I’m not a dog whisperer by any stretch. Dogs in my care generally think I’m a good sort because I feed them twice a day (by weight) and take them for big long walks most evenings.

However Shadow has a problem. He’s a Labrador, very obedient, very looooving, and very anxious if I leave him at home. Today I left him in the airconditioned study and when I came back in he’d been on my desk and the keyboard is missing a foot and papers had fallen to the floor. To be honest I was expecting the door to have been clawed out.

I am his fourth owner. Nefertiti and I are not impressed with his attitude towards cats, we need to resurrect Georgina (dead for two years) to sort him about about just where cats stand in my households. He has just been unlucky with his owners: once they left town there was “no room” where they were going for big dogs (about 25kg, average labrador I think).

He has no other vices, but I can’t live with a dog that will jump out of windows (we are a highset queenslander) if it thinks I’ve been gone too long. Even jumps out of the 2/3 wound up windows of the car (Nissan Patrol 4WD). I think the kindest thing would be to put him down. He doesn’t need another owner.

Does anybody else have a better idea?

Can you build him a proper dog run? And then start a program of putting him in there and leaving for a few minutes. Building up to longer times. So he knows that you will actually come back.

Actually, if you are in a Queenslander, could you wire in a section underneath for him? We did that to a carport here.

Dinetta said:

I’m not a dog whisperer by any stretch. Dogs in my care generally think I’m a good sort because I feed them twice a day (by weight) and take them for big long walks most evenings.

However Shadow has a problem. He’s a Labrador, very obedient, very looooving, and very anxious if I leave him at home. Today I left him in the airconditioned study and when I came back in he’d been on my desk and the keyboard is missing a foot and papers had fallen to the floor. To be honest I was expecting the door to have been clawed out.

I am his fourth owner. Nefertiti and I are not impressed with his attitude towards cats, we need to resurrect Georgina (dead for two years) to sort him about about just where cats stand in my households. He has just been unlucky with his owners: once they left town there was “no room” where they were going for big dogs (about 25kg, average labrador I think).

He has no other vices, but I can’t live with a dog that will jump out of windows (we are a highset queenslander) if it thinks I’ve been gone too long. Even jumps out of the 2/3 wound up windows of the car (Nissan Patrol 4WD). I think the kindest thing would be to put him down. He doesn’t need another owner.

Does anybody else have a better idea?

I only know that we give our dog a liver treat every time we leave her at home alone. We have done this with every dog we have had and we have never had a separation problem with any of them. My goodness I’ve just realised we have been a success at something.

buffy said:

Can you build him a proper dog run? And then start a program of putting him in there and leaving for a few minutes. Building up to longer times. So he knows that you will actually come back.

Actually, if you are in a Queenslander, could you wire in a section underneath for him? We did that to a carport here.

Thanks Buffy, he knows I will come back, I always come back except when he’s left at E, with the other dogs, for babysitting. He’s OK when the other dogs are here, but on his own he worries. I do have a bitch’s box under the house, I would need to tie it up in 3 places he’s a real wriggly worm (has the slimmest waist of a labrador I’ve ever seen)…but I would worry he’d tear his nails off trying to dig out. Could give it a go, I suppose…

>>Thanks Buffy, he knows I will come back, I always come back <<

Yes, but…perhaps he needs a little bit of reconditioning that the coming back happens even when he is left alone? I reckon it’s worth a try. I should say that once our girl managed to scramble up a 7ft wire netting, squeeze through a 6” gap at the top (she was a fully grown Boxer at the time), not damage herself in the fall on the other side and proceed to try to eat her way into the house through the back door. We had to replace all the architraving. She must have been totally manic about that thunderstorm.

But you are right, the best curative is company from another dog. They are always better in company.

I’d not commented, I find the anxious dog hard to deal with given I know how hard it’s been for Honey (son in laws retriever with storm fright).I can’t stand to see them hurt themselves and the sheer damage Honey does to herself and property. I would take the kindest road and put such a dog down.

Plus I really don’t know the answer. Max has awful separation anxiety, cries ptifully when I’m not here. But he does no damage to himself or property. Although I wonder if his lifespan may be shortened because of the mental stress, I don’t really know.
5 hours is the maximum time he can be left alone without someone checking on him as thats when he starts howling, wolf like. And he hides my things. He will take the cushion off my pc chair and hide it behind the couch, takes one shoe and hides that behind say a door or in his bed, and other things, a handbag or a shopping tote bag can be found in other rooms. Never damages anything, just relocates them.
He is old enough to know the drill of me going out, but his behaviour never changes. I say to him ‘you stay there, I’ll be back soon’ and my goodness I get that sudden sad look, drops ears, big sad eyes, his body goes limp and his heartbroken sighs are enough to make you melt. We installed an inside cam to watch him remotely and he wanders from room to room looking for me, or anyone. If there’s another sleeping shiftwork person available, he will hop on the bed with them and sleep. If there’s no one home he will sit looking out at the front window and wait.

