How can you stop anxiety in a dog??.

[silverback]

Every time we go out shopping for a few hours and leave Tbone on his own, he becomes very anxious!. Jan decided to film him when we are not there (I told her not to do it!), and he does not rest, he barks and howls, not all the time but mostly!, after viewing the footage Jan got very upset! .
Any ideas or suggestions as to a cure or distraction for him?, as Jan is reluctant to leave him on his own, someone suggested putting him in a cage when we're out, so he doesn't have the run of the house!......any ideas please.

[jannie]

Barney has been cage trained since he was a pup but I never shut him in when I went out till he started to show signs of separation anxiety...I tried giving him diversion treats like frozen kongs but he still yelped as soon as I shut the front door. So I started shutting the cage door when I went out and it worked a treat ..I think he felt more secure as he understood that cage time means sleep time.

As you probably know we have adopted an ex-breeder that was rescued from a puppy farm Here. This little girlie hadn't had any contact with humans other than the cruelest kind so when she came to us her anxiety levels were off the scale. The first thing we did was to give her a haven to escape to .. a cage covered in a blanket. She is only shut in there when I go out, which isn't often, but always goes in there when she is anxious or wants a quiet sleep. She was in there most of the time to start with but is gradually spending more and more time sleeping out. But when I say 'bed' they both go straight into their cage.

It will take a while for TBone to get used to a cage ..you'll have to get him used to it gradually but it will be well worth the effort, if only for the peace of mind that when you do leave him he is safe.

[p.penn]

Bailey has a crate and although I wasn't keen at first as I hadn't used one before, it is her little cave, her safety. During fireworks, that is where she runs to. She sleeps in it every night, and never makes a sound.

I used to pop her in there when I went out, but don't any more. In fact, I am trying to wean her off it completely at the moment as it takes up so much space, but I feel heartless.

I would think Tbone would need top get used to the crate first SB.

[wendy]

If you just crate her it won't stop the anxiety. Possibly make it worse.
PM me you e mail and I will send you a leaflet

[HazellB]

Most dogs will take to a cage like a duck to water, and merrily snooze in there while you go out once they're confident and comfortable with the new device. I have a pet food shop (but do not sell cages) and have experienced this many, many times. What trainers like Wendy forget is that they only see the ones who have already tried and failed with cages, etc., so not the majority of cases by any means.

However, to get them happy in the cage so the separation becomes less of a problem is the tricky bit. In my case we simply bought a cage for one dog as he was very aggressive to other dogs and I needed to confine him while he was in my shop to stop him eating other customers. He simply walked straight in the first day, settled down and snoozed in it ignoring everything else ...... which I count as pure good luck. You'd assume favourite treats fed in there and only very minimal time in the cage to start with would be a good starting point.
The second cage came with a Jack Russell who I took on at 8 months. He had to continue sleeping in it in our home to stop the first dog attacking him until they were comfortable together, but he missed it when we took it away. So we left it with the door open at all times and heaped blankets on it until he got too warm one summer and I sneaked it away one afternoon. I made it less comfortable than anywhere else to get him out of it, so again I expect making it more comfortable than anywhere else would get a dog into a cage.

Finally, our Saluki has been with us 12 months now and he enjoys his cage when in our shop one day each week. He doesn't react to treats (he's very hard to feed) and can't see the point to toys or chews, so again we just put him in the cage and left him to decide for himself and he likes it very much. Nobody can bother him, he can snooze in peace and he has an array for favourite beds, blankets and cushions in there.

I've suggested to customers in my shop that they try their dog's favourite long lasting treat in the cage and make sure that treat is never fed anywhere else. Beef bones, cooked, seem favourite with filled hooves and bones second. If that hasn't worked and the dog is still worried by being left for more than ten minutes, frozen yogurt in large Kong style toys plus the bone/hoof. Having two treats tricks a dog in to being greedy - they all fear one being stolen even if they're alone. I've not had to suggest anything else so far as the second method seems to have worked for everyone if the first didn't. Maybe I'd say try leaving the dog out of doors (my two like that) or shop in the evening when it's cool and take the dog with you (what I do, simply because it's habit these days), I don't know.

Whatever you do, make sure the anxious reaction isn't because your dog thinks he's top of the pack and you're his underlings leaving him - that one must be hard to break and I wouldn't fancy tackling it without professional help.

Good luck

[wendy]

Not true. I advise crating and most of my puppy owners do it whilst the puppy is going through the 'baby' time, to keep them safe. So a lot people I see, do crate their dogs.
I think crates are definitely the way to go. Dave no longer needs a crate as he is an adult, but it was a Godsend when he was wild and woolly
What I was trying to get across, is if the dog already has an anxiety problem. Then crating him/her is not going to cure it and in fact could make it worse. Without helping the dog not to feel insecure, he will be even worse. Once he can manage to be on his own. Then, possibly, the need for a crate has gone.
He is a frightened insecure little dog. He has no worries about underlings leaving without him