Ever deal with a dog with MAJOR separation anxiety?

[Holly Lez!]

My puppy has severe separation anxiety. He cries when I leave the house so loudly neighbors have started to complain! Today the vet prescribed a medicine but I am reluctant to give my puppy drugs! I am wondering if any of you have dealt with this and if so what did you do?

[JamesK]

let him snort some oxycontin

[DonovanTrent]

Watch "It's Me Or The Dog" on Animal Planet, she deals with that frequently. It takes time, but you can ease them of it. Medications can help, but behavioral therapy is the biggie.

Just don't buy into that Cesar Milan crap. Positive reinforcement is much healthier than pack reinforcement.

[kane]

My puppy has severe separation anxiety. He cries when I leave the house so loudly neighbors have started to complain! Today the vet prescribed a medicine but I am reluctant to give my puppy drugs! I am wondering if any of you have dealt with this and if so what did you do?

I have a friend that has two dogs (they got them together as pups) and they were terrible about this. They would put them in the garage when he and his wife would go to work and they would howl and cry all day long. The neighbors all complained to them. Eventually they got a trainer who had them try a few things. The thing that ended up working for them was to put the dogs in their bedroom with the TV on. The dogs could then lay on the bed and had human voices around and could smell the owners clothes and sheets. They would cry for a few minutes when they left, but then they would stop and calm down.

[Holly Lez!]

Thanks that was helpful!

[d-null]

[CYF]

The alpha is allowed to leave the pack, the other dogs cannot leave the alpha dog. Your dog thinks he's the alpha dog.

Here is a page that might provide some insight: http://www.positivedogtraining.org/a...-dog-training/

[Phallus Fondue]

what is wrong with drugs.

[captain.g]

I have been working on that with my dog. First thing to do is not make a big deal when you come and go. Just ignore the dog when you come home until the dog settles down. Then praise them. When you leave, simply say bye and leave. Start leaving for very short times, slowly increasing the time you are out. This will show the dog that you are coming back and there is nothing to worry about. The main thing is to stay consistent. This method will work but it takes time and patience. Use the same method for kennel training and your dog will go in the kennel when you are gone. Don't just throw her in a kennel as this will make it worse and maybe make her destructive. Getting another dog could solve the problem however it could make it worse and you could end up with 2 dogs with the anxiety.

[baddog]

The alpha is allowed to leave the pack, the other dogs cannot leave the alpha dog. Your dog thinks he's the alpha dog.

That actually makes some sense.

[Joe King]

My dog loves the Chronic

[kbauerctu]

I have been working on that with my dog. First thing to do is not make a big deal when you come and go. Just ignore the dog when you come home until the dog settles down. Then praise them. When you leave, simply say bye and leave. Start leaving for very short times, slowly increasing the time you are out. This will show the dog that you are coming back and there is nothing to worry about. The main thing is to stay consistent. This method will work but it takes time and patience. Use the same method for kennel training and your dog will go in the kennel when you are gone. Don't just throw her in a kennel as this will make it worse and maybe make her destructive. Getting another dog could solve the problem however it could make it worse and you could end up with 2 dogs with the anxiety.

Spoken for truth. Also, what CFY said about Alpha Male stuff. You need to make sure you are the pack leader. You might want to try crate training too. Get them used to being separate. When your home, devote a certain amount of time 20-30% for "crate time or quiet time."

[Mickey_]

Surely this is something that can be fixed without drugs.
However, if you need drugs for your pets in the future, check out this company, brought one of our dogs out of of post-separation depression within days, most of their drugs are natural/homeo:
http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/index.html