Hi,
My staffy is 4 n half months old and i have one serious problem with him! when i go out even if its for a 5seconds he crys really bad and gets to a stage where it sounds like a screaming woman or as if hes in mager pain...
I've tried so many things from telling him off and putting him in a different room and then letting him cry it out abit and going in there completely ignoring him and coming doing stuff in that room for abit and then coming out again alot, ive also tried leaving him in his crate too see if that would work but it doesnt! ive tried putting him in another room with lots of toys, food,rawhide, actual bones. nothing seems to work and im getting notes in through my door complaining ect and i just dont know what to do anymore, i need urgent help this problem of his anything im willing to take into consideration just badly need to get rid of this problem!
please please help anyone....
thanks anne x

He's suffering separation anxiety. Dogs are pack animals and in the wild will rarely separate from the pack. In the human world it's a different story. In theirs, it's a strong survival instinct to alert the pack to their location if they get lost. It's not crying as such, more a 'Um guys? You forgot about me' noise. 4 Months is going to be tough for him to learn about this strange world and being left alone will feel very unnatural for him. All he's known so far is mummy dog and constant oooh, aahhhh, and attention.

Take time out to spend working on it and leave him alone for a few seconds at first. Leave him inside while you get something from the car, close him in the kitchen while you lay the table. Just little things to get him used to accepting that when you're gone, you'll be back.

After a while start making these sessions longer. Read a book, watch TV in another room with the door closed. But this time wait as long as it takes for him to be quiet. As soon as he is quiet, open the door and allow him to know you're there, bring him through to join you, start playing etc. While he's making noises, don't show any attention good or bad as in his eyes, there's no such thing as bad attention. You need to teach him that absence is only temporary and not to worry. Just ensure he has access to drinking water during the longer stints as you could be there for some time initially.

Dogs don't understand holidays, jobs, nipping out to the car, going shopping. All he sees is that you're gone, and he doesn't know whether or not you're ever coming back.

I threw mine in the deep end as we had lots to work on. We started with nights and kept him outside the bedroom. The first night he whined for ages, the second it was just for an hour. By the 4th he accepted it and stayed quiet. 2 MONTHS later he's brave enough to leave the bedroom door and wander downstairs. He can still smell us so it's not so bad. When leaving the house he waits by the door for 2 minutes, whines for 5 then lies down quietly. (the joys of a digital camera)

Mine did this for a bit when they were young not to bad but i stoped it by getting a kong toy and filling it with paste ( yes just cheep stuff from the local shop) gave this to them in another hidden in a box with old towels and stuff so it took his attention away from me .

Hope you find something that will work .x

Found this that may help.


Separation anxiety is an enormous problem in the canine world. This article discusses ways us dog lovers can ideally prevent separation anxiety or at least treat it effectively.

One of the greatest joys of dog ownership is the tight bond we experience and encourage with our dogs. However, if your dog becomes too reliant or dependant on you, dog separation anxiety can develop.

Dog Separation Anxiety is an enormous problem to an estimated 10% of all puppies and older dogs. Somewhat ironically, it is the major cause for dogs ending up in animal shelters. I wish I could say dog separation anxiety is an easy fix, but the truth is it can be a very difficult and time consuming problem to turn around.

Let’s take a look at separation anxiety from your dogs perspective. You are the most important thing in your dogs life. Dogs are very sociable creatures and thrive on company for many reasons. If your dog had a choice he/she would spend every bit of his time with you. So it’s only natural that when you go out, your dog can experience varying degrees of distress and anxiety. He becomes confused, vulnerable, doesn’t know where you are going, why he can’t be with you and if you will be coming back to him. When you are separated all he wants is to be reunited with his pack – which is you.

Punishment is never the answer to treating dog separation anxiety!

Does Your Dog Suffer From Separation Anxiety?

There’s every chance your dog is suffering from a Separation Anxiety disorder rather than another dog behavior problem if:

1. Your dog gets really worked up and anxious when you are preparing to leave the house. Things like picking up your car keys or putting on your coat can trigger the behavior.

2. Your dog engages in inappropriate behavior only when you are separated. I expand on this topic further down the page, but behavior such as urinating inside, excessive barking and destructive behavior are common symptoms of Separation Anxiety in dogs.

3. Your dog follows you everywhere you go and immediately becomes distressed if he can’t be near you.

4. When you arrive home your dog is over the top with his greeting and takes a while to calm down.
Why Do Dogs Suffer From Separation Anxiety?