My mother had a dog that, with age, developed separation anxiety. It cost me some beautiful sheets and quilt covers which I’ve not been able to afford to replace. Mum just shrugged it off, so what if my dog has dug up your good manchester that you’ve laid out specially for my visit? So as much as we loved that dog we were pleased when she passed away. At the ripe old age of 12, I think…

Not sure why the dog got that way, it’s not as if she was left alone all day. And Mum was like clock work: eucharist on Wed mornings, plus grocery shopping, and grocery shopping on Friday mornings.

I’m really not game to go down town just walking, I need to work out how to secure the lounge room doors. One of the neighbours reckons she saw him jump out my bedroom windows but I think she’s dreaming…Once the lounge room doors are secure, he’s on the verandah then which is cool and has his bed.

I might practice just securing him, walking around a block and coming straight back, at various times of the day, depending on the cloud cover of course…

He’s a dream to walk with, comes when he’s called and doesn’t chase cattle but sadly he does chase roos…

Dinetta said:

My mother had a dog that, with age, developed separation anxiety. It cost me some beautiful sheets and quilt covers which I’ve not been able to afford to replace. Mum just shrugged it off, so what if my dog has dug up your good manchester that you’ve laid out specially for my visit? So as much as we loved that dog we were pleased when she passed away. At the ripe old age of 12, I think…

Not sure why the dog got that way, it’s not as if she was left alone all day. And Mum was like clock work: eucharist on Wed mornings, plus grocery shopping, and grocery shopping on Friday mornings.

I’m really not game to go down town just walking, I need to work out how to secure the lounge room doors. One of the neighbours reckons she saw him jump out my bedroom windows but I think she’s dreaming…Once the lounge room doors are secure, he’s on the verandah then which is cool and has his bed.

I might practice just securing him, walking around a block and coming straight back, at various times of the day, depending on the cloud cover of course…

He’s a dream to walk with, comes when he’s called and doesn’t chase cattle but sadly he does chase roos…

Leaving him for short periods sounds like a good plan to me. Dogs actually have no idea of time length so a vet once told me. I’m sure he would soon realise that you weren’t going to be gone forever then you could extend your absences.

pomolo said:

Leaving him for short periods sounds like a good plan to me. Dogs actually have no idea of time length so a vet once told me. I’m sure he would soon realise that you weren’t going to be gone forever then you could extend your absences.

I’m pretty sure this one has an excellent idea of time…altho’ he does cry just as much after a short break as after a longer one…

What do you do when he exhibits anxiety symptoms, do you try to reassure him and make a fuss of him? Or do you discourage and discipline undesirable behaviour?

bluegreen said:

What do you do when he exhibits anxiety symptoms, do you try to reassure him and make a fuss of him? Or do you discourage and discipline undesirable behaviour?

I give him a cuddle and say “It’s alright” . This lasts about 30 seconds and then I go off and pack the groceries or whatever. He stops it then.

My problem is his distress when I’m out of sight.

You are reinforcing the behaviour by rewarding it. It’s difficult. You need him to know that crying is not on. He now knows crying works. What happens if you just ignore the crying and go and do something else?

buffy said:

You are reinforcing the behaviour by rewarding it. It’s difficult. You need him to know that crying is not on. He now knows crying works. What happens if you just ignore the crying and go and do something else?

this is what I was getting to. This is not my theory, but some fellow I saw on TV. You might think you are comforting him, which if he was human it would be. But dogs don’t think that way. He sees it as a reward for his behaviour. You need to to think like a dog and the alpha dog at that. In the pack if a dog behaved like that he would be given short order – disciplined by a growl or bite. I am not saying that you should hurt him but show you do not approve. It seems wrong to us but in the long run better for him as the anxiety is unhealthy. That’s the theory anyway and makes sense to me. This must also be reinforced by rewards (cuddles, treats, kind words) for when he is good.

buffy said:

You are reinforcing the behaviour by rewarding it. It’s difficult. You need him to know that crying is not on. He now knows crying works. What happens if you just ignore the crying and go and do something else?

