Seperation anxiety

[Dreamingaboutdachshund]

Hi mumsnetters.

My dachshund is 8 months old and is suffering from separation anxiety.

I need to be able to leave him for a maximum of 6hours during the day from October onwards. We have had him since he was 4 months old and we have tried, crate training and run of the kitchen. The crate is best as he managed to destroy the skirting boards in the space of 30 minutes!. He tends to go to the toilet in the crate if he's not walked prior even if he's left for 5 minutes. He just cries and cries struggles to settle down.

I've tried leaving and returning immediately and building up the time left however nothing seems to be calming him.

Any ideas or suggestions? Apart from this he is the best doggie in town however we really need to improve the situation by October!

Thanks all!

I would recommend the book ‘Be Right Back’ by Julie Naismith, we have followed the training programme in there with our dog and it has helped enormously (although we still have a significant way to go). You do have to follow it fairly rigorously though and it does take time but it does work.

Separation anxiety tends to take a long time to fix, if at all. I would make a backup plan in case you can't leave him in October.

Six hours is a very very long time to want to leave a dog with separation anxiety.

I would look into doggy daycares or at least a walker who can come and let him out and walk him halfway through.

I think you need to fully research (which i appreciate you're trying to do by asking the question and i imagine you're also looking elsewhere) then commit to what you think is your dog's best solution for a while. When i moved flat my girl cried when i left for short 10 to 20 min periods (i left my mobile at home on audio record) but within a week she was confident and happy. I have leaving tricks like a frozen kong etc to get me out the door and a dog camera so i can see shes ok.

I think routine and predictability is best for my girl but no idea if that works for others!

Thanks for all your comments.

I definitely looking into plan B incase he still cannot be left come October such as doggie day care/family.
Like I said above we've had him for 4 months already and we've been trying to find a solution since then so I appreciate any other ideas.

I've tried kongs/puzzle toys however that makes the toileting issue worse. We also have a dog camera so I can check on him.

@2catsand2kids I have ordered that book, thankyou for the recommendation.

Has anybody used valerian? Herbal calming solution? I'm wary about trying it without knowing how it affected other people's dogs, reviews are very good online but that is on the website so could easily be fake!

Thanks all!

@Dreamingaboutdachshund

Thanks for all your comments.

I definitely looking into plan B incase he still cannot be left come October such as doggie day care/family.
Like I said above we've had him for 4 months already and we've been trying to find a solution since then so I appreciate any other ideas.

I've tried kongs/puzzle toys however that makes the toileting issue worse. We also have a dog camera so I can check on him.

@2catsand2kids I have ordered that book, thankyou for the recommendation.

Has anybody used valerian? Herbal calming solution? I'm wary about trying it without knowing how it affected other people's dogs, reviews are very good online but that is on the website so could easily be fake!

Thanks all!

I'm going through the exact same thing with my puppy ! I have used all herbal things to see if that will work but morning ever does . Have you tried playing classical music for him at night and when you leave the house ? That seems to work a bit with mine . Very stressful isn't it 😥 x

@Dreamingaboutdachshund How long is he being left for now?

Have you consulted a behaviourist?

@peardropsonarainyday

It's very stressful! Unfortunately it wasn't on the cards having to leave him when we originally decided to buy him, but the situation changed quite quickly which is why we've been working on it so much!

Yep, we've tried leaving classical music on, the only thing that helps with is drowning the noise out from next door neighbours (semidetached), who are a luckily, saints!

@Happenchance maximum of an hour now, just long enough to do the food shop.

Unfortunately that is out of our price range now, circumstances changed drastically not long after buying him which means I am now having to go back to work October (which wasn't on the cards originally). We would not of decided to get him if we knew what would of happened. I have good family and friends so I'm hoping to utilise them if possible however I would rather try and sort this prior if possible.

We saw good results leaving ddog music on YouTube...

@Dreamingaboutdachshund if he is insured, a behaviourist may be covered by your insurance, if your vet refers you. Your vet may also be able to prescribe medication.

Can your family look after him now, whilst you’re out? He ideally needs to not be left at all whilst you work on gradually building up the amount of time he is left for.

Six hours is a lot even for a dog without SA.

I think day care of some kind is really your only option apart from rehoming.

Sorry, OP. You're in a difficult situation.

