Separation Anxiety

[NatFrenchie]

Hi

I know this is a common problem but I am wondering what's worked for other people. I've looked at Adaptil and Thundershirts but haven't committed to buying either yet as am not sure about them.

My 1 yr old dog always gets upset when I leave the house but when I put him in his crate he tends to settle down and sleep. The only time he will go in the crate is when I put him in when we are out or at night when he goes to bed.

I have been trying him out to see what happens if he's not in his crate during the day and recorded him yesterday only to discover that he basically whined, barked & howled for most of the time I was gone which was around 2 hours.

At night, I tried leaving the crate door closed but not locked, this worked fine for a few nights but then he realised he could push the door open, did so and got out and started whining in the middle of the night.

My questions are do either of the calming aids help and should I just continue putting him in the crate during the day and at night to prevent the problem. Perhaps I am focusing too much on getting rid of the crate?

I work from home too so he's very used to being around me during the day and always lies on his bed beside me.

Any advice gratefully received

sorry to hear your ddog is getting upset like this and just wanted to say that there's another thread on here about this too which might have helpful hints on. Your ddog will need to learn to calm himself and manage without you, just do it slowly, for really short bursts, like when you are there working perhaps and letting him howl bark whine etc and the moment, instant, he stops be there ready to reward.

i'm not convinced you need those aids, when he has been managiingperfectly well without you when in the security of his crate.

Trial things for yourself whilst you are at home with him in and out of his crate. As its becoming a problem i would be tempted to always do a couple of hours of work at home a day without him at your side, or aim for that and it will become familiar for him. If you have a stair gate you could put across the doorway to keep him the other side on his bed that would be a start where he could see you and then start shutting the door.

All different possibilities that will allow him to settle without you, over time.