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!

Our second dog (but first rescue) was the same age when we got her, and suffered badly from this (to the point of digging a hole in the kitchen wall back to the brick-work) We tried everything, and in the end our vet gave her a course of Clomipramine, which is a tricyclic anti-depressant. I can't remember how long we used it for, but it did the trick.www.caninejournal.com/clomipramine-for-dogs/#:~:text=Clomipramine%20is%20a%20tricyclic%20antidepressant%20that%20works%20by,capsules%20that%20come%20in%20a%20variety%20of%20doses.

Six hours is much too long to leave any dog on a regular, planned basis. Dealing with the separation anxiety is only one thing to do. You need doggy day care.

Just thought I would let you all know, my sister has agreed to have him when I have to return to work. She is a god send. Hopefully this way we can tackle the separation anxiety slower at his speed.

Thankyou all for the advice!

[quote Happenchance]@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.[/quote]
I ended up going the behaviourist and medication route. That plus time worked for me. My boy is four now and pretty good.

When he was a puppy and young dog I spent lots of money on daycare and my parents helped me out. I honestly thought that was going to be my life forever but he’s so much better now. You will probably have to throw some money at the problem. For me it was either that or rehome him.

He was so bad as puppy that I couldn’t even have a shower without him crying loud enough to hear over the shower

@Dreamingaboutdachshund

Just thought I would let you all know, my sister has agreed to have him when I have to return to work. She is a god send. Hopefully this way we can tackle the separation anxiety slower at his speed.

Thankyou all for the advice!

That's fantastic! I'm glad you found a solution.

Mine has separation anxiety and goes to his "grandparents" while we work - he absolutely loves it

@icedcoffees he knows my sister well and gets to cuddle up on her sofa as she permanently works from home so this is the ideal solution so I'm sure he will love it!

@peardropsonarainyday I hope you manage to find a solution aswell, it's so hard to manage isn't it!

Thankyou for all the advice!