Dealing with Separation Anxiety, it"s More than Dog Problem Behavior

Well, I’ve been lucky so far.  I never had to leave Max behind.  Since we adopted him, my parents have always been our back-up caregivers.  However, we’ve run into a scheduling snag.  What to do with the dog when we leave town?

If you have a dog with severe separation anxiety, you know how limited your choices are when you’re not home.  I can’t hire a petsitter unless they’re willing to stay with Max nearly 24/7.  Maybe, just maybe, they could slip out late at night but otherwise, they’re stuck.  With Max, he can’t be left for anything near 8 hours. 

Cages freak him out.  Plus, I know they won’t contain him; he’s broken out of padlocked cages.  So most boarding options are out.  However, I found a cagelessdoggie day care that offers cageless overnight boarding too.

Max tried his first day of doggie day care to see if the overnight care will work out.  With his wonderful temperament, I wasn’t too worried.  On his first day of doggie day care he followed the workers around with a big smile on his face.  Plus, as a bonus, he came home really exhausted.  He was too tired to be anxious at home.  It was like a mini-vacation for me.  I wasn’t tripping over an 80 pound dog for once.

One more doggie day care visit and then he can participate in the overnight program.  Fingers crossed!

Dog who used to destroy house is happy to stay home alone (with food)

Does my previous service dog, Max, look happy in this photo?  You bet he does!  He’s happy because he is about to stay home alone.

This wasn’t always the case.  Max used to destroy our house when he was home alone.  He’d go into such a panic that he’s ruined floors, walls, doors, door handles, etc. 

Max was a service dog and he was with people ALL the time.   When we adopted him, he totally freaked out when we left him home alone.  We were totally unprepared but if your pet has this separation anxiety problem, there is hope.

Today, Max is smiling and tail-wagging when he sees that I’m about to leave him home.  One of the biggest contributors to the transition is food.  Yes, food plays a major part in management of this dog’s separation anxiety. 

Our dog Max rarely is fed when we are home with him.  If he is fed, Max is getting his food out of a toy that makes him work.  The bulk of Max’s food, and especially yummy food, is delivered to him as we are walking out the door.  He’s been conditioned to expect that food time comes when he’s home alone.  And it works!

So what’s that in the photo you ask?  Well, Max has gotten so good at manipulating his food that we’ve upped the challenge.  Earlier, as Max’s separation anxiety improved, I started freezing food in Kongs for him.  Now, I also freeze the Kong so Max has a block of ice to work with too.  This was especially handy in the summer as I knew he’d enjoy the ice. 

Time to run, Max will soon be nudging me to the door so he can stay home alone!

Max visited my parents’ 10 acre home this past weekend.  He had fun but man did he stink when it was time to put him in the car to go home.  He romped in the wet lands and was covered with swamp sludge.  The muck really smelled awful.  We washed and washed and washed Max.  However, the DAP collar went in the trash.  It’s useless once it gets wet so we really couldn’t clean it. 

Max was such a pain until we put his new collar on him.  He followed me so much that he tripped me at least five times.  I have trouble getting the collar on so I had to wait patiently until my husband did it.  In the meantime, it was just me and my shadow – and, me falling over my shadow. 

When it comes to owning a dog with severe separation anxiety, I just cannot say how much the dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) collar helps keep us all sane!

Dog Appeasing Pheromone fights Separation Anxiety

My husband indicated that Max was not emptying his Kongs full of yummy food when he left Max home alone.  How strange.  Our dog rarely gets fed when we’re home so he should be good and hungry when we’re gone.

Plus, who ever heard of a Lab that leaves food unattended?  If you think this situation sounds strange, you’re right.  Unless Max’s magical treatment mix for severe separation anxiety is out of whack, this situation makes no sense.

Upon further investigation I noticed that we forgot to change Max’s DAP collar last month.  A few days later, and with the new collar firmly in place, Max is back to normal.  This oops really affirms that the phernomes in the DAP collar work to help control Max’s separation anxiety.

Now, I’m happy to report that once again, Max cannot wait for me to leave him home alone.  No, I don’t think it’s that he’s basking in the peace and quiet of ‘alone time’ as I would.  He’s just relaxed enough to enjoy his Kong full of food.  And when Max is relaxed, I feel better too.  We’ve come a long, long way.

It’s been a busy past few months.  Running a business and orchestrating family activities has left little time for writing.  I pledge to return.  Thank you for your patience.

