Separation Anxiety

[BryanAndLarrysMama]

One thing my husband and I have been happy about is the fact we both work from home. It meant we could spend time training the boys and having all that puppy-goodness while the boys were tiny. They're so well behaved usually it's incredible. They've never gone after my plants, the tree in the livingroom, the furniture, stuff on the coffee table, cables, nothing, because we were able to be there to train them.

HOWEVER...........

There are two spots on the wall they chew when we go out. I have blocked those two spots, and now they tear up their pee pad (which goes away today! Wooo! This is it, people! Little Bryan is 100% awesome going potty outside and big Larry still piddles on it and poops now and then but we're going to really focus now and get him to commit to going outside).

We try to go out for only 2hrs at a time and usually after they've had their potty, and often it's during the time they sleep. But when we come home the pee pad would be shredded (and some eaten, as evidenced in their dookie later) and the wall would be clearly chewed on. They've been told NO when they were caught once. They don't touch it at all when we're home.

We're going to start going out every day even for an hour and come back so they see that yes, we do come back and it's not the end of the world.

I read that we should take them for a walk first. Well, that's not always realistic. They do get to go on two walks a day (which I love...best exercise ever and omigosh I love how happy they are...walks are awesome fun with these guys!). I was told to give them a kong with treats in it. Yep. Tried that. I was told to give them a special toy they only get while we are out. Yep, tried that too. I was told to crate or pen them. They're not crate dogs (I am so sorry I hope this doesn't start a negative discussion - but we don't crate. They have a large pen they go into at night) and I tried penning them once while we were out and on the cam we saw them pretty much go crazy and pee in the pen (they have never soiled their bed since day one - only when we did this) several times. At least when they're free on the mainfloor they shred the pad and go nuts for a while and then lay down.

Any other thoughts on this? Someone actually suggested we give them gravol to calm them while we go out a few times and then eventually they'd get used to our going out and we could stop the gravol, but gosh, I don't think that's necessarily a good thing to do.

We would love to go out and know that they're not flipping out.

 

[Hanne]

. I was told to crate or pen them. They're not crate dogs (I am so sorry I hope this doesn't start a negative discussion - but we don't crate.

Do not worry

I have been on this lovely forum since 2014
so the members are aware, that we are some
who do not like to use cages for our puppies / dogs

I have never - in my more than 30 years with dogs
had a cage inside my house and will never get one

But I have always used cages in my car
because my dogs almost always are with me
when I am driving

 

[Ann]

It doesn't sound as if your boys have separation anxiety as much as they're free and uncontained to do the things that puppies love and will do when they're alone! (I had one who pretty much ate the wallboard in our bathroom years ago and another one who used a coffee table leg as a chew stick.)

Unfortunately, without containing them somehow, in a safe room or pen, there aren't many options. I certainly would not drug a dog when you leave to keep it quiet! I don't recommend leaving them with chew sticks or other things that can get stuck in throats or mouths when you aren't there. You can try leaving them with a kong filled with frozen dog food, yogurt or peanut butter, but that only lasts so long. A puzzle toy might help too, or a cube that you can put kibble in that would keep them busy for a while. I'd put several out to keep them busy.

My puppies all stay in a crate when they're very young and then a playpen until they're trustworthy in the house, so in the interest of fair disclosure, it's hard for me to advise. I'm not clear whether you penned them together when you tried that...perhaps separate pens might work? Once they get used to your leaving and returning and they're a bit older (and not puppies) they will settle down. Until then, I would at least leave them in a safe place where they're limited and not able to get into anything that could hurt them if they chew it.

 

[ghggp]

They are still so young... Keeping them separated might be a good idea. Try it and see how they do. They should be able to see one another. Like the X-Pen Lisa suggested.

My Liam was horrible eating the molding and kitchen chair! He is now 18 months and I am really hoping he grows out of it. I have two older dogs so he can interact with them. So, he is getting less destructive over the past few months.

Also, try games before you leave to get them tired... Sit & Down Stays for varying lengths of time. Come to you from the sit and down making them sit in front of you. ANything to get their mind working which tires them out!

My 2 cents would be to try entry Calming Diffuser for Dogs, Diffuser
chewy.com/sentry-calming-diffuser-dogs-diffuser/dp/182275?utm_term&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0eHN1Lm25wIVBL7ACh116g2XEAQYAyABEgLAF_D_BwE&utm_campaign=hg&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google-product&utm_content=Sentry

I know they are hit or miss in working for some dogs and not others...

 

[Piper's mom]

Aside from crating I don't see how you can stop the destructive behavior when Your not there. When Piper was a bit older (6 months) I no longer crated him but he was limited in where he could go (I had a baby gate) and I blocked off part of the room. Is it the crate itself that you don't care for? You could always use a crate and an X-pen