Separation Anxiety

Really?My dog has this too.He cries when I leave for school but I wave him goodbye and I talk to him, promising that I'll be back.I return from school,I bring some food with me and give it to him and his companion.During weekends,I find time to take him and his companion out for a walk.Maybe you can try what I do.My dog loves me for that.

I just want to point out that no toys, such as rawhide, stuffed toys, or clothing should be left with an unattended dog. Dogs can, and do, choke. As for the clothing, I know from personal experience that they can chew it up, swallow it, and have it get bound up in their intestines. $2,000 and a 8 hour surgery saved my dog, and that was from a small sock... Activedogsupplies has Gimborn dog bones. They're natural shin bones that can be filled. They don't splinter, so they're the safer choice. (I know this, as I've raised 5 pit bulls with them and never had a problem.)

okay have dealt with this one! Both of you to do this. Let him set by or near the door. Get your coats and go out the door wait about 2 to 5 minutes and go back in and praise him. Do this about 10 to 20 a day until he stops eating himself. It will teach him that it is okay for you to go and you will be back. He will see no need to naw on himself. Plus get him some rawhide bones. That will start to help too.

make sure he has a lot of toys, try going on for a short period and come back right away even if you only go around the block, so he gets to know you are coming back, then gradually increase the time you are away from him, consult the vet or a dog trainer.

The first thing I would do is have your vet check him out for any health issues. Then, barring health problems, I think you may have your hands full. If he is doing it from boredom, then you are going to have to find something to help keep him occupied while you are away from him. There are places like doggie day cares that you could take your dog to during the workday, that he would be occupied during the day. Have you tried providing him different chew toys to try to occupy his time? I'm not sure what there is available, but maybe your vet can put him on some type of anxiety medication. Our big dog, Diddles used to get separation anxiety when he was younger, and he would go into destructive mode against the garden hoses. It was not uncommon to come home and find another brand new hose in 15 pieces. (This got very expensive over the period of 2 years.) He finally outgrew it. One other thing you could possibly try, depending on what body part he is chewing, would be to get something that is non-toxic, yet foul tasting that you could put on his extremeties that he chews on. Tobasco sauce comes to mind, but you would have to be bery carefull with that. Good luck!!

I have a chocolate Lab who does this, but she does it even when we are there. It does seem to be an anxiety problem. At one point, the vet recommended anti-anxiety meds, and I actually tried them for a month or so, then it just seemed ridiculous and maybe even unhealthy to have my dog on "downers". I don't remember if it helped, either. I'm curious to see if there's anyone who has had any luck stopping their dog from chewing on themselves, because mine still does.

This is a very common problem & I am no expert. From what I can gather, & from my experience in having a few dogs, there are a few steps you can take. 1. Take him for a daily walk. This tires him out a bit, & he less likely to be alert & anxious when you do go out. 2. Always leave a favourite toy with him. Better still, an old jumper (unwashed) with your smell on it. 3. As you are leaving the house, do not react when he starts crying & carrying on. This is only rewarding his behaviour. 4. If all else fails, take him to the vet & get a mild sedative.

I think you can find some friends to your dog.My little dog also had this question .I send him out to play with his friends and give him a lot of time for himself.After two weeks,he became very well.

If all other medical conditions have been ruled out, I could make a few suggestions. One, crate train. If he's crate trained, be sure to give him a special toy that will keep him occupied while you're gone. There are bones on the market that are made to be filled with things, these are the best because there's very little choke hazard. You can fill it with peanut butter or something like that and let him work at it. If you've never used anything like this, be sure to do it a few times while you are home, so he can get used to it and so it doesn't become associated with you leaving. When you're ready to try to give him the bone before you leave, start out with short trips. The idea is to be home before he finishes cleaning out the bone. That worked really well for my dog that had real bad issues. She wouldn't chew on herself, but she'd eat anything she could. I actually had to put her in her crate with nothing in it, she was so bad. Also, you must be sure to act like nothing is wrong when you leave or come home. Do NOT even acknowledge the dog when you come home. Often times, people make the mistake of going "ga ga" over their dogs when they get home. "Oh my poor baby, I'm so sorry I left you" with tons of hugs, kisses, and pets. This only serves to "prove" to the dog that something is wrong with you leaving. I'm currently dealing with a dog, who just turned a year, that has separation issues. He doesn't do anything while we're gone (he's still in a crate though), but when I come home, he's stuck to me like velcro. I do nothing. When I come home, I let the dogs out to go outside, then let them be free in the house. I ignore the puppy, who tries to attach himself to me. It's not a quick fix, but he's learning there's no reason to be like that. I give him attention after he settles down and has gone and laid down somewhere. Look over what you do. Check to see if there are any things you do before leaving that may make your dog uneasy because he's getting clued in to you leaving. Do you say goodbye and fawn all over him before leaving? Stop it, if you do. How old is your dog? Is he neutered? How many other dogs do you have? Are they all fixed?

I once watched an episode of "It's me or the Dog" on Animal Planet where there was a dog that suffered from seperation anxiety, Victoria (the host of the show) showed the owners how to help the dog to overcome the anxiety. After taking the dog for a walk to drain some of her energy. What she did was get the owners to leave the house then immediately enter the house so the dog could see that they are coming back. Once the dog settled they would repeat this excercise until the dog no longer came running to the door when they exited the house. Next she told them once the dog felt comfortable with them leaving was to stay outside the door for a about a minute then enter and to repeat the entire excercise again until the dog felt comfortable. She then told them to gradually increase the time and not to get discouraged if in couple of weeks they are only able to stay outside for 5 minutes then so be that is 5 minutes longer then they were able to remain gone before (the dog suffered from a major form of seperation anxiety). It could be a long process but I think well worth it... I actually remember training one of my pups to get used to being left alone while at work this way. Hope this helps & good luck.