Seperation Anxiety - Help/Advice

Hi

I am looking for some help/advice for my Staffy Ronnie.

Ronnie is 5 years old and we have had her since she was Six weeks old. Up until recently she has been brilliant, loving, playful, intelligent!!

We noticed about 6 months ago changes started to appear. Little things at first like messing up the rugs when we were out. We bought new Leather furniture - electronic recliners - and Ronnie took an instant dislike to them. I can understand this as we have always allowed Ronnie on our old furniture - naughty I know - and with the new Furniture we bought some throws so Ronnie could still cuddle up next to me in the evening and when we were out she would often sleep on the Two Seater.

However, one day we noticed the electric plugs hanging out off their Sockets and put this down to being knocked or something. Another time we came home Ronnie had completely removed the plugs and dragged the transformers for the Furniture across the room!

It soon became clear that Ronnie was having a problem. I spoke with a Dog Trainer who said its sounds like Seperation Anxiety. This we didn't understand as she is very rarely left on her own for long periods of time and still put it down to Ronnie not liking the Furniture.

We then moved Ronnies bed into the Kitchen - we have a stable door and left the top openso she was not closed in and had the run of downstairs and the upstairs landing with the Bedroom Doors closed.

We then came home to Ronnie ragging my Sons Trainers, The Door Matt was ragged etc. However we decided to take ignore this and continued as normal - with little things occuring like pulling plugs out in my bedroom when my husband forgot to shut the door.

Xmas came and we put up the Decorations. This is when Distruction Started.

My Husband had gone out for about an hour & half and when he came home she had wrecked the Kitched. By this I mean jumped up on the sides chucked the chopping board on floor, unplugged kettle checked on floor, trashed all letters on site and wreck my gas hob. We we stunned and couldn't believe our Ronnie would do this. When I got home from work - (I only work part time) - we took her to the Vet for a check over. The Vet looked her over cheked her Urine and teeth etc and said she may have a problem with Anxiety and where her place is in the pack.

We decided a bit of re-training and went home. My husband and I needed to do our xmas food shopping and now moved her bed into the hallway and also closed the Kitchen Door so she could get in there either.

When we got home - what a shock!! Ronnie had ripped of the Door Framed - chewed the wood to bits, chewed and the kitchen door and worst of all bit into the Central Heating pipe so there was water everywhere - it was such a mess. At this point we had had enough and rang Battersea who said they would put her down!! I could have this so took her back to my vets upset and angry!! We sat and discussed our options and decided to put her in a cage.

We all felt awful as she has always had the run of the house and now she was down to a cage. It was horrid.

However Ronnie seemed accepting to this and walked into it without a problem. Door was left open when we were home so she can come and go, but when we out we lock her in it. This was for Ten days then Two thirty in the morning she was smashing around in the cage which woke us up. I went downstairs and to my horror she had ripped and chewed up the plastic tray in the cage. She was hyper ventilating - totally stressed out.

My husband went and got a Perspex bottom made for the cage which is actually better than the tray!! Put back her bed and blankets and chew and toy. We took Ronnie back to the Vets who said this is Anxiety. We have now put a collar on Ronnie which lets off endophines which helps her to remain calmer. We have also taken down the Xmas decorations. We did have a thought that it was the LED lights on the tree might be sending her mad - we usually have bulbs and gentler twinkler lights.

Our situation at the moment is this:

Ronnie seems calmer and is a bit more settled. She does mess her cage up when we go out - but not badly just messing her blankets up - she does this in the night too. We are retraining in letting her know she is bottom of the pack as we have spoilt her and treated her like a baby - Didn't realise loving her soo much would cause all these problems.

So I would be grateful for any advice, help, ideas any of you have out there!!

Thanks for taking the time to read this. x

hi this may help you

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/separation_anxiety

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Poor Ronnie, sounds like she is struggling   I'm afraid this isn't something I've personally had to deal with but I know some members use thundershirts for fireworks so that may be something you could look into. Maybe try leaving the telly or radio on when your out, or leave her with a stuffed kong?

