# Help! separation anxiety = 2 busted crates & stressed owners



## MEOsGal

We adopted a 3YO GSD named Shasta last weekend. She's already torn up our master bedroom 2x - once, while loose but contained in the room, and today, after breaking out of a vari-kennel that was contained in the room. 

The vet has prescribed fluoxetine but it's going to take days or weeks for that to kick in. What do we do in the meantime? She has to be contained some how, some way from 7am-1:30pm M-F while we are away from our house. We can't let her destroy anything else in our home and the GSD rescue org we got her from doesn't have room to take her back. 

Any suggestions or places we can get some immediate help? She's a super sweet dog but has severe anxiety that's going to end this relationship soon if we can't find a solution.


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## jakes mom

Hi 

Poor Shasta and poor you. I'm not aware of a quick fix. Hopefully someone else is. 

No real suggestions that you probably haven't thought of already but...... 

Did the rescue know she had this problem ? If they did, it was irresponsible to let her go to someone who can't be with her full time and slowly build her up to being left. 

Is there no-one, a family member maybe, who would be willing to stay with her, for a few hours a day? Or could you hire a dog sitter?

Do the rescue have any strong crates they would be willing to lend you - or can you buy one? 

Take her for a really good run before you leave her - at least she'll be tired, and may sleep. 

Have you some filled frozen kongs, food dispensers or chewy tools, to leave her with? 

Leave the radio or TV on. 

I wonder if 'Rescue Remedy' would help her

You refer to 'we', so is there any chance one or both of you could manage to get home earlier than normal, or even work different hours for a few weeks. 

I can only suggest you spend the weekend, trying to reassure her by leaving her for a minute or so, and returning, short leave, return , repeat and repeat and slowly increase the time she can cope. Don't hold out much hope though. These problems take a long time to fix. 

Good Luck, I hope someone has some suggestions for you.


Sue


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## llombardo

jakes mom said:


> Hi
> 
> Poor Shasta and poor you. I'm not aware of a quick fix. Hopefully someone else is.
> 
> No real suggestions that you probably haven't thought of already but......
> 
> Did the rescue know she had this problem ? If they did, it was irresponsible to let her go to someone who can't be with her full time and slowly build her up to being left.
> 
> Is there no-one, a family member maybe, who would be willing to stay with her, for a few hours a day? Or could you hire a dog sitter?
> 
> Do the rescue have any strong crates they would be willing to lend you - or can you buy one?
> 
> Take her for a really good run before you leave her - at least she'll be tired, and may sleep.
> 
> Have you some filled frozen kongs, food dispensers or chewy tools, to leave her with?
> 
> Leave the radio or TV on.
> 
> I wonder if 'Rescue Remedy' would help her
> 
> You refer to 'we', so is there any chance one or both of you could manage to get home earlier than normal, or even work different hours for a few weeks.
> 
> I can only suggest you spend the weekend, trying to reassure her by leaving her for a minute or so, and returning, short leave, return , repeat and repeat and slowly increase the time she can cope. Don't hold out much hope though. These problems take a long time to fix.
> 
> Good Luck, I hope someone has some suggestions for you.
> 
> 
> Sue


Besides these, if she's good with other dogs, maybe a doggie daycare?


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## Bismarck

no doggie day care.
way too soon for that.
they make plastic kennels for air transport. they are very sturdy.
give her something to do in the crate (freeze a kong with food/kibble/peanut butter/yogurt/fruit/whatever.
play some relaxing music. so this when you're at home also. just because you're home doesn't mean she is automatically let out of the crate.
number one this is to make the crate a nice, safe, fun place for her.


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## Bismarck

read this post and you'll see what i mean when i say don't let her out of the crate just because you're home....

http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...ng-not-strangle-my-moms-bf-2.html#post2432175


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## N Smith

Bismarck said:


> no doggie day care.
> way too soon for that.
> they make plastic kennels for air transport. they are very sturdy.
> give her something to do in the crate (freeze a kong with food/kibble/peanut butter/yogurt/fruit/whatever.
> play some relaxing music. so this when you're at home also. just because you're home doesn't mean she is automatically let out of the crate.
> number one this is to make the crate a nice, safe, fun place for her.


I second this and wanted to add that if the dog keeps breaking out of crates repeatedly it can become a self satisfying reward. What I have done in the past is put an intermediate crate INSIDE a xlarge crate, then ziptied the doors. 

After about a month of this we got rid of the zip ties, then about a month after that the door of the large crate, then another month we took of the bottom of the larger crate (left the top hanging over), then finally the top. It took 4-5 months to completely have the dog comfortable with the crate, but after that life was a breeze for both parties


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## Twyla

MEOsGal said:


> The vet has prescribed fluoxetine but it's going to take days or weeks for that to kick in. What do we do in the meantime? She has to be contained some how, some way from 7am-1:30pm M-F while we are away from our house. We can't let her destroy anything else in our home and the GSD rescue org we got her from doesn't have room to take her back.


You may want to talk to the vet about going with Reconcile instead of the generic fluoxetine. While it may be the same medicine, the formula may vary just enough to cause a difference to the effectiveness. But along with the meds is the training program, which means slowly increasing her time in the crate and you are away. Which unless you are able to take a vacation or have someone come in for that time, that won't work. Outside the box thought - while the rescue doesn't have room to take her back, wonder if it would be possible you and they can set up some sort of dog sitting for the time you are away at work. You could take her there or a member's home for the morning hours and pick her up after work. Temporary while you work on this issue. _As I said outside of the box thought, don't yell I'm crazy _ They would hopefully try to work with you somehow like this since there was no warning of your girl's problem.

Some have set up kennels in the garage or basement so their dogs have more room then a crate, but with the level of anxiety it sounds like, that could backfire as well and you'd be faced with broken teeth or cuts from the fencing.


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## msvette2u

Separation Anxiety In Dogs – How To Treat It

From the site-- 

"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. You can read more about it here – How To Train A Dog, dog training tips and techniques for home based dog trainers "


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## blehmannwa

Sent you a pm.


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