Separation anxiety and a big hello from sarah n frankie

[Ladyxxmacbeth]

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Hi everyone,

We (our family) have adopted an ex racing greyhound called Frankie. We were told that he would be ok with me going to work. I work for a few hours three times a week, but since we have had him which was Saturday he has been showing signs of being upset when my husband goes to work. I am still here but he whimpers and looks out the window. I ignore him when he does this and my husband doesn't make a fuss when he leaves but he is obviously quite sad that people have left even though I'm still here. This evening we went out for 2 hours and he weed on the Capet in my sons room. I gave him a toy with treats in and he seemed to be ok ish but obviously he wasn't that happy. He is house trained in all other areas, so I guess it is because he was on his own. I am happy to do the going out and coming back and extending the time but I have to go to work tomorrow and I'm worried he will be anxious again. He is the perfect dog other than this. He gets a walk in the morning, and then in the afternoon, and play in the garden. It's very early days and I want to make sure that it doesn't get worse. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sarah

 

[gypsysmum]

First I would check his health with a vet. You never know if he has a cystitis going on?

Next I would do a bit of house training by rewarding his wees and poos in the garden. It never does any harm.

Lots of dogs that come out of rescue suffer separation problems. They have no idea that the person they are bonding with is going to come ever come back again.

I would try popping in and out of the door, dressed as though you are going out. Try to fool him into thinking you are leaving him, so wear all the right shoes etc, and then come straight back in again and get on with your day. Do it as often as you can until he is unsure whether you will be back in two seconds, 30 seconds, a couple of minutes, ten minutes or a couple of hours.

Many dogs get worried by us preparing to go out so if you can make him bored with all of that and unsure about the length of time you will be away it may help him to just wait patiently until you do re-appear.

Try not to let him rest touching you and to be successful when he seeks attention. He will miss you more if he cannot touch you or seek attention. Give him lots of attention but only when he is being independent and resting somewhere on his own. Ignore all attention seeking and wait for him to go away, and settle for a few minutes, before approaching him to give him attention.

 

[Ladyxxmacbeth]

Thanks