# Cries and jumps at door whenever ANYONE leaves



## bboylayz (Sep 7, 2010)

My 6 month old GSD has some pretty bad separation anxiety issues. We do crate train him, keep him tired, do lots of training with him in general. And we do make a habit of making him spend some time in the crate during the day even though I'm home almost all day. We are very very careful in not reinforcing bad behaviors by accident. So much then when he is crying and I am in another room, I won't come back until he's been quiet for a few minutes. This resulted in me taking a 45 minute cold shower when he was a puppy because he wouldn't stop crying and I didn't want to move and rile him up again haha.

Anyways, he love people. So much that when anyone comes in and spends just a couple minutes with him and then leaves, he will immediately stark crying up a storm as soon as the door shuts and jump up at the door. It ends pretty quickly (within 30 seconds) but it would be nice if the behavior stopped. He seems to cry for everything which we never reinforce. For example, when the car stops he knows its time to go so he starts crying. If I open my door (and he's in the back) he cries even more. So I sit back down and wait for him to be calm. And keep doing this until I can get out of the car and open the back door. But it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Any idea how to stop these behaviors? We do lots of positive reinforcement training with him daily. But this one we can't break.


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## AxelsDad (Jul 7, 2011)

Bump this ... I'm dealing with this with a 7 month old pup. Everything is exactly the same, I'm just looking for some answers or some better methods to correct or control this.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

There is a big difference between separation anxiety, and a dog who is under exercised, over stimulated and really, really, really wants to go outside.


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## bboylayz (Sep 7, 2010)

No it is definitely not that. He is six months old and take him out everyday for a few hours. For example, we took him on a 5 mile hike and he was exhausted. But as soon as he realized we were out the door, you would think he was couped up all day. Same deal when I just go into another room and close the door. Bathroom, bedroom, etc. Im really thinking is sep anxiety. When he is in his crate and I'm there he is fine. When I leave while hes in the crate, he makes a ruckus (not for long anymore again, just a good 5-15 seconds of yelling).

He is very well stimulated daily, training, exercise, everything. We keep him nice and tired and keep him thinking.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

You staying in the car while he cries is reinforcing the behavior. In his mind if he cries, you come back and sit. The only way to make him understand is to reward the good behavior. My pup gets really excited when the car stops because he thinks he's coming with, he now knows to go to the hatch (in my mini) rather than try to sneak out the door. When the hatch doesn't open, he freaks out a bit, but nothing major and we get on with our plans. He used to jump out right away when I opened the hatch, that was dangerous because I didn't always have a hold on his leash. I taught him to stay until I release him to jump out. But that is a calm down and you will be rewarded by coming out with us. Don't really equate you staying in the car and then leaving once he's calm as a reason for him to stay calm, you're leaving either way.

I think he will calm down with age. As long as he's not hurting himself in his kennel because you're gone I don't think you should worry. A few cries here and there aren't the end of the world. Look up the thread about people that had a dog that would bend the crate and almost killed itself while trying to get out of the kennel, that's an issue. He's still a puppy and he will realize in time that you are coming back and that there's nothing to worry about.


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## bboylayz (Sep 7, 2010)

Yeah we do the same with the car. Once he finally calms down, we go back to get him, open it up and make him sit and wait and maintain eye contact for a few seconds. Then we release him with "ok". But getting to that point is a pain trying to be patient as he calms down haha.

Yeah I've heard of the dogs that really try to escape. Scary! I am lucky he doesn't do that.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Takes a while, but they figure it out. Mine has caught on to the fact that once I grab his leash he can jump out. He's also to the point that his heeling is very good off leash and the first time I told him to jump out without holding his leash he looked at me like "are you sure? you're not holding my leash!" Then he went, it was funny.

Just stick with it, he's still young, I had that problem a few months ago, I wanted a fully grown, fully trained, GSD that knew exactly what I wanted from him at all times. Just remind yourself that he is a puppy and still has some growing to do.


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## bboylayz (Sep 7, 2010)

martemchik said:


> Just remind yourself that he is a puppy and still has some growing to do.


I think that's what I always forget to keep in mind  He's just too smart and makes me forget he's still just a puppy haha


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Do you have a copy of Patricia McConnel's little booklet, "I'll Be Home Soon"? It's very useful for figuring out if your dog truly has SA. I'll Be Home Soon-Dog Behavior Problem Solving Booklets at Patricia McConnell

Rafi did have SA when I adopted him and I followed her protocol and was able to work him through it (it took 7 weeks). 

The whining is a gsd thing. I had one who was a terrible whiner and I finally realized I was subtly reinforcing it. :headbang:


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## bboylayz (Sep 7, 2010)

No, but I just ordered it off amazon. Thanks!

Yeah I'm always afraid I'm accidentally reinforcing certain behaviors. I try to be really cautious.


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