Stressed Staffie - can anyone help?

I'm new here (just joined today!) so hi everyone *waves*

I got Kassie (my beautiful Staffie girl) two months ago. I'd never owned a dog until then so I'm on a very steep learning curve at the moment lol ~

She's got a lovely nature and I don't have any real concerns about her behaviour for the vast majority of the time. The only problem is that when I have to leave the house without her for any length of time, she gets really distressed and will sometimes still be crying and yelping when I get back

She's nowhere near as stressed when my partner is here as he has a Staffie cross and they keep each other company when we're out. She previously lived with a family with children and another dog so my worry is that she's not used to being on her own

Will this get better with time? And is there anything I can do to lessen the stress for her (and me!) when I have to leave the house?

Thanks in advance,

Janey x

are you taking her out before u go out? i always think a tired dog is a good dog.

Hi, welcome to the forum!

It will get better. She's still adjusting to her new routines.

You could try leaving her in a room on her own for a couple of minutes & when you get back, act as though nothing's different. No huge fuss or anything, just act normal. Increase the time you leave her gradually.

Don't make a huge fuss when you leave her, or when you return. She must think that it's a completely natural & normal thing to do.

Thanks for the uberfast reply!

I usually take her to the garden before I leave, that doesn't stop her leaving me little gifts when I get back as a punishment for leaving her on her own tho ~ (she doesn't normally wee or poo in the house apart from that!)

I know what you're saying but it doesn't seem to make any difference whether she's tired or not tbh

u can try what caryll as posted or you can take her our for a good hour with a ball or frisby

Caryll wrote:Hi, welcome to the forum!

It will get better. She's still adjusting to her new routines.

You could try leaving her in a room on her own for a couple of minutes & when you get back, act as though nothing's different. No huge fuss or anything, just act normal. Increase the time you leave her gradually.

Don't make a huge fuss when you leave her, or when you return. She must think that it's a completely natural & normal thing to do.

Hi Caryll and thanks

She doesn't mind if I leave her in a room on her own as long as she knows that I'm still there somewhere lol.

She's got a 6th sense about me going out (don't they all!) and will pick up a toy and waggle her bum (but not in a happy way) when she knows that I'm about to leave. And as for getting her to go in the kitchen (where she stays when I'm not here), well... ~

Steve, I could throw the contents of the house for her and it wouldn't make any difference! Besides, she wouldn't bring them back

it does work, well it all depends if you have enough time. a tired dog is always a good dog

Janey_J wrote:
I usually take her to the garden before I leave,

I doubt that that's enough, tbh. A good walk won't solve the problem but it will help her to settle when you've gone. She's obviously getting herself worked up before you go out, so you must try not to feed that. Stay calm & ignore her if necessary. When you leave her in a room on her own, go out of the house, don't wander around in the house cause she'll still hear you & knwo you're there. Wait a couple of minutes & then return. Go into the room, but ignore her for a few minutes until she's calm again. Then gentle fuss & try again.

Honestly, she will get there eventually, it just may take a little time.

When I have got new dogs ive usually planned in advance and saved all my holiday leave so I can dedicate myself to the adjustment of a new dog/puppy. As caryll says spend some time coming in and out of the house leaving longer periods inbetween to see how she copes. If she leaving you presents and they are loose this is a sign of how stressed she is. She sounds like she is struggling with change im sure she will calm down when shes used to her new home

Steve wrote: it does work, well it all depends if you have enough time. a tired is always a good dog

Now I've got images of you dragging three snoozing dogs down the street

I'll give it another go but I think, as Caryll says, that she's still adjusting to her new life. I was hoping for some reassurance that she's not always going to be like this

I'll post a pic of her when I get the chance, she's a beautiful Staffie and a real sweetie. I'm not biased at all

Caryll wrote:

Janey_J wrote:
I usually take her to the garden before I leave,

I doubt that that's enough, tbh. A good walk won't solve the problem but it will help her to settle when you've gone. She's obviously getting herself worked up before you go out, so you must try not to feed that. Stay calm & ignore her if necessary. When you leave her in a room on her own, go out of the house, don't wander around in the house cause she'll still hear you & knwo you're there. Wait a couple of minutes & then return. Go into the room, but ignore her for a few minutes until she's calm again. Then gentle fuss & try again.

Honestly, she will get there eventually, it just may take a little time.

Thanks for that I think that's probably where I'm going wrong as I do tend to make a fuss of her before I go. I'll definitely give what you've suggested a try but I know it's still going to take time

gem wrote:When I have got new dogs ive usually planned in advance and saved all my holiday leave so I can dedicate myself to the adjustment of a new dog/puppy. As caryll says spend some time coming in and out of the house leaving longer periods inbetween to see how she copes. If she leaving you presents and they are loose this is a sign of how stressed she is. She sounds like she is struggling with change im sure she will calm down when shes used to her new home

Thanks gem, I'm sure she'll get there eventually

Sorry for the delays replying guys, I'm trying to type on a laptop with Kass clambering all over me, I think she knows we're talking about her

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Hi Shane & thanks for the welcome

I did a lot of reading on the forum before I joined and I've learned so much already

Katie's a beauty by the way!

Janey_J wrote:

Katie's a beauty by the way!

She really is - gorgeous!

thank you Janey j, and caryll for yer comments on Katie, she is well chuffed

Hi Janey J and welcome. Possibly a touch of separation anxiety and boredom? Have you tried crate training? That has always been a godsend for me!

When I leave my dogs, they have been for a good run - an hour and a half of off lead running, exploring and a bit of training when out - tired pysically & mentally.

Rocco used to have seperation anxiety when we took him on, but once he got into a routine, and realised we always came back, he soon settled down.

I would recomend getting a crate and mking it nice and snug, leave the door open, cover it over, leave her something to do, like a kong, or somethingto chew.

Hopefully with the exercise, mental stimulation and having something to do when you are out, should help.

I also leave the TV on for my dogs when I'm out.

How long are you leaving her for btw?

x

Hi and welcome.
What I was gonna suggest a the same as already sad. I good walk where if possible the dog can be off lead chasing a ball for example. Don't know about your staffy but just walking Blue doesn't tire him out. (I need to find a way to bottle his energy)
And the other thing as nikki said.... get a kong or something like that which will keep her busy while occupying her mind.
Like Caryll said it takes time to adjust to a new environment.

A crate saved the day for me when i got kaiser he seemed to like it alot but in ur situation it might be different because she was used to the company of the other dog be patient with her im sure she will get there in the end