There are many theories on this one. In some cases the cause or trigger can be pinpointed to a particular event, but often there appears to be no explanation for the Separation Anxiety to commence. What I can say is that Separation Anxiety in dogs regularly occurs:

* Straight after a change in routine. Such as your work hours changing or a family member leaves home. Remember dogs are creatures of habit and any changes can be very unsettling to them.
* If you have been on vacation or unemployed for some time and have been spending heaps of time with your dog. When you go back to work your dog becomes anxious and distressed.
* Unfortunately dog’s rescued from animal shelters contribute a highly disproportionate number of Separation Anxiety cases.
* After your dog experiences a traumatic event while on his own. If a thunderstorm lashes your home while your dog is alone, this can trigger Separation Anxiety in the future.
* If your dog is rarely left alone and becomes overly reliant on his pack.
* When you move house to a new neighbourhood.

How Does Dog Separation Anxiety Manifest Itself?

* Barking
* Whining
* Licking
* Destructive Behavior
* Chewing
* Howling
* Panic Attacks
* Digging
* Inappropriate Urinating
* House Soiling
* Self Mutilation
* Escaping
* Diarrhea
* Loss Of Appetite
* Excessive Salivation
* Vomiting
* Jumping Through Windows
* Crying

What Can You Do To Help Your Dog Overcome Separation Anxiety?

The treatment administered to your dogs separation anxiety problem depends on its severity. You will find lots of theories and suggestions regarding the correct way to treat separation anxiety – I’ll just inform you of what’s worked for me.

The 4 Step Program I Used To Fix My Dalmation’s Separation Anxiety Problem

My dalmation Harrison developed Separation Anxiety seemingly for no reason when he was about 7 years old. He would start digging and crying as soon as I left the house, even if my other family members were home. My Veterinarian suggested this training process, it achieved the desired result but took plenty of time and patience.

Aside from the 4 step program listed below, I continued to practice the general day to day duties of responsible dog ownership. By this I mean things like providing a safe and comfortable bed, plenty of exercise and obedience training.

Harry would start to get anxious (his whole body would shake) at the very first sign of me leaving the house. This typically would be putting my shoe’s on or turning off the TV or heater. It became a real problem for Harry, myself and the rest of my family, this is how we eventually solved it:
Step 1

Since Harry was always by my side when I was home I had to slowly teach him that he didn’t always need to be close to me. I started out by ignoring his attention seeking behavior (jumping up, barking etc.) and then did some solid practice of his down stay. Little by little we extended the time and distance we spent apart, until he was happy to be alone for up to 30 minutes. Of course, we still spent lots of fun time together.
Step 2

The next step was to get him used to being outside when I was inside. Again we started off with very small periods apart and gradually lengthened the time over a couple of weeks. If you try this Separation Anxiety treatment make sure that you don’t just leave your dog outside to get all worked up and stressed. The trick is to start out leaving your dog out for a few seconds, then going out and reuniting before he shows any signs of Separation Anxiety. Give your dog a treat or dog toy to keep his mind off missing you. Only initiate contact with your dog when he is calm and quiet.
Step 3

The next step in fixing Harry’s Separation Anxiety problem was to eliminate the distress caused by me getting ready to leave the house for work. What I did was write a list of all the triggers that started Harry’s anxiety. I then set about desensitizing him to these triggers. I’d put my shoe’s on, and not go anywhere. Put my coat on, then sit down to read the paper. Pick up my car keys and just carry them around with me, jangling along as I went about my business. After a while (about 3 weeks) Harry barely offered a sideways glance at my shenanigans.
Step 4

When Harry was completely calm in situations that would have unsettled him in the past, I left the house. At first I just stepped outside, shut the door and came back inside within 20 seconds – before he made a sound. Again this was a slow process, similar to step 2. I extended the time outside the front door and then graduated to starting the car, then driving around the block before I came back inside. You can provide a tasty treat to your dog on your way out the door, something that he can work on for a while. Harry’s favorite was a frozen Kong stuffed full of peanut butter and a few liver treats, this eventually kept him occupied for hours. Remember that when you return home, don’t make a huge fuss. Come inside, get changed, pour yourself a nice hot coffee, then greet your calm dog.

This process did prove effective for me and my anxious dalmation. All up the 4 steps took about 5 weeks to work through and fix Harry’s Separation Anxiety problem. My Vet suggested that I supplement this training with some medication. I didn’t go down that path, but it would have been my next step if required.

Whichever method you choose to treat dog separation anxiety, be sure to stick with it and don’t expect any immediate results.

Chris Smith is a long time dog owner and runs a website designed for people who choose to train their dogs the right way, at home.