Yippy, when I took my extreme-case-of-separation0-anxiety dog to the behaviorist vet, she said he looks great.  While it does not appear Max will go off his anxiety medication any time soon,  he’s doing well.  While weaning my nine year old dog off the anxiety meds would be ideal, it’s not mandator-whew!  I like that the pressure is off.  We can continue in this never gone for more than 4 hours at a time existence.  Good thing I work from home or I don’t know how I’d handle the dog that can’t stand to be home alone.  I’m feeling thankful today!

In a few days, I take my separation anxiety pooch back to his psychiatrist, er behavioralist.  I’m eager to hear what she thinks about Max since it’s been quite a while since they have seen each other.

Max has a new hobby, counter surfing.  Yup, when we leave him home alone, he surfs the kitchen counters.  You’d think we weren’t feeding the dog. 

Last week he pulled the entire fruit basket down to the floor.  Mind you, this fruit basket was tucked back into a corner and on top of some other stuff.  It was not easy for my four-legged friend to reach.  But he did reach the fruit basket.  Then he spread it’s contents throughout several rooms and devoured all of the apples.  The orange was not as popular; it only sustained a few bite marks.

Today when I left home, I made sure there was nothing resembling food out.  So instead, he took my daughters antibiotic.  It was a powder with mixing instructions.  He tore a hole in the instructions but could not open thechild proof, er, I mean, dog proof cap.  Luckily, the antibiotics are fine.

I’ll let you know how the dog behavioralist appointment goes. I’m thankful to have a great dog behavioralist verteriarin nearby in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

A week ago, I was complaining about the cold weather.  One day it was finally warm enough to leave Max out in the garage when I left him home alone.  Max and I were very excited.  He couldn’t wait to get to his really messy Kong filled with mac and cheese or spaghetti.

Oh, what a big mistake that was!  I didn’t think about all the sloppy slush that was melting off my cars.  The garage floor was quite messy.  Unfortunately my highly trained, service dog, decided to lay down in the slop and get busy with his food.  Did my intelligent dog lay on the bed I’d left for him?  Apparently not!  He was covered in dirt upon my return.  Unfortunately, I hadn’t really planned a dog bath in my day.  But, if I was to let Max into the house, a bath was mandatory. 

It was not pleasant but Max emerged a much cleaner dog.  And now, I’m going to watch what I wish for or I’ll be washing more mush off my mutt.

Baby, it’s cold outside. 

I’m in Michigan and it’s been cold for too long.  Are you remembering to keep your dog warm if you’re in a cold environment like me?

 

Dogs don’t get cold – wrong

Some people think just because dogs have fur, they don’t get cold.  No way!  Their paws are so sensitive.  Just like people, they can’t be outside for long in bitter cold unless a lot of precautions are taken.

 

Max hasn’t been getting enough walks lately.  With dangerous wind chills and icy streets, it’s been a challenge.  We need to do better.  He needs to get out.  Any ideas for how to stay motivated?

Our retired service dog, Max, loves the snow.  This very serious dog seems to find his inner puppy when he’s in the snow.  He is liberated; he’s free to succumb to his natural dog instincts.  He jumps, he frolics, he buries his head in the snow, and he rolls on his back like a maniac.  It is delightful to watch this dog play with such reckless abandon. 

 

Maybe this snow play seems so enjoyable since our retired service dog has been taught only recently how to play.  This “working dog” has not adjusted easily to the life of a retiree.  This new relaxed lifestyle is foreign and uncomfortable to our working dog.   

 

Max has come a long way.  It is a treasure to watch; especially when he’s romping in the snow alongside a child.  They belong together, playing in the snow.  Even though adopting a service dog is a challenge, when I watch Max and the kids play together, it’s worth it.

 

Since he was trained for interaction with blind people, Max was trained to show joy by opening his mouth (a smile perhaps or better yet, a very toothy grin).  He was also taught that playing involves rolling around on the ground.  Being a service dog for a blind person, he thinks every time someone lies down in the snow, they are ready to play with him.  This has been interesting. 

 

Considering Max outweighs two of my kids, he can knock them down in a heartbeat, especially on the slippery footing of snow. So, even a year and a half after we adopted our service dog, we’re still learning how to interact.   I’m just thankful he feels part of the family.

 

We all went sledding today.  I’m not sure who loved the snow more, Max or the kids.  All that matters is that it was a blast.  We all loved the snow day!