Seperation Anxiety

Hello All,

We adopted a 6 year old female Staffy from the RSPCA back in March. It's been an absolute nightmare from day 1. It turns out she has very severe separation anxiety. Every time she is left on her own (even for a few minutes) she will wee and poo in the kitchen. We have tried the usual tricks of leaving for a few minutes and building up but no joy. We have tried crate training but she is not interested at all in that. None of the behaviourists that we have spoken to are interested, they all say they can't help.

We're really at our wits end, we love the dog but we're not prepared to have our house destroyed. We also think that by re-homing she might be better off, as she can be with someone 24/7.

Anyone got any advice?

have you tried one person leave the room and the other staying and work that way? constant reassurance from behind the door? leave her in a room where she can cause minimal damage , perhaps a radio will help her as well i even went as far closing and opening all the doors constantly . if you still have no joy with this id contact the rspca directly they will be able to assist you and put you in contact with soeone that can help you. depending how long the dogs been in rescue it may be about trusting humans again building a bond slowly will help you and your dog my dog suffered severe seperation anxiety there isnt a quick fix . hopefully your dog can trust again a lot of rescue dogs suffer with this.

Thanks for the reply.

We have tried shutting the door but she just attacks it straight away. I work shifts so there's not always 2 of us here unfortunately. We did try the radio for a couple of months but it had no impact at all.

We contacted the RSPCA who are nothing more than a disgrace. They lied about the circumstances of why she was in the kennels and there advice about this problem was to wait until they had a free kennel and take her back

Hi Andy, welcome to the forum. We will try and help you as best we can. So you've tried leaving for a few mins at a time and clearly she wasn't happy about that. Have you tried leaving her with a treat toy or a frozen stuffed Kong. The idea being that it's a distraction whilst you leave, you make no fuss, just put the distraction down for her and leave.

To begin with do as you have been by leaving for just a few mins and build it up. Crystal is right in that trust needs to be built and by leaving a tasty treat you going out should = treat time and not be seen as something negative as it is just now.

We have a couple of excellent behaviour "specialists" on the forum who, I'm sure, be able to offer some further advice.

Have you tried exercising her prior to leaving for a bit and building up? An article of clothing with your scent on it may help. To get her used to the crate just leave the door open and toss in a treat. In time she will see this as a safe place she can go to be alone. Also have you tried a thundershirt?

Thanks All,

We leave a stuffed kong everytime just before we go out, and we leave without making any fuss. She plays with the kong straight away but as soon as it's empty then that must be when she is making a mess. We tried leaving the crate door open and to be fair you would often find her in it when we got back, but it never stopped her making a mess. She's got some of our old clothes with our scent on. We haven't tried the thundershirt, but we have tried the collar and calming tablets.

Quite honestly nothing is working, and we're now at a point where we are resigned to having to rehome her for her benefit. She obviously needs to be with someone 24/7 so I think we will have to look to home her with an elderly/retired person.

i thought this with mia but seperation anxiety is something you need to work at over a period of months if you put the work in

The problem is we're 6 months down the line and having tried all kinds of suggestions, things are getting worse and rapidly so. It's time to think whats best for the dog and it looks like she will need somebody with her 24/7

Does she have a nice long walk or run before you leave? Might help if she's tired then she can sleep when you're gone? Please think about keeping her a bit longer like Crystal says these things can take time but they will work

Dnt know if this helps i had problems with mias seperation anxiety for over a year.

It seems like you have already made the decision that you are going to rehome her, so is your question to gain advice regarding how to go about that, or would you like some other ideas to keep trying?

We haven't decided that she's going to be re-homed I'm just saying it feels like there's no other option. She gets 2 walks a day but we can no longer let her off the lead as she has started running off and attacking other dogs unfortunately

Okay, so do you mind if I ask a whole load of questions? Just don't answer them if so;

1. Has this behaviour been apparent from day one? Or gotten worse over time?

2. What is she fed?

3. How often is she exercised/for how long/in what form?

4. How often is she left? Is there any pattern to her being left?

5. What exactly does she do when left?

6. Have you tried a pet sitter/day care/a dog walker coming in half way through the day?

7. What exactly have you done so far to try and help the problem?

8. Does she have any other behavioral problems?

1. Yes from day one unfortunately

2. She only has dry food, she's on Purina, previously on Wainwrights

3. Usually walked twice a day for about 30 mins on the lead

4. I work shifts so some days it might be 30 minutes whilst I pop out, other days it can be up to 4 hours

5. She plays with the kong until it's empty, the wees and poo's as well as pacing and whining

6. If she is left for a few hours we have a family member come in for an hour, by then she's already made a mess and makes another one when they've gone.

