separation anxiety / crate
Submitted by DadtoMatilda on October 31, 2010 - 1:38pmUnfortunately it seems the foster dog, Charlie, has a problem when he is left alone.
This is the second time this week that he has attempted to escape from the crate when I've gone out. Just to give you some background, both dogs are only alone for a maximum of 4 hours at a time on weekdays. Matilda is left with the run of the kitchen and dining room (basically to keep her from drooling on the living room furniture) and has never had any problem.
For the first week or two Charlie seemed fine. I go to work for 4 hours and then let them out at lunch. Then when I come home after another 4 hours they get dinner and outside time, etc.
He sleeps in a separate crate upstairs with no problem at all. Not a whine, cry, nothing. He goes right to sleep. He doesn't complain if I put him in there to clean up the kitchen.
On Tuesday, I came home to find them both out and about in the kitchen and dining room and Matilda's bed dragged all over the place and chewed to the point that there was blood on it. I've seen him try to chew and drag her bed (just hers) before so its 99% likely that was him.
I thought I had forgotten to latch Charlies crate, but some of the bars seemed a little bent. Ok fine. Matilda was horrified and hid from me like she was going to get in trouble. There is absolutely no way she did this as I've never in six years had a problem with her when I'm out of the house.
On the weekends, I'm pretty much home the whole time. This morning, we needed dog food so I went out for about an hour and a half. When I got home the whole crate was bent all along the bottom and Charlie had red abrasions on his face. He had pushed the tray out of the crate and was sitting in a puddle of drool.
They had both had their walk this morning and have been out several times today.
I've tried just going for some shorter trips and seeing what he does, or staying in the yard doing something while he is in there so I can catch what he's doing, but no dice.
Any tips?
We are currently awaiting a transfer to a foster home for him where he can be the only dog - for other reasons. Matilda is acting depressed beyond belief when he is here (she wasn't like this with the other guy we had) and doesn't want to do anything he is involved with. She's tired of being licked where the sun doesn't shine and attempted humpings and has kinda just had it with him.
That said, gating them apart all the time is not really a fair option for both of them on the 900 square foot ground floor of my house.
Thanks, Jillian, (I think?) for the tip about the squirtgun. He stops humping right away.
Sorry for the novel.
Sounds like he's having a really hard time...
It's strange that he was okay at first and now is panicking in the crate. Is there any chance something scared him?
Our new guy is not happy in his crate, we even bought him a bigger, see through model, but he sometimes poops in there, which I'm sure is because he's nervous being penned in. He's getting better, we've been putting him in during the day when we're here and we give him a Kong stuffed full of treats and peanut butter and one of his heavy duty bones to chew. We had a lhasa years ago that was a wreck when crated and he would do the drool thing, he almost ate his way through the door to the garage thinking, I'm sure, that we were on the other side. We finally had to give him Elavil to calm him down.
Have you tried Rescue Remedy? You can buy it at a health food store, it's totally safe and helps calm anxieties. Good luck, I know that separation anxiety is tough.
perhaps
I mean something COULD have scared him, but I'm more inclined to think he saw or heard the dog next door out in the yard and freaked out to go "get her" and couldn't. Then, once he was out of the crate the first time, he probably just got bored and upset and proceeded to disassemble the dining room.
Thankfully the dog gate was up or the living room would probably be a mess, too.
Like I said, he goes into the crate with no problem. He sleeps in the one upstairs no problem. He goes in there so I can clean no problem. It seems to be only when I leave for a short time...
A few suggestions
Firstly, try crating, go outside to your car, then come back in and let him out of his crate. The goal here is for him to not know how long you'll be gone, but that you ARE coming back.
If not allergic, try putting peanut butter in a kong, then freeze it. Give it to him in his crate ( only in the crate). Chewing will also help alleviate stress.
Hope this helps, a bit.