Thank you for your responses.

I have heard of the thunder jacket. We have decided to give Ronnie a month with the Collar first to see how she goes. Its supposed to calm her - so we will see over the next four weeks.

Its a good idea with the Konga Treat, quite a few people have mentioned that to me including the vet. I think I will invest in one of those and give it to her whilst we are out.

It seems really crazy that Ronnie has gone from a happy carefree dog, with the run off the house to a anxious dog. My Husband and I cant really understand, but we are doing our best to make her happy. The Vet said it wil take at least six months to build her back up.

She is such a lovely, affectionate and obedient dog - we just want her back to how she used to be!

Thanks for your help x

Can I ask a couple of things?

1) Has Ronnie always previously been used to being left alone for a period of time, or have any of you recently changed jobs which means that Ronnie is left alone for longer periods of time than she was previously used to?
2) What excercise does Ronnie have every day?

Hi Linda

Ronnie has never been left more than 4 hours at a time. If we need to be out longer Grandad comes over and sits with her and lets her out the garden. She has always been excellent when we have gone out and used to sleep on the two seater in the front room.

Luckily my husband is local and pops home at lunch time and gives ronnie a walk in our local park for about half an hour daily. At the weekends we always make sure - weather permitting - we take ronnie on Saturday to a larger park which is a good hour of walking and ronnie gets to rummage about. On Sundays we like to take her to another park which is a drive away and we are generally out about three/four hours with a pit stop in between. Ronnie loves chasing the squirrels at this park!!!

Some times we play ball or stick with her to knacker her out but not all the time.

Thanks for your response - any ideas are gratefully received.

In the week does she get a morning and evening walk as well as the half hour at lunch?

Is it at all possible someone could be winding her up through the window or making noises that scare her? Would you able to video her and the room while you are out just to watch and see if anything has made her that way? The fact that she is removing plugs, may suggest some noise???? and shes trying to stop it ?

Zazzle

During the week Ronnie just gets the half hour walk in the middle of the day, which is why we make more effort with her at the weekend. Its always been this way since she was a baby.

Staffy Lover

Fortunately no one passes our house, we are quite secluded and are accessed by a lane. We have thought about the plugs making a noise and downstairs we changed them from a double adapter to straight into the wall.

The only thing I know which Ronnie gets stress about is the Foxes Its usually in the evening, she can hear them even when we can't. We have tried blocking off our gates so they cant come underneath them, but they are very agile. Unfortunately the councils will not do anything about them and they do stroll around, I know our neighbours are annoyed with them as well. We are aware off this but it is illegal to kill the foxes!!

I don't think this has caused her to be destructive as we had this problem last year as well.

Today she is quite calm and cuddly - not sure if its the collar with the endorphines or cause we took the Decorations down? Or because she is starting to relax with our new training regime.

Thanks

Walks without a doubt need to be upped.. It may be partly seperation anxiety but I would imagine she's bored out of her wits! She'll need more now than when she was a puppy. Even when I was working 10 hour days in kennels I would walk biscuit for 1hr30 minimum with off lead time and training to wear her out mentally, and her behaviours got so much worse if I didn't. I'm Really sorry but walks shouldn't be weather permitting, unless that weather is dangerous! Could you try and add in one more 30 min daily walk? And some off lead play time to really tire her out? Sounds like she's frustrated and has lots of pent up energy. The collar is okay accompanied by training but it's not going to do anything on its own. Is she left with a kong/toy/stag bar when you go out? Or the radio on?

I'll send you my seperation anxiety training sheet when I get to a laptop later on today.

