Help! Dog does not want anyone to leave the house due to separation anxiety

Hi there and thank you for your question regarding your dog.

From what you describe it does sound as though separation anxiety is the main cause. What you are doing is completely correct and it can take time to get things under control.

To resolve this, your whole family needs to read/review and practice both the advice on this website as well as suggested reading at the end. Especially your husband.

The goal that we are aiming for is to reduce your dog's anxiety through conditioning it to associate being left alone and outdoors as a good thing. Here are a few tips and techniques that you may find useful.
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No.1 Arrivals and departures

Keep your arrivals and departures very low key. Try leaving her alone for at least 15 minutes when you come home. Just ignore her. If your dog calms down then show it some attention.

No.2 Do not respond

It is important that you do not respond to her when she starts acting up. This is inadvertently rewarding your dog for poor behavior and will not help. If your dog starts barking or whining then ignore it, no matter how difficult that may be. Do not even make eye contact.

No.3 Attention

Only give her attention when she is lying down or relaxed and not actively seeking attention (by barking for example). Do this by calling her over and making her sit before petting, etc.

No.4 Contrast

Your dog is probably having difficulty accepting that sometimes he is going to get all the attention and other times none (like when you are at work). You can help this problem by ignoring your dog for 6 hours a day on the weekends. You can feed your dog but that's it. The idea is that your dog will think "What's the big deal when my owners are gone, even when they are home, they still ignore me".

No.5 Exercise

30 minutes before you leave home walk your dog for 15 minutes at a fast pace. If your dog is tired then it will have less energy to be a nuisance with.

No.6 Crate/Kennel

You could get a dog door put on your door to the backyard. Place a crate inside the house so that when your dog goes through the dog door it can only get into the crate. This has worked effectively for some people.

No.7 Clothing

Try giving your dog something of yours with your scent on it. This may allay its fears when you are not with it.

No.8 Sit-stay and down-stay

Practice these exercises in particular as outlined in the SitStayFetch book. These exercises require your dog to respond to you for longer and longer periods of time, so should be good for its discipline. Once you have your dog staying for 10 minutes or so, then try moving out of its sight for a brief period of time.[/B]

Review the "Secrets to becoming the alpha dog" bonus book, this is vital for you. It will help immensely with getting your dog to respond to you in a variety of situations, such as when you are walking it. This will also help with your dogs aggression to your husband.

A method that is often very successful is to list all the things that trigger your dog off in the morning. This may range from something simple like picking up the keys, to the shower, the cereal box or the clothes that you wear.

Put the list in order of what he responds the least to and what he responds the most to. Eg: from something that may get him pacing or a small whimper, through to something that makes him howl and get very anxious.
The trick is to use these triggers to desensitize his behaviour.

Use the lowest trigger item ex: the keys, first. If it is keys pick them up, carry them around the house and then put them down. When you first pick them up make him sit and relax. Wait until you see his ears dip a little, his nose to drop, his tail to stop wagging and his breathing to slow down. The second he relaxes reward him with attention and petting. Rewarding his relaxation is very important.

Use the first stimulus a few times a day. When he has got used to being relaxed with the first item use the next trigger up on the list. In this way you move towards the more anxious triggers. In this way you will desensitize him.
Make sure you use the triggers in a way that will not make the dog more anxious. It will take time to do this.

You may also want to set up a radio on a time trigger. Get the radio to come on 10 minutes before you come home. Soon the dog will relate the radio to you coming home. As he does this you can extend the time the radio is on, which can help calm him down.

If the problem continues to worsen you can always get some advice from your vet on other medications.

Be patient and consistent with what you are doing and do not flood Ma with things that will make his anxiousness worse.

Blue