Separation Anxiety

[chrisbutton]

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Hoping for some more advice on our new Whippet puppy, Barney. He's been with us for 10 days and is 11 weeks old and has settled in really well in all respects other than that he hates being on his own and whines and barks constantly when we go out.

He loves his crate and is happy being shut in it over night (in our room) and is fine being shut in his play-pen in the kitchen for short periods during the day so long as one of us is around, but really creates as soon as we go out. The pen is 4ft x 4ft so there's plenty of room for his crate, toys, food, water, etc.

We've tried to gradually build up the time that he's alone but he starts whining and barking as soon as we leave; even though we've had a really good play session and in the normal way would be more than ready for a sleep. The longest we've left him so far is two and a half hours and he's never had any accidents as we make sure he's been outside before we go. When we get back his bedding is all over the place, but as soon as he sees us he stops barking and quickly relaxes, We don't make a big deal of leaving him or coming home and letting him out and he happily trots in and out of the pen afterwards and at all other times.

My wife has to go back to work on Monday which means she will be away for nearly five hours. My mum has offered to pop in to see him mid morning to begin with which is great, but if his track record is anything to go by he'll still bark up until she arrives and as soon as she leaves.

We know he is safe in the pen and can't physically hurt himself so are we being over anxious about the barking? We're not sure if ignoring it is the best policy or will make matters worse.

Any advice would be very gratefully received.

 

[bertha]

IMO I think you are expecting a lot of a young puppy, leaving him for five hours is not fair. Is there nobody who could dog sit for you?

 

[Esty]

mmm Just my opinion but five hours is an awfully long time for a young pup, so it's good you've got someone coming in. I've got two pups of 16 weeks and the longest they've been left for is an hour and a quarter, and this was with the run of the kitchen (fully dog-proofed first!).

Two things I used at night to help them settle which may help during the day for your pup - one is a cuddly toy ( a dinosaur in our case) which is the only toy they have at night - they haven't tried eating this one, even though they chew everything else. I also use a warm hot water bottle wrapped in a tough cushion cover so they can't chew it - not sure if its the heat or the movement of the water they like but it settles them.

An eleven week pup isn't much more than a toddler in 'people' terms so don't expect too much too soon - he is ruddy gorgeous though, it must be said. :luck: :thumbsup:

 

[bertha]

Thank heavens I am not the only person who thinks five hours is too long to leave a puppy. When I was breeding the odd litter, I would not let any of my puppies go if they were going to be left alone for a long time when they were little. It's not good for them to be alone, they get bored and stressed.

Did the breeder of your puppy know your situation?

 

[john gregory]

I have never left Poppy on her own for longer than 1/2 hour when I first had her and she still had Milly for company, even now it is still no longer than a hour, then I want to get back to them. 5 hours on his own is far to long for a puppy, no wonder he whines

 

[Esty]

You need to remember that you are his mum/ dad - in a wild pack you would be there for many months/ years before he would ever find himself alone. You may need a proper dogsitter in the short term and there are many people, myself included, who would say even a full grown dog shouldn't be left for more than four hours. It's not easy, is it?

 

[chrisbutton]

It has never been our intention to leave him alone for the full 5 hours. We have family and friends who will come in at regular intervals.

Our main concern is whether the constant barking is normal and he will grow out of it or not. As things stand we can't be out of the house for 5 minutes without the whining and barking yet he seems so confident and outgoing at all other times.

I know he is only a baby and will do whatever I can to sort this problem out, but do not want to make matters worse in the process by being too protective or not protective enough.

 

[Esty]

I would try the hot water bottle thing then, and the cuddly toy. Can't really help more as because I've got two pups, they keep each other company and *touch wood* we don't have much of a separation issue. You are doing the right thing starting off with a few minutes and building up the time. He might just need longer to realise that you ARE coming back. I do know that one of mine cries if he thinks I'm in the house eg if I go upstairs he'll cry at the door but if I actually go out he settles really quickly and will be curled up asleep with his brother when I come back.

Also, don't go back into a room if he's still crying/ barking. Knock on the door and the surprise will make him quiet. In that moment, go in - that way he doesn't associate whinging and barking with having the result of getting you back. He's still very young and getting used to you - he should get it eventually, but just don't rush anything. :luck:

 

[ingsay2000]

Dont make a fuss when you leave. Perhaps give him something to take his thoughts away from you just as you go.

Most importantly, DONT make a fuss of him when you come back. Try to ignore him (for at least 5 mins anyway). Its hard to do, but if you dont do this, his mind will only be thinking about the reunion, and he may well become very anxious and destructive.

Remeber to tell who ever is popping in to check him to do the same!

They soon adjust to being ignored for a few mins and become settled adults.

Good luck.

 

[Hula]

Your puppy is a cutie , I don't think at this stage you should assume he has separation anxiety .

