Separation Anxiety and Video Taping

[Pokeys Mom]

Someone recently asked me how I know what my dogs are doing for the first few hours while I'm away. This was in response to an article about the Secret Lives of Dogs. For those who know our history, it will make more sense but my goal is to provide insight to all...

As for what they do... long story! We have made great progress in the past four months. Both of our dogs (Pokey- 13 yr old dachshund, Marta- 7 yr old whippet) were adopted, then spent most of their days as "Chief Officers of Morale" at my husband's home office. At the time he could take off-site daytime contracts for months and the dogs would be fine. We could go to dinner and a movie easily.

One cross-country move later, a new daytime job for my husband and one swap from a brick house to a rental condo with close neighbors on every side our dogs developed separation anxiety with zero allowance for noise (city law). Windows here don't seal completely since it's so mild.

We were lucky as the only symptom was noise (barking, howling).

We tried re-crate training 101 literally starting with 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 minute, etc.

Pokey pounced at the crate door, licked it, nibbled on it, sat and trembled then gave off desperate yelps to be reunited with the pack. No wonder he was always licking his front right paw! We thought it was the onset of arthritis, but it was due to his trying to bust out of his crate.

We decided with our vets' approval to go back to baby gating in a small area. At first Pokey would play with his stuffed Kong for 3-5 minutes, then bark 3-5 times per minute. After much work from all of us, he started sitting by the gate barking occasionally. Weeks later he progressed to playing with his Kong longer, sitting by the gate then laying down by the gate.

Now he is calm for two hours easily, and we just had a good leave for five hours.

Pokey will play and eat with every treat-toy we leave for 30 minutes. After that he usually sits by the gate for 10-20 minutes. He'll retire to his bed or a secluded spot after that. Sometimes he will look at the door and opposite window (1-2-3-switch!-1-2-3-switch!) for a long time, but recently he has been falling asleep.

Sometimes he will wake up, do a "perimeter sweep," go into his alert "1-2-3-switch!" mode, play with toys again and fall back asleep.

The neat part is we have discovered that freezing his stuffed Kong and providing chopped up baby carrots in a Buster Cube or Molecuball type of toy keeps him busy and calm longer. We also get to see patterns where his toys get trapped, so we know where to block things off. Same thing for light and noise.

Taping has been an invaluable aid in knowing both dogs limits during 30 and 60 minute leaves. (It's a really low-tech video camera from the 1980's, nothing fancy.) Plus, I feel better having "evidence" if need be for our neighbors. (Seriously, here we can be put in jail for 6 months and pay $1,000 in fines for excessive barking!)

Overall, we now know why the inside of his crate was coated in peanut butter and what makes him a happy camper. I hope this helps!

Invaluable tools: Friends from Dachsund Boards, "The Hound Health Handbook" by Betsy Brevitz DVM, "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennel and "I'll be Home Soon" by Patricia McConnell PhD.

[oceangirls]

thanks for sharing that; it will be REALLY helpful to others!! How is Marta doing? Same progress?

[Pokeys Mom]

thanks for sharing that; it will be REALLY helpful to others!! How is Marta doing? Same progress?

Awww, thanks for asking! We just adopted Marta in January. On top of SA she had Alpha issues where she thought people were her young escaping. She is not consistent during leaves, but is getting better overall.

Just yesterday she was whining during the shortest leave, then today she was fine for two hours. Same routine, same schedule. With Marta, I feel like I'm trying to reverse seven years of behavior. It is very frustrating most days, but then I have to step back and remind myself that she really wants to be good. Her Clomicalm was increased once, and that helped a lot.

In some ways Marta is doing the best she has ever done since we have had her. On walks she will follow my "Sit-Stay" when she sees a squirrel or puppy. Before, she busted a leash while lunging for a squirrel!

Our house setting was perfect for her. All of her "problem behaviors" from her previous family melted away. Who knew that we would have to move? We waited out five years of economic uncertainty, then the market fell out. It surely has been a rough transition, but it is for the better.

[Patt]

Renee you have done an outstanding job with your furkids. I'm so glad you shared your SA experiences, I know it will be very helpful to all. I would love to see a pic of Marta and of course the handsome Pokey. :hearts:

[Jen]

Thank you so much for sharing Renee. Tasha has mild SA and using I'll Be Home Soon, advice from doxie boards, and a few other books, we've not had many problems lately, knock wood. Tasha chewed things a bit, mostly it was whining, and panic attacks with panting before we left. We enforce the 3-5 min rule and she's fine (no attention before leaving and arriving home during the period). For us, ungating her helped as she was pushing over the gate, getting over it, and seemed less stressed when we stopped using it--especially in the spring when the thunderstorms returned since she couldn't get to her "safe place" the bathroom.

But you're been thru something far more difficult with Pokey and you have my utmost respect for all of the patience involved, and progress you've made!!

[Helen]

Truly, what you've done for your babies is amazing. Very few people would have the patience you have showed. Pokey and Marta are so lucky to have been made a part of your family. :cheer2: Great job on all your hard work!

[Lisa]

Amazing thread Renee!!

Thank you so much. I found this very helpful because we still have some SA issues with Pixel. I have always wanted to video tape him - just because I curious how he spends his day. I think I will, because through watching him, I might be able to help him overcome.