Lot of puppy love for therapy dog
CHINO – Chris Mangrich, senior dog trainer for It’s a Dog’s World in Chino, was a bit skeptical when she heard a Maltese was coming in for evaluation. The dog’s owner Cyndie Noteboom told Mangrich that her snow-white Maltese, Lexy, had the basics down well and was ready for more advanced training, but Mangrich had heard that before – especially from owners of small dogs.
My dog has seperation problems?
I’ve had my dog for going on 8 years. He’s a fixed Springer Spaniel mix, who is friendly and fairly well trained. I finished college and have taken him in with me. He is happier overall, but we can’t leave him alone without excessive barking. It’s been more than a year now, and he is a little better now that he’s gotten used to the new place, but it’s not enough. He always has fresh water, food, his bed and special alone-toys when we leave, but it doesn’t stop the barking. He’s smart about it too; if we walk too far away from the house he’ll start. If we don’t look like we’re going somewhere he’ll wait on baited breath. With the car he won’t start until we have the doors shut. I’m home almost all the time; he’s not a crazy attention seeker when I’m here. Sometimes he’ll lay by my feet, but he’s usually happy to be in another room by himself.
Shock-collars are not an option, and neither is giving him away. I’m afraid the citronella collar won’t work for the $. Any help?
Separation anxiety can be a real challenge to deal with.
My rescued boxer suffers from it – it’s heart breaking to see them so distressed, and it can be very dangerous for them. My boxer boy will do anything to get to us… he’s eaten through wood gates, torn at doors, etc.
Try a DAP Comfort Zone plug in & perhaps one of those cd’s to comfort dogs. The ‘laughing dog’ cd is supposed to be really good a comforting dogs.
You can also work on desensitizing him to your ‘leaving’ cues. Observe him as you are preparing to leave and see if you can identify what part of your routines cue his anxiety. If the car door closing cues him you are leaving, or perhaps it’s putting on your coat or grabbing your keys. One boxer in my rescue would start to become anxious when her foster mom put her work (suit) jacket on… and then it was all down hill from there. The foster mom would vary her routine and also do it randomly through out the day to help desensitize her. So for instance, she would leave her suit jacket on the chair and randomly pick it up and put it on an wear it few minutes through out the weekend. She also would leave for work through different doors of the house, and handle her keys even when she wasn’t ready to leave.
you may also want to research “rescue remedy” it is a great natural calming agent for people and pets. you can give him some before you leave so that he can relax a bit while you are gone. it will help other methods you try work as he’ll be more relaxed and open to the retraining.
i would research these methods to fully understand how to implement them, and seek a behaviorist to assist you if necessary. he can overcome this. good luck