Tubs, I would try and put a video up, as I am now wondering if Ronnie could have had a small fit, and it just stressed and frightend her out massive time???? I dont want to scare you, just trying to rule out things. Its just those other things Ronnie is doing just dont alway add up to seperation anxiety. My Pixee does suffer from this, while at the blue cross, she started to rip all her bedding up, they put one of those collars on her. When we brought her home, we asked if we could try her without the collar, and we did. We found once she was not locked up, she was happy. She has the run of the house when we go out, I have left her so many treats, but she will not touch them till we are back, and is still like this to this day, but she does not cry like she use to when I leave, and is happy to settle down in her chairs in the conney. However a bored dog will chew and destroy things, but Ronnie sounds happy and why all of a sudden would she do that, this is what I mean by things dont seem to be pointing down to full seperation anxiety, but then again I am not a expert, so it will be good to see Rachels sheet on this.

How much exercise does Ronnie have before she is left alone ? Maybe she needs a good run or a good hours walk before being left to tire her out, she may then sleep while you are out.

Do you leave a radio on while you are out we do this for Rocky, just find a talky station something like Radio 4 may help here. A stuffed Kong may also be a good idea to leave for her to eat while you are out.

Hi Guys

Thank you for your ideas and responses - much appreciated!!

I do understand about the exercise - in an ideal world I would take Ronnie with me everywhere I went and without a doubt that would include lots more walkies!!

Although Ronnie only gets the half hour in the middle of the day during the week - she has a large garden to play in and we do play ball with her and sometimes she runs like a nutter around the house and plays little games with herself - that does make us laugh!!

As the winter nights recede - Ronnie does get more exercise as do we. We are not ones to just sit on the Settee watching TV we are quite active. With regards to the weather - I totally agree Ronnie should go out come Rain or Shine, however Ronnie will NOT go out in the Rain at all. She just lays down by the Conservatory door and will not move, even if we try picking her up - she wont stand on her legs - believe me she does have a big personality!!

We went out and bought a Radio for Ronnie recently and I do believe she likes that alot!! I think it is comforting for her.

I am not sure what has happened to Ronnie - Its a bit weird - since we took down the xmas lights - they were the LED ones (we always had bulb ones before) - and since she has had the Collar, she has really chilled out! The destruction only happened when we put the decorations up, but pulling the plugs out started when we got new furniture! Its likes she went into a mad frenzy - I guess we will never know.

When we leave Ronnie to go out, we leave her with her cuddly Toy, Chewy Bone and Water - but I am going to get her a Konga as so many of you have suggested that.

I think the retraining and helping Ronnie to understand she is bottom of the pack is helping her to chill out and relax. And she does seem to like her Cage, she has her bed in there with her comfort blankets as well.

We only want the best for Ronnie and to make her the happiest we can. I am taking on board all of your comments and really appreciate the help that has come across.

I would put up a photo of Ronnie but cant quite get the gist of it!!

xxx

Well, Ronnie is just like Pixee, she too wont go out in the rain! Yesterday she had her morning walk, but lunch time, she refused to go out for a walk as it was raining. So I thought I would wait till 7pm, and it was lighter rain, I managed to get her out the front door, she walked over to the lock, did a wee and ran back to the front door, pawing the door to be let in.   

Please keep an eye on Ronnie, cos those LED lights dont agree with people or dogs who have had light fits. It does make you go crazy. Also those tranformers can have a faulty elec current.

It would be great if you could put a photo up of Ronnie. I am having problems with my photobucket, this is where you can upload them for free. Someone will help you out. And I am pleased Ronnie has taken to her cage and the collar is helping her. theres always plenty of help and advice on this forum. xxx

This should help with posting pics   


https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t12017-how-to-post-a-photos-onto-the-forum

In regards to the exercise, the large garden doesn't give the stimulation in regards to new smells, sights and interactions that going out into the world does. Is there any reason why you couldn't add another 30 minute walk? Even just a lead walk in the evenings. If there is, she should have 30 mins + of ball play in the garden instead as well as a few short bursts of obedience training to keep her mind occupied. We can't expect our dogs to just "be." Whenever it's pouring with rain, or freezing cold and I don't feel like walking I always remind myself how I would feel if I was stuck inside for 23 hours every day with nothing to stimulate me. I remember when Biscuit was on limited exercise due to having a tumour removed, I gave her two 15 minute lead walks a day and she destroyed my sofa and chewed up my dvds, something that she had never done before.