Hi

It took us about a month to get Rohan to sleep in his cage without howling for at least an hour first. Not fun wehen you and the neighbours are deperately trying to get some sleep!
He is just under five months now and he will go in his crate to sleep during the day without being guided and is quiet when we are out and at night.

I'm not sure what finally did the trick it may just be that he was getting older but we changed from putting a kong in with him to just sitting next to his crate at night time until he lay down to sleep properly. It usually took about 10 minutes of sitting in the dark not talking or giving him attention but just so he knew we were there, so not much fun but worth it. I'd say we did it solidly for about a week and a half and now he just gets in when we say bed time.
The kong just distracted him for ten minutes then the noise would start, plus he's be full of energy from whatever we had stuffed it with.

When we leave him to go out I also say' won't be long' so he associates it with me leaving and pop a couple of treats in. Again we keep a specific treat for when he's being left alone ( puppie markies) rather than usuing the same for everything. Again in the hope the puppy associates it in his head.

Might be worth a try?

Sorry I also meant to say that we moved Rohans bowls into his crate and started feeding him in there so he started associating it with good things.
It seems simple but I'm sure it helped as before he only saw it as a place to be locked away. Now he leaps in on the off chance its tea time!

Thanks for all the replys, as for crate training hes been pretty much crate trained within the week i know that may sound stupid but he understands its his bed he takes all his treats there and understands its his bed. he always sleeps in there if hes tired, he'll just go in on his own without me telling him to but also at night hes really good i literally feed him and then when hes finished he goes to toilet and comes in, i put him in his crate and put the cover over and he ges straight to sleep and doesnt make a sound all night or morning untill 9am when i get up to take him out! this is why im soo confused at why he wont just do this during the day?! when i tried to do this during the day he completley flipped out and wouldnt stop crying and it gets so bad it sounds like hes screaming its awfull! but i will deffinetly try those tactics no matter what!
thank you for all the advice, please do keep it coming i value all help that anyone is willing to offer. thanxs

Hi

A useful post from Moboyd, would be interested to know where it was from, however, it must be something about dogs called Harry!!! When I had Harriet, from a rescue, she was about 12 weeks old and had been in kennels for several weeks. A terrier X, she would scream if left at all. She would also scream in the car, even next to me, honestly you would have thought I had strangled her.

However, she too was happy to go into her crate, but I had to be with her, or the screaming would start - at night too. I started off in the evenings, when we had had a game, a walk etc., and I wanted to watch TV, to put the crate right next to my legs, my leg touching the crate, gradually she would settle down, either with a Kong or not. After a few days, I moved it slilghtly further away and then started sitting in another chair slightly accross the room, she now started to relax, but still needed to be in the same room with me.

I also did this beside my bed and eventually moved her to the door, out on the landing and to the bottom of the stairs. From day one if she made a fuss, I would just say, 'OK, settle' and nothing else, I never went back to her until she was relaxed. Once or twice I took it back a stage because she started stressing again.

Eventually in the evenings, I had it so she was in the hallway and then in the kitchen, whilst I was in the living room, until the crate stayed in the kitchen all the time, mostly with the door open. It sounds like I kept her in the crate all the time, I didn't of course, but she would lean against my leg if she was next to me, so I would move it, I wouldn't let her on my lap when she wanted, but if she had settled down nearby, I would pick her up and give her a cuddle (after all I needed the cuddle too!).

In the car I did the same, crate next to me on the front seat, then into the back and then into the boot area.

As time progressed she relaxed and by the time she was 6 months old, was happy to be left in her crate and at 8 months I did away with it all together.

I thought it took bloomin ages, but I did all the stuff textbook and it really worked.

When I look back now, it was a good learning curve and taught me an awful lot!

Kate

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Listen to everyone, but use what suits you... and if it works, don't change it!

wow your dog learnt quite quickly then! whats the thing your all talking about 'a kong'?? is that some kind of treat?if it is where can i get it because i go out ive tried everything for treats wise but he will only eat them when i come in. im just going to have to be patient i guess but still a really hard problem too deal with! x

I just love Kongs.

A rubber toy, hollow inside just right for stuffing with stuff!! A tiny hole in the top, in which to wedge a tiny biscuit. When you throw it it bounces anywhere.

My dog would throw hers down the stairs to get the treat out. Keeps them quiet for ages...

KONG Pet Toys - Legendary Strength, Quality, and Performance

Red ones are normal ones, black ones really tough ones for the most incredible chewers, blue ones float.....

Have a couple you leave with your puppy, with something yummy in - cheese and biscuits, peanut butter etc. etc. Half an hour with a Kong will tire even the maddest puppy!

Kate

__________________
Listen to everyone, but use what suits you... and if it works, don't change it!