It's a bit difficult to explain but I would expect Barney to be as he is at this stage , he is only a baby .

I think he has the potential to have separation anxiety and so you must be careful .

As others have said , build up his confidence , get him used to short periods alone . Ignore him for half an hour before you leave him

And don't make any fuss of him on your return , no treats etc .

Read all you can about separation anxiety , written by experts . I'm no expert just have had experience of it .

To let you understand saying separation anxiety at this stage is a bit like comparing full blown depression with being a bit fed up ....

Don't know if that makes sense to you ? :unsure:

 

[Haylsey]

I agree with last post don't make the reunion over the top. Also with my pup i always leave him with my old jumper. Someone told me once it helps them to smell you when left alone. I've been lucky have had no problems with my pup Rocket (AKA Henry) but never left him for long and he is with another whippet. Good luck

 

[TURBO]

I agree with last post don't make the reunion over the top. Also with my pup i always leave him with my old jumper. Someone told me once it helps them to smell you when left alone. I've been lucky have had no problems with my pup Rocket (AKA Henry) but never left him for long and he is with another whippet. Good luck

Hi chrisbutton welcome to k9 (w00t)

I personally think the about is very good advice eg jumper . As i can tell from youre post you will not be leaving Barney for 5 hours ,because you have got people coming in to check on him and let him out etc .

I know my boy cries when i leave him in his crate in daytime but i give him a cuddly toy and few treats and leave him to it , otherwise he will know that i will return as soon as he makes a noise ,( imo whippets aren't stupid far from it )

Im sure he will settle for you :thumbsup:

I hope you get lots more advice which you have asked for and not people being negative to you and youre situation ,

All the best

 

[Janimal]

Hi Chris Welcome to K9...

Your puppy is gorgeous btw... :wub: Its early days and he is very young...

I think little and often being left at first would work better. Try leaving him in another room during the day

while you are in another...so he gradually gets used to being left alone.

In my opinion too 5 hours is way too long every day....but now and then..of course when hes used to being left

shouldnt be a problem. At most my adult dogs are left for about 4-5 hours now sometimes but certainly wouldnt leave

a pup that long till hes perfectly settled.

When you do leave him...make sure hes had lots of excercise beforehand and has a full tummy so to speak...they

will usually sleep quite a bit. All mine cried for attention on the first few nights...but you have to try and not let them

get away with murder which cn be quite hard...

Meant to add also you could try leaving a radio playing quietly...fools them into thinking someone is around too

along with his toys and jumper of course...belonging to you...

Trouble is he is also an only pup, and on his own totally....maybe you could think of having another when he is older..

you will find they are very addictive dogs, and love each others company too..

 

[jok]

From what you've said, you are doing all the right things in terms of when you leave him. Also, it sounds as though you won't be leaving him on his own for that long as you've made arrangements for family to pop in :thumbsup:

Sometimes with a new pup it feels like they will never 'be normal' and just settle when you go out. Believe me, he will.

If he were mine, i would move the crate out of the bedroom at night and get him used to sleeping with no human's around. You may find that he plays up for a couple of nights but stick with it. DO NOT give in to the crying - if he's fed, been outside for a wee/poo etc, he will be fine. Honestly, things will soon get better for you.

 

[NickyVN]

Touch wood we have had no problems with Kendall in this respect and he is now 16 weeks. He does sleep downstairs in his crate and we do ensure he gets left for a short time regularly eg 1 hour so he gets in the habit of being alone (as he comes to work with me worried he would become too clingy!). He has a cuddly dinosaur he cuddles up to and does look for this. We also sometimes give him a kong with something inside to keep him occupied, but he does also have this sometimes that we are in, or a nylabone to chew. I also leave the tv or radio on for him. I always ensure he goes outside before we go even though sometimes he doesn't want to in the cold!

He has also had a DAP difuser on since I had him. On the few occasions I have had to leave him for longer eg works xmas meal (though I think he should have been invited!!) I have a trusted pet sitter who has a key and she came round and stayed with him for a few hours, I leave her with a key so I know if ever anything happens when I'm out and can't get back I can ring her to go round so there is never any worry, and I also don't feel I am putting on my family too much. I think a trusted person to go round in case of problems really gives you peace of mind. Kendall is very relaxed and when we get back often does not even get out of his bed initially if he is comfy - just gives us a wag. The problem we had with him was going upstairs and leaving him downstairs n the day - if he heard us moving around he would cry but he has been fine for about 3 weeks with this now - I think he just got his independance as he got older. Good luck.

 

[jazzi-girl]

It has never been our intention to leave him alone for the full 5 hours. We have family and friends who will come in at regular intervals.
Our main concern is whether the constant barking is normal and he will grow out of it or not. As things stand we can't be out of the house for 5 minutes without the whining and barking yet he seems so confident and outgoing at all other times.