…but it’s not the crying when I come home that’s really the bother. It’s his efforts to get out of the house to come after me…

>>…but it’s not the crying when I come home that’s really the bother. It’s his efforts to get out of the house to come after me…<<

This is where you have to bite the bullet and build a run. And yes, we’ve had to do it. For the safety of the dog and the community.

Dinetta said:

bluegreen said:

What do you do when he exhibits anxiety symptoms, do you try to reassure him and make a fuss of him? Or do you discourage and discipline undesirable behaviour?

I give him a cuddle and say “It’s alright” . This lasts about 30 seconds and then I go off and pack the groceries or whatever. He stops it then.

I seem to have the wrong slant on this thread. I thought your dog was howling while you were away. Now I understand it’s just the greeting you are getting when you return. Am I right ot wrong?

Dinetta said:

My problem is his distress when I’m out of sight.

I am a bit confused for sure.

Dinetta said:

buffy said:

You are reinforcing the behaviour by rewarding it. It’s difficult. You need him to know that crying is not on. He now knows crying works. What happens if you just ignore the crying and go and do something else?

…but it’s not the crying when I come home that’s really the bother. It’s his efforts to get out of the house to come after me…

Ok. I get it now but I have no advice to offer.

pomolo said:

I seem to have the wrong slant on this thread. I thought your dog was howling while you were away. Now I understand it’s just the greeting you are getting when you return. Am I right ot wrong?

Partly. I wonder if he’s fretting whilst I’m away, because of the effort he puts into trying to follow me and / or keep me in line of sight. What makes me wonder is the fact he jumped out of a window one day (from dining room to back deck, about a metre high) and he’s also supposed to have leaped from my bedroom window, a drop of about 10 feet…to follow me…The greeting I get also makes me wonder.

I’m inclined to agree with Buffy, he needs somewhere secure so he eventually realises he just can’t follow at all, plus hopefully over time he will realise that I come back, no matter what.

I’ve tried leaving my old useless shoes with him, the kelpie does that when we’re away, finds a shoe and sleeps on it, but he’s not appreciative as far as I can tell…

pomolo said:

Dinetta said:

buffy said:

You are reinforcing the behaviour by rewarding it. It’s difficult. You need him to know that crying is not on. He now knows crying works. What happens if you just ignore the crying and go and do something else?

…but it’s not the crying when I come home that’s really the bother. It’s his efforts to get out of the house to come after me…

Ok. I get it now but I have no advice to offer.

Sorry, replied to your previous post before I saw this…thanks for the interest…my mother’s dog, if I remember rightly, used to “dig” into her (Mum’s) bed even when there was people in the house…

If anyone is interested, this is our converted carport. It was a double carport, originally converted into a double dog run, but one half has been invaded by a tractor and assorted Boys Toys now. One side is amply big enough for the two Boxers anyway. We framed it in, and had wire sides made. Unfortunately our previous girl Boxer found that the wire could be broken if you grabbed it and pulled back and forth on it for some time….so we had to add the railings as well. Looks sort of like a stable I guess. There is an old couch and a couple of old armchairs in there. I bought one of those recycled plastic rugs for the floor that you can just hose down. The kennel is from the olden days when we had an outside run, but it also provides a sanctuary for one of the dogs to get away from the other, or for both to cuddle in on a really cold day. The floor is concreted. (Please excuse that I have not swept it out for a few days, so it is not tidy). The old wardrobe is there because we don’t have anywhere else to put it!

It is known around the place here as the Dogs’ Palace.

:)

buffy said:

If anyone is interested, this is our converted carport. It was a double carport, originally converted into a double dog run, but one half has been invaded by a tractor and assorted Boys Toys now. One side is amply big enough for the two Boxers anyway. We framed it in, and had wire sides made. Unfortunately our previous girl Boxer found that the wire could be broken if you grabbed it and pulled back and forth on it for some time….so we had to add the railings as well. Looks sort of like a stable I guess. There is an old couch and a couple of old armchairs in there. I bought one of those recycled plastic rugs for the floor that you can just hose down. The kennel is from the olden days when we had an outside run, but it also provides a sanctuary for one of the dogs to get away from the other, or for both to cuddle in on a really cold day. The floor is concreted. (Please excuse that I have not swept it out for a few days, so it is not tidy). The old wardrobe is there because we don’t have anywhere else to put it!

that looks quite a cosy run :)

buffy said:

It is known around the place here as the Dogs’ Palace.

:)

I’m not surprised!