Unfortunately I think it's highly, highly unlikely that you'll resolve this in the next 5/6 weeks.

My beagle has separation anxiety - he is three and we still can't leave him longer than a couple of hours, and even that's only after a good long 60-90 minute walk.

Many adult dogs would struggle with what you're proposing, let alone a little puppy with bad anxiety.

I know that's not what you want to here but true separation anxiety is almost impossible to cure - the dog is likely always to be anxious being left so you need to build your life around them to avoid it escalating.

So do you mean you're going back to work and want to leave your puppy 6 hours a day every weekday?

You need a dog walker. Even if your dog didn't have separation anxiety, that's too long to leave a dog home alone every day.

I had a dog with separation anxiety but not as badly as this. He adjusted to a dogwalker coming in mid-morning, at the beginning of her round, he would go in the van collecting other dogs for about 40 mins, then 1-2 hours walk, then back in the van for 40 mins, so all in all he was out of the house for 3 hours most days, and so tired he would sleep for the rest of the afternoon. I really don't think you're going to crack this without a dog walker - would family pop in to walk him?

It would 3 days a week. I would 100% get a dog walker regardless of the issues we facing anyway just to break up the day.

I know I fighting a potentially unwinnable battle here, however rehoming is not an option, I would rather sell an organ. He has become the most important member of our family and we will find a solution! I guess I was hoping for some miraculous success stories!

I didnt realise I may be covered on insurance for a behaviourist, so I will look into that thanks @Happenchance.

Thankyou all for your suggests/advise. I do appreciate it.

If you are looking at doggy day care/walker I would do it now. I’m facing a lot of employees struggling to get back into the office because day cares now have waiting lists and dog walkers are becoming full with some return to offices.

If you want to get a walker or daycare you really need to be contacting them ASAP or you'll find they're full and can't accommodate your needs.

@TooExtraImmatureCheddar

I had a dog with separation anxiety but not as badly as this. He adjusted to a dogwalker coming in mid-morning, at the beginning of her round, he would go in the van collecting other dogs for about 40 mins, then 1-2 hours walk, then back in the van for 40 mins, so all in all he was out of the house for 3 hours most days, and so tired he would sleep for the rest of the afternoon. I really don't think you're going to crack this without a dog walker - would family pop in to walk him?

Years ago I had a dog (who didn't have SA) and used a dog walker like this. He absolutely loved his day out - I think this would work and is what I would do. In the meantime, try to ignore him more while you are at home - and once you get to a stage to try to build up leaving him, don't make a fuss when you go. Just go - I just mumble "see you later" and give the dog a treat. I am sure she loves me going out as she realises she gets a dentastick! Good luck OP

Thankyou all for taking the time to give me advice!
I'm going to continue working worth him for the next month and see how we progress and also sort doggy care/dog walkers.

I have just come across borrow my doggy website, has anyone used this before?

Thanks again!

@Dreamingaboutdachshund

Thankyou all for taking the time to give me advice! I'm going to continue working worth him for the next month and see how we progress and also sort doggy care/dog walkers.

I have just come across borrow my doggy website, has anyone used this before?

Thanks again!

Oh my god ! Iv just signed up to borrow my doggy

I use borrowmydoggy as an owner, but I would say it's not an ideal option if you need dependable regular care as you can't expect a volunteer to not go away or have other things on.

We use borrowmydoggy as back up. So when we were both in the office there were 2 days a week that ddog was alone. He did get a lunchtime walk so bmd was just for an extra walk in the afternoon to reduce the alone period.

I would say introducing a good dog walker is your best bet. It's cheaper than doggy day care and ddog usually comes back knackered from ours. If you got a walk at lunchtime then ddog would only be alone a couple of hours either side.

Personally I wouldn't use Borrow my doggy, especially not for a dog with issues. You could get people with no idea about dog behaviour who could exacerbate his issues and/or create new ones.

Please don't use BorrowMyDoggy. I really hate that it's trotted out as a great solution on here. I'm sure there are some fantastic "borrowers" but IMO the entire premise is really dodgy.

Anyone can sign up to that website - you wouldn't hand your child over to a random stranger, so why would you hand over the keys to your home and your pet? It's bonkers IMO.

Use a professional dog walker who has insurance, experience, qualifications and who knows what they're doing. If your "borrower" doesn't turn up you could end up with an extremely distressed dog.