Separation anxiety

[sugarplumfairy28]

We have a very sweet 7 month old Beagle. My husband works from home and I do not work. There is someone at home 95% of the time and it seems to have created a separation anxiety problem on those times when he is left alone which has only become apparent with the warmer weather. With the weather being so hot we cannot take him with us everywhere.

He will whine and howl, and gets really destructive, he has destroyed all his beds, and most toys. We leave him with puzzle toys and things to keep him entertained but it doesn't seem to last long. He will also whine and howl if we leave the room and he cannot follow us.

I have only ever had 2 dogs together and not had this problem before, we are not sure that getting him a friend is the right thing to do (it feels lazy), but also not sure how to nip this in the bud rather than dragging it out years.

It won't have created a problem you being there - the opposite. They need you there. He's still young - my 10 month old independent terrier is only just starting to be left for short periods all at her pace. We've done lots of building confidence and desensitisation to leaving cues and now we are popping in and out whilst she is settled and coming back immediately at the first signs she is looking for us.

You need to teach them at their pace that you always come back. Julie Naismith's 'be right back' book is very good for practical steps - I'd go for the puppy version. The dog training advice and support group is good but a bit less detailed.

Leaving them to cry just teaches them that you leaving is really scary. You do need to be with them all the time then gradually leave them when they are settled anyway for them to learn that you go but you come back.

We let our pup follow us everywhere or we took her with one of us everywhere in the house. I mean everywhere! Until she chose not to. We never forced separation. She now chooses not to follow unless she thinks she's going to get fun or one of us has been out and then she gets bored if we are changing for example and takes herself back downstairs to chew her toys or snooze. She takes herself off to sleep elsewhere and when we got back from Agility last night she ran off with the fish cube we gave her and disappeared to the end of the garden to eat it.

So no, being with them does not create a clingy dog. Hounds do find being alone more difficult than some dogs so you are possibly going to have to work a bit harder. I think tbh it's an age thing. Ours is still very puppy like in behaviour so she isn't going to be consistent. Our last dog wasn't left for months when we adopted her as an older puppy and went on to be bombproof at being left for 6 hours split into two from Mondays to Fridays before OH began WFH full time when she was ready.

You being there hasn’t created the issue. And getting another dog isn’t always a solution.
Personally I’d talk to a behaviourist, and for now avoid leaving them as much as you possibly can, if you do and they get upset you’re just reinforcing that being left is awful.

They are still really young so it’s quite normal for them to struggle with being away from you - some dogs seem to be happy from day one but others it’s very different!

My dog is now 18 months and it was only at about 8/9 months we could leave him at all, he just wasn’t ready before that. I was on a FB group for spaniels for separation issues which gave loads of good advice on flitting games and how to proceed slowly.

He’s now 18 months and can happily be alone for a couple of hours so you will get there!

Hi OP - I also have a beagle with separation anxiety - he's five now and can be left for an hour or so as long as he's had a decent walk. I'm not sure if he'd cope for longer as we just don't really need to leave him.

If you're on Facebook I would strongly recommend getting in touch with Kellie Wynn - she's an expert in beagle and gives lots of great (free!) advice as well as lots more in-depth behavioural training if you need it.

You haven't done anything wrong - beagles are pack dogs and generally don't like being alone although they can be trained to tolerate it over time 🥰

Sorry I should have added, the times we are leaving him are absolutely unavoidable, there is no one who is able to look after him in the mean time, and we only know of the whining and howling because of neighbours. Its too hot to bring him and leave him in the car, and the places we are going do not allow dogs, so we're in a tight spot.

Could you pay for a dog sitter, walker or for him to go to daycare instead of leaving him alone?

Unfortunately not, we are very rural and the times we are having to go out are at very short notice. Our daughter has autism and we have had to have several last minute urgent meetings with her school, that both DH and I have to attend. It's these things that are causing the problem. With a bit more notice we can try and sort something out but not all the time. Before summer we were able to take him with us and leave him in the car where he will quite happily sleep or watch the world go by without a peep.

Ah okay. I would definitely recommend you get in touch with Kellie as I mentioned above, as unfortunately every time you leave him alone to howl, you're just reinforcing the idea that being alone is scary and it will take longer to overcome in the long-term.

I will have a look into it, thanks. You can see why the idea of a friend came to mind though.

Definitely - unfortunately it won't necessarily work and you could end up with two anxious dogs 😬