separation anxiety

[Gaelle]

I've just figured out that some of Cuthbert's problems could be separation anxiety. He goes nuts if I leave him alone in his crate. Even if Martin is in the room and I leave he usually runs to the door looking for me and if we are all out for a walk and I am out of his sight , he gets very anxious and nearly pulls Martin off his feet, trying to get back to me. While this is all very flattering in a way, it is not healthy, so (and John please correct me if I'm wrong) I'm going to have to institute NILF and also work on leaving him alone for increasing periods of time and reducing the amount of attention he gets. I think that's how to do it. Looks like we're in for a less than easy time in the next few days/weeks.

[John Thomson]

you are correct Gaelle,

when dealing with separation anxiety you have to start very slowly and build the dogs confidence. You are teaching the dog that firstly as pack leader you are free to come and go as you please and that nothing he does will change this in any way.
Start will sit stays.............slowly build the distance/time he remains sitting, don't rush it a 5 second success is better than trying for 30 seconds and him breaking the stay. You can build this up to the point at which you can leave the room before returning to him.

john
_________________
John Thomson
www.cumbernaulddogtraining.co.uk

[Suzanne H]

Another wee tip, as we went through it a bit - share the tasks so he doesn't rely on one person. Ian does most of the walking and I do most of the feeding so he now shares his affection pretty evenly.

Otto used to cry in the crate at night - took months to fix and it's hard to ignore as I felt so guilty. But be strong - it works in the end.

My neighbour says she doesn't hear him while we're out and he's quiet all night now, but he still whines if he's left alone in a room. But that's not separation anxiety that's just "let me out, I need to be involved."