It could be the change in routine that upset her over xmas, rather than the decorations. Sounds to me like the furniture was just a new play toy but I understand how the link can be made. She could have just realised how much being destructive releases pent up energy and endorphins, and how fun she finds it so now that she's started. Sounds to me like it's become a self rewarding behaviour, but for sure is the result of some anxiety and needs treatment.

Although every dog must have rules and boundaries, try not to focus on pack theory too much, it's not really relevant in pet dogs. The studies that brought pack theory to light have since been debunked. Instead, I would focus on upping her activity level and retraining. My laptop is broken and has all of my training sheets on it but this website is great http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/separation-anxiety

Your vet isn't going to offer you sound behavioural advice; vets have no training in behaviour and should not be giving behavioural advice. Personally, I would contact a good behaviourist, not just a trainer, that uses balanced techniques; not all positive or all negative and put a decent training plan in place.

Hello - I am fostering a dog with very bad separation anxiety, and it is hard to deal with. I can understand how maddening and upsetting it is for you.

I read that 25 per cent of abandoned dogs are let go by their owners because of this problem and I can certainly identify with it. I have become a recluse! When I have left the foster alone she has trashed my room and my neighbour called me as the dog had found a way to open the window and was threatening to jump out (clever dog).

I am doing crate training but very slowly. It takes a lot of time. Exercise isn't the problem here, as she gets loads. I have found that leaving her with a very meaty raw bone helps a bit - i.e. she will eat it - but by the time I get home she is yelping and going mad again.

What are your sleeping arrangements? Foster always wants to be in my room. If I leave her outside her anxiety just escalates.

I am trying to deal with this bit by bit, with a determined goal and a clear strategy (not my strong point).

Please send updates as I am finding this thread very useful to read.

And good luck!

Good Day Rupertbooks

I do feel for you - its so upsetting knowing that they are so anxious they wont settle. I too have read that many owners abandon their dogs because of this issue.

With Ronnie, she has always slept downstairs in the front room. We always leave a low light on for her. She used to sleep on the two seater or her bed which is in the corner of the room and she was totally fine.

Now however, because she has been so destructive, and to be honest we have lost trust in leaving her to have the freedom of downstairs, she sleeps in her cage with the door shut. We had the one night where she bashed about and ripped up the bottom tray, but my husband got a perpex bottom made and she has been fine. The Cage is in the front room where her bed used to be.

This morning when I got up, I made my coffee and went to let her out - she popped out had a stretch and went back into her cage cuddling up to her Teddy. When we are home the door is always left open - and we are finding that she is going in there of her own free will for a nap.

When we first had Ronnie from 6 weeks old, she used to cry/yell in the night, but we ignored her and after two nights she accepted that was her sleeping place - even our neighbours heard her!!

But with an older dog I am not quite sure what to suggest if she won't settle in the night. Maybe put her crate in your bedroom for a while and see if she settles with that. It is a case of beig firm, but you also want your sleep too. It would be so easy just to cuddle up but as I have grown to learn you have to go though the first part being tough and firm. If she still get anxious let her know you are there, and hopefully she may settle. Then slowly move her crate on the landing and over a period of time as she settles put her where you really want her to be.

I must admit we never had these problems till recently and it is like re-educating yourself. We have gone back to basics which I didnt expect to do when she is Five!!

I wish you all the luck cause it is not easy and it breaks your heart!!

Rachel

I do agree with the exercise and you have a fair point! We shall make more effort to get her an extra walk in the afternoon. And yes stimulation and training is also a good valid point.

At the moment Ronnie is totally relaxed and seems alot more like her oldself. We all commented last night at how restful and calm she is. We must be doing something right!!