Olivia
Separation anxiety
Is a term that is way over used. Your dog may or may not have it but in this case, the protocol would be the same. Does the dog like to chew, if so, soak his dog food in water and a little broth, stuff a marrow bone with it. Great way to feed breakfast and it will keep him busy for quite a while. Do not make a big fuss over saying good-bye and do not make a big fuss when you return. Simply walk in the house, go about your business, let the dog out of the crate, no hello's, straight out the door for potty break. If you can, mix up your morning routine a little so that he is never really sure when you are leaving. Dogs pick-up and learn our routines, ie:, putting your shoes on and picking up your keys might be something he now knows as the last part of your schedule. You can also complete your schedule, leave the house and return in a few minutes, let him out. The point is, keep him guessing.
Good luck
Lynn King CPDT-KA
Is Charlie on any medication?
and if so, is his health improving? I ask because i had an experience with an ill dog we took in (not a bully) who was perfectly behaved the first 3 days we had her.She was on medication, dont remember what for, and we could tell she was getting better because her personality started coming out. by the fourth day, i was gone all day, my husband was home all day with her, and she decided i was not allowed in the house, she growled at me. The vet seemed to think as her health improved she was feeling more herself and became dominant. We eventually found another home for her as she decided she couldnt live with me :-(
another thing, prehaps being unneutered, charlie is just frustrated with a female around him????
jjust some random thoughts.....
poor little matilda.
sorry i cant think of anything else. i think the frozen chew is a good idea, we do that with rex, he gets a lot of chew time from them.
keep us posted!
Jllian and PorkChop and our beloved BullyAngel Rex <3
yes i think it was me
who suggested the water spray bottle :) glad it helped
Jllian and PorkChop and our beloved BullyAngel Rex <3
Yeah, he takes Ivomec
Charlie is taking Ivomec for demodex. He was taking an antibiotic when I got him, but that has since ended.
He gets his bone to chew in his crate when I'm gone, and I can leave him in the crate sometimes (go work in the garage, etc) and he doesn't seem to have a problem with it. The little ten-minute and fifteen-minute jaunts don't seem to bother him. Maybe after a while it bugs him that Matilda is out and allowed to walk around the room and he isn't. Then again, she doesn't move from her bed when I go out. When I'm working, Matilda makes a nest in her blankets and takes a four hour nap.
The rescue coordinator said to give him some Benadryl (which he takes anyway to control itching) and that doesn't really help, again, unless I am home. Like I said, he sleeps in a crate in the room next to me, goes right in, and snores away until morning. He can't sleep in my room because Matilda will not get into her bed if he is in the room.
Anyway, he seems very well aware of when I am in the house and when I am not. He is very young as well, we're just not sure how young. The vet says less than 2.
Sorry to over-use the term separation anxiety. I wasn't sure what else I should call it.
i know antibiotics
make rex very lethrogic. perhaps charlie was also when he was on them and now that he is off of them, he is feeling more of himself, i.e. terrible twos! wish i could offer more, but if he is chewing out of a crate, i cant imagine how else to contain/separate him. You may want to still crate him and let him use his energy to escape rather than leave him run free. Here is another dog story, hope you can stand it :-)
Many years ago, my husband moved into my house with his very adorable sweet pitbull who had separation anxiety. Gus was fine staying in the house when i was the last to leave the house and leave him by himself. But if my husband left last, then Gus would get upset: think: chewing. So we decided it would be good to contain him in the beauitful sunroom removing anything chewable, other than his toys and bones. Bad idea! Gus decided he wanted to be with gerry and chewed the wood beams by the door to get out of the house. Gerry got home right before gus got all the way through the beam. We got a metal six foot fence around the yard and left him outside during the day. He seemed happy out there and never chewed the house again. Soon after Gus passed, we fostered that other dog I told you about in my previous post. We were able to get her a better home. And now we have our dogson, Rex, that I get separation anxiety for when I leave him alone in the house. :-)
Good luck with Charlie, wish i could be more help. If I think of anything else, I will post. Hugs to both bullies.
Jllian and PorkChop and our beloved BullyAngel Rex <3