Help! Puppy separation anxiety

julieandjojo

Background: We have had our lab/beagle mix Daisy since May, she is now 6.5 months old. At first she never chewed on anything destructively until she was about 4 months. SN: I have no prior experience w/puppies, and DH does but his never experienced these issues. I didn't want to crate train her b/c at times Daisy will be alone for up to 6 hours (rarely, but still) however in general daily she's alone about 4 hours on weekdays, and I read that the dog should not be crated daily or for more than 2ish hours at a time (is that right?). We also have a 4 yr old dog and now that they're used to each other they get along ok - another reason I didn't want to crate train b/c the other dog is not crate trained, she is fine in the enclosed space we give them aka the kitchen. Anyway -- Daisy has been completely destroying our house, ripping up linoleum, chewing on stairs, she got into a wire or two, destroying a houseplant, getting into the couch and chewing it up, etc. At this time I probably don't walk her enough which I am going to do more starting today, and we have not yet tried the Kong treat balls or treat puzzles, which we are picking up today. Please offer any advice you can about treating/minimizing separation anxiety.

GrayGhost13

To be honest, from your description, it is hard to tell if it is normal puppy boredom and desire to chew things or if it really is SA. "I'll Be Home Soon" by Patricia McConnell is a great book on SA, and one of the first chapters deals with how to distinguish SA from "normal" misbehavior.

Either way, for her safety, you should probably introduce crate training as soon as possible. If she ingests a piece of the furniture or flooring that she chews on she could end up with a life-threatening obstruction. Here's a link on crate training from the Pets Board FAQ page. Plenty of people have one dog crated and one dog not, so you wouldn't have to crate your older dog if you didn't want to.

Your plans to up her exercise and introduce some food puzzles are great ideas. You might also try some basic obedience or something fun like tricks training for mental stimulation. If you dramatically increase her exercise and mental stimulation, she will be more able to learn to rest quietly while you're gone.

SA is a challenging problem, but I am hopeful for your sake that this is just puppy mischief and with some more structure and stimulation she'll grow out of it. GL!

ShellyAvery

I agree with PP that it could just be average puppy mischief. I personally don't believe in crate training and the more she is cooped up the worse these negative behaviors could become. I would try to increase her exercise regiment as well as introducing new toys and making sure she has rawhide bones available for chewing. If she still doesn't improve crating maybe your only option if you simply don't have more time to spend with her.

bekahdrum

Crate Train!  It is safer for the pup to be in a crate where you control what it can get a hold of no matter how long it is in their than eating linoleum.  I have a lab that has free reign when we are out, and a mix that is crate trained.  She runs straight to her crate when I open the basement door in the morning and when we have company and she gets stressed that is where she goes.  She does have mine does have some SA no matter how much we run in the morning, or what toys we give her she chews anything she can get a hold of.  It really sounds like yours is just being a normal bored pup.  More exercise and use a crate.  It is the farthest thing from cruel when use properly. 

Also, I don't know where you got that crating makes behavior worse because that is false, my Chrissy is a very well behaved dog.  She was the best behaved of all the dogs in our office on Take Your Dog to work day (the rest normally have free reign in their houses) and stayed by my side all day off leash.

mrsbiss2be

I went through the chewing on everything stage, including the corners of walls, with my pup. She's just over a year now and thank goodness that stage is over.

I didn't do the crate training myself, which I really should have for her safety in case anything should have happend. But honestly, the chewing isn't going to stop for awhile. She's teething and needs something to make her mouth feel better.

I have two suggestions which actually slowed down the chewing in my home:

1) Buy teething toys. Just like babies they need something that they can chew on. Check out PetSmart if you have one around. They have a ton of teething toys.

2) You know those rope toys? Well take one and sit it in water for awhile so it basically is soaked in water. Take the rope toy and put it in the freezer. This really works. My Bella LOVED it! It distracted her for for quite some time and helped slow down the chewing on everything else.

 Best of luck!

cs026a

You need to crate train - for her safety, mostly!! If she ingests something, it could get caught in her airway, and she could choke before you get home. You don't need to do it forever, but until she proves she can handle the responsibility of being left out alone..I wouldn't do it.

 

Also, take a look at pet enclosures of some kind. Like exercise pens. This will obviously depend on how big your dog is, but it is the only safe alternative to crating I can think of.  

cs026a

Also, adult dogs can be crated safely for anywhere between 6-8 hours. Puppy's should be crated under 6 hours for sure (probably 4 to be safe). Give safe fun toys (kongs filled with peanut butter or pumpkin, for example). But the 2 hours you stated that you had read...sure, ideally you'd be with your pet 100% of the time. But hey, we can't take them everywhere, right? 

We have a dog who developed SA as an adult, however with her crate training she has remained safe and kept her stress controlled. Outside of the crate, when left alone, although not destructive - she gets incredibly stressed, running from one end of the house to the other, drooling, whining, and barking uncontrollably. SA can come in so many different forms - however I do think you may just have a bored energetic puppy on your hands! 

ilovemygirls

Agree w/pp re: crate training.  Absolutely.  One of the other major things- whether SA or not- is to not make a big deal of your comings & goings.  I had a dog with severe SA & saw a behaviorist, that was one of her big suggestions.  People have a tendency to make a big thing out of leaving the house, and esp. when you return.   When you leave, give the treat (kong, whatever), a pat & goodbye.  When you come back, resist the temptation to get all excited like the dog is to see you, don't use high-pitched voice, etc.. Honestly, I used these same techniques on my kids ( who I had later in life, after my SA dog) and they worked pretty darn well with them too lol.