I know he is only a baby and will do whatever I can to sort this problem out, but do not want to make matters worse in the process by being too protective or not protective enough.

When we first got Jazz at 12 weeks she settled in the conservatory quite quickly but as the weather got cooler we brought her into the Kitchen, where she got considerably worse, as our house is fairly open plan downstairs, we assumed she could smell lots of new interesting smells e.g. US. My point is your little darling is in your room and close to you at night but not during the day so like Jazz is protesting, I'm guessing! As everyone has said this will ease, you will not believe this at the moment, but it's true.

I have two Whippets now, the 2nd one we acquired two weeks ago at the age of 5 months from a previous home where she had been in her old owners bed every night, unfortunately there is not enough room to accomodate my husband, me, Jazz and Kadie, so had to go through the process of retraining the little one. She is in a cage at night with Jazz in the same room but what I tend to do is cover the cage with a sheet to give it a more draft free feel and also another cover over her to snuggle down with, which she is doing quite well, I do realise she is older than yours but they still try and pull at the old heart strings whatever age they are! It's just another idea you could try.

Good Luck

Donna.

 

[caitlin]

I have never had a puppy, but my 5 year old bitch had a bit of separation anxiety after we had had her about 3 or 4 months and she was always in kennels before this with doggy company at all times. She has all but destroyed the bottom of a glass paned door in the kitchen! The only thing that seems to have worked is to 'separate' from her when we are together. Sadly, this has meant not too many cuddles, certainly no sitting on the sofa with us, no fussing before bedtime etc. My husband and I also try to assert a type of pack dominance over her by never allowing her to enter the house before us, training her to get into her bed when she has been naughty and not allowing her to jump up at us (whippets like to do this and will stretch their arms out to reach your face - watch out for the scratchy claws!). According to books like The Dog Listener, separation anxiety occurs when the dog thinks it is the leader of the pack and is crying and whining in order to rein back in the missing pack members (you and your wife), but it might be a bit early for this type of anxiety!

Anyway, I have also tried some of these other ideas like leaving a radio on, getting interesting toys ready with treats to find etc., but found that Ivy got even more anxious - seeing the radio being turned on, she would run to the front door, tail between her legs, as if to say 'please don't go without me!'

I think some of the nature of whippets is to be very attached and they also like company. Other k9 members may not have problems with this - perhaps their whippets are what I consider to be 'spoilt'(!), allowed to lounge on beds and sofas, having human company all day. After practising my 'detachment' exercise with Ivy, she is now left 4 hours no problem.

Another tip which really does work if you are leaving a dog is - really wear them out with a decent walk or some throw and fetch first.

Regards

Caitlin

 

[Jan C]

He certainly is a cutie. Leaving a jumper for him and the radio on are good ideas, but it's important that the radio is on a channel that you would normally listen to. IF you don't have it on when you are home but put it on when you are going out, it will quickly become a signal that he is about to be left and will not help him relax at all. Get into the habit of having the radio on when he is relaxed and it may help relaxation when you are out.

It's also important to remember (I'm sure you do) that he is not barking to be naughty but just to call you home because he is frightened. Dogs can learn that they need to bark for eight hours in order to call their owners home and because it always works eventually it can be hard to stop them doing it. Dogs are not designed by evolution to be left alone, they are pack animals, and although they can learn to cope they rarely learn to enjoy it.

I would certainly move his cage out of the bedroom, but do it gradually, and no further to start with than just outside the open bedroom door, otherwise he'll probably bark all night as well. When he's used to that you can start to close the door so that he can get used to not being able to see you.

A dog sitter would be a very good option at this point. I have a dog sitting circle with my neighbours and dog walkers I meet on the field, so that none of our dogs have to be left for more than a coulple of hours.

I certainly don't think its true that dogs with seperation problems are trying to be leader of the pack. They are ususally just not able to cope with being left alone. A bit of ignoring in the right place can be helpful but not too much. Cuddles and play are really important for all dogs, especially puppies.

Hope you get sorted with this but if you continue to have problems it is worth asking your vet to refer you to a qualified behaviourist. Its better to get it sorted sooner rather than later.

REgards

Jan

 

[Whippets4eva]

Hi Chris and welcome back to k9 :teehee: Hope you're staying this time (w00t)

When we go out we leave Star in his crate making sure he has just relieved him self in back garden first :thumbsup: he used to whine as soon as we left the room so we started by leaving him for 10 mins increasing that by 10 mins each time, now he is just fine :thumbsup: Well never had any complaints from the neighbours (w00t) (w00t) so I guess he's being quiet (w00t) :- :lol: He has however never been left for more than 2 1/2 hours and he's now almost 6 months old. We also leave a radio on low. :thumbsup:

I'm sure Barney will soon settle Chris, it's very early days yet.

Barney is just gorgeous :wub: Give us a call when he's allowed out for his walks and we will take Star and him together :thumbsup: