "Oh no the pack I am responsible for is gone" And the subsequent beserk greeting you get upon return is because they are glad their charge has come home, not that oh I missed my mom. It's a different take on the same thing. What I have read so far is that upon return, I am to let him out of his crate but don't greet him, don't look him in the eye, but just go about my business for about 5 minutes. And then make Merlin sit for a pet and then ask if he has to go out. Since the kids are home on break this week, they are helping me with this. There are other tasks that we have to do to remind Merlin that he is not Alpha. Seems strange but it is working. We have to put his dinner bowl on the counter, then put a plate of people food like crackers next to the dog dish, make his dinner and then each of us has to go to the bowl and eat some of the crackers of the plate. The dog thinks you are eating out of his bowl-crunchy crackers sound like crunchy kibble! After everyone has eaten their cracker and finished it, then the bowl is put down on the floor for the dog to eat his meal. If he doesn't eat his meal after a few minutes, take the bowl away and the dog is to get no treats and is fed again in a few hours doing the same procedure. |
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