7. We have tried crate training, leaving for a few minutes then returning, leaving a radio on, changing the exit routine, adaptil collar and calming tablets.

8. Yes she has taken to attacking any dog that comes within a few feet of her

Bear with us, the questions may seem daft or bloody obvious but it helps build a picture. It sounds like you have her best interests at heart so I'll throw another question in... Is she sociable with you when your home for instance, snuggling up to you of an evening ? The reason I ask is to understand if she's settled.

Your probably going to hear some comments about the food not being the best and that the walks aren't long enough but my thoughts are more about routine.

Part of the issue could be if the walks are at different times because your on shifts then going to the loo isn't a regular timed thing. This could be sorted by toilet routine in the garden.

Staffies like most dogs get on best when they have structured routine so if you can build that in, you might well find a difference. My girl gets upset by a change in routine and she's a very chilled girl.

I hope we can help you work through this, it sounds like she's worth it and that you care enough to think of her well being too  

Okay, so it doesn't sound like she's being left an awful lot - but as Ian says routine is important - as you're a shift worker, it's hard to have that consistency (totally understand, I work shifts too, luckily my dog doesn't have seperation anxiety) but I have had multiple fosters that have, and it wasn't in their best interest to be residing in such a chaotic routine.

So I'm assuming from your post you have filmed her when left? It does sound like classic seperation anxiety - it may be better for her that she's in a home with people that are retired or can take her with them to work - but my concern is that you're saying that absolutely nothing has eased her distress, which may make new adopters wary of trying. Can you think of anything at all that did help, even just to ease it slightly? How long a period did you try each method for?

How long ago did you contact the RSPCA? Have they given you any time frame for a kennel being free? I'm unsure if kennels would be in her best interest either - could they advertise her for rehoming and rehome from your house straight to another? May take a little while longer, but much less traumatic for her. I really do empathise - rescue can be hard, and SA is extremely so when you have to work. Distressing for both you and your dog.

Ian - when we're at home she's incredibly content. She loves fuss and a game of tug but she will also spend a lot of time asleep. She did get into the routine of toileting in the garden straight after breakfast then again on her evening walk. Now she refuses to do anything in the garden at any time.

Rachel - we haven't filmed her but her issues are the same every day. You can hear her playing with the Kong when you leave. Nothing has eased the problem. In terms of how long we've tried things, well it's ongoing really, short periods every day

Regards the RSPCA. She is definitely not going back there, I wouldn't trust them with a house plant. If she gets re-homed it will be from our house and to owners who fully accept the problem and to people I feel I can trust

I'm a little confused, how do you know what she does if she hasn't been filmed? So have you tried the same thing for say, 6 weeks, and then tried something else?

Regarding the RSPCA - there are many people on the forum that work in rescue, including myself. I also spent 5 years working as head trainer for the RSPCA! Each branch is very different, some better than others, but I feel that it's unfair to tar them all with the same brush. Assessing seperation anxiety in kennels is extremely hard, many don't show signs in kennels and it only becomes apparent when rehomed. It will go against your contract to rehome this dog privately, and you could be taken to court. I understand that you have had a negative experience with this specific branch, but she's still their responsibility.

We know what she does because I've seen it and it's the same every time. It's clear that she is playing with the kong when we leave, if we return 5 minutes later then she has made a mess. When I'm training her by leaving her in the kitchen for a few minutes I keep an eye on her so I can see her pacing and whining.

Regarding the RSPCA I wouldn't want to tar them all. I'm appalled at the way this has been handled by my local centre. They originally said they had no idea why she was in there, before I pushed them for an answer and it turns out they knew full well why she was there. If they'd have told me what they knew at the time then quite simply I wouldn't have adopted her.

I find this post really upsetting as it sound like you haven't bonded at all and I think that's the real problem you don't even mention her name or anything positive about her or activities you do enjoy together. Seperation anxiety is serious issue that consumes time and patience but i doubt any respectable behaviourist told you theres nothing that can be done as people in this forum dealt with it successfully but it takes time and patience and without love and trust it can never be solved. So sad but if you are not ready to make this commitment things can only get worse as staffies they are very sensitive souls .