Good Luck, hope it helps. I hated leaving Harvey knowing he would howl, but loads better now. Just be consistant so he knows what is expected of him

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The crate during the day really is a last resort. I'm currently getting quotes done to have a dog run built outside. He has a lot more to keep him amused outside, rather than staring at 4 walls all day long.

He can chase flies for hours on end!

Thanks for a fantastic thread! I just picked my new dog up from the rescue centre a couple of days ago. He's obviously a bit stressed and confused from all the stuff going on around him, and has decided the safest thing to do is to constantly be within half an inch of me. Having read this thread I now have an idea of what to do in order to stop the situation developing and him turning into a velcro monster! Fingers crossed we get it right!

Kine

Good luck with your new addition. Hope he settles in well

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hi all ,tried the 5 minite theory , hes just not getting it.. will try calmatives next but not hopefull , i have spoke to both neighbours and been told its constant ,and he sounds really stressed ,its now getting me down , as i feel i cant go out at all, and i have a unhappy dog.... not sure how this will work out . hes a lovely dog , so really want this to work out .

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It's a shame that all that is based on Dominance theory. Cross species domination is something I really do not believe in, and is very misunderstood, because people learn all about it from people like CM/DW.

An example here. I am expecting Harvey's SA recovery to take a dent because we are inflicting big changes. He has to endure his home being packed into boxes, be crated for about 10 hours, Fly when he gets a bit travel sick, be separated from me during the check in process-Flight-Collection, allowed no medication to help with this, or toys as a boardem buster. Then meet many new people, stay in a strange house, meet 2 new dogs, sleep in a strange house. Then endure another 7 hours journey, (with breaks this time) arrive at another strange envrionment, meet new people, dogs, smells and experiences. Endure temperatures he has never known and weather he has never known.

I very much expect to take a few steps backward, Why? Because I moved him away from all things familiar. How can any of the above be knitted into the dominance theory. It's simple uncertainty, which will take time to iron out again. NOT because I am pack leader, I am a human who provides all he needs. I am not a dog, and I don't hunt for food, therefore I am not alpha male. He still respects me because I condition him to. You don't bite me coz it hurts, you don't pee in my house coz it stinks and so on.

Mutual Respect not Dominance


I have just had time to read through the above link, an personally I would not advise ANYONE to heed. Dogs are not out to take over humans. Following that link is going to make pretty miserable dog ownership
QUOTE from the above link
During the time you are establishing your higher pack position, no hugs should be given to the dog by you, as a dominant dog may consider this a challenge of power.

Not the way I will choose to teach my dog I will always come back, and to feel safe and secure

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CALMATIVES for everyone... 4-foots + 2-foots, both.
Pet Forums Community - View Single Post - dog body-language - and why it matters so much...

OVERALL dvm, re separating departure cues from exits -
What is Behavior Modification? | k9aggression.com
LOOK in the right-margin for the title

tethering for when U are home, to prevent shadowing U about -
Tethered to Success
an 18-inch free length between the clips on either end is plenty -
many big-box DIY stores will cut them to length and crimp the spring-clips into a loop on either end.
nylon-coated bike cable in a light weight is suggested.
screw an eye-bolt right into the baseboard, OUT of traffic paths; if U put an eye-bolt in each room, the dog has a space of his own, no matter where U are, and cannot be stepping on Ur heels, lying on Ur feet, leaning on U, etc.

FROZEN STUFFED KONGS or other busywork, to keep the dog happily engaged -
put half of brekkie in one Kong the night before, deliver it **just** before walking out the door.

safe chew-toys:
solid rubber, solid nylon: flavored or scented bones of nylon, bumpy rubber balls to chew, rubber playing-jacks,...
WASH all rubber items before offering them to the dog - many makers powder them with a foul-tasting fine,
clingy powder to repel greasy dirt, which is disgusting stuff [don't ask...]

dog-soothing music which is associated beforehand with U being HOME, and is regularly reinforced as a happy-association with times when the dog is calm, all is copacetic, and the house is peaceful...

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

pardon me, snoop -
but let me be brutally frank - this link leads to the biggest load of sloppy manure that i have ever seen,
outside of a honey-wagon for spreading the stuff on fields before cultivating them.
i mean LOOK at this tortured, twisted, complex rationalization -
how many twists + turns of logic, there! i get dizzy just thinking about it - good heavens.

dogs who suffer GENUINE sep-anx are in a panic - because THEY, the dogs, are afraid to be alone -
not because they have premonitions that U will be struck-down by a drunk driver, or killed in a falling elevator,
or be mugged + die of a blunt-force head injury... dogs do not subscribe to the SUN.

"get another DOG" is often not only pointless, but makes it WORSE -
the sep-anx sufferer does not miss k9-company, they want HUMANS around to feel safe + secure; the 2nd dog
is often a fifth-wheel when the owners leave, and can in fact, 'catch' the anxiety or at least the destructive
behaviors of the 1st-dog; the FIRST dog destroys doors, sills, floors at exits, carpet, lino, etc, in a frantic attempt
to escape; the SECOND dog palely mimics the 1st, but focuses on more traditional targets - sofas, the remotes,
books, soft-furnishings...
just watching them will cure the separation anxiety!? WoW...
i had no idea, they are mind-control for dogs! i watch the DVD, and my dog's behavior CHANGES - with no intervention, management, B-Mod, new training, nuthin - it just HAPPENS, i am in awe... well, no i am not in awe...
i am astounded that anyone would believe that, tho.

first, last and always:
to change the dog's behavior, We Humans Must Change Ours FIRST.
thats the only way it works; change what WE do, changes what THEY do.
if we keep doing what we are doing... we get what we are getting.

dominance is not the root-cause of sep-anx;
FEARS and ANXIETIES cause the dog severe distress, and in the worst cases,
the dog will self-injure: break teeth on crate-doors or metal gates, rip open paw-pads tearing at metal sill plates,
rip doors + embed painful splinters in paws and legs, jump thru closed windows, and more.
a panic disorder is not soothed or scared away by yelling at it - more tension only means more tension, which is IMO not only useless, but exacerbating.

U cannot DOMINATE separation-anxiety - U can reduce or modify it, U can treat it thru a vet-behaviorist,
U can ignore it and end by euthanizing the dog, or give the dog up to someone else to fix [unlikely],
who will very possibly euthanize the dog themselves - TREATMENT is time-consuming and needs patience;
in cases with self-injury, it needs psychoactive meds from a vet-behaviorist and a treatment protocol written out by the DVM-Beh.

for mild cases, B-mod, calmatives, DS/CC and patience help.
see the booklet, I'll be Home Soon... by *patricia McConnell*.

JMO + IME - happy B-Mod,
--- terry

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Took me a while to read it all but this was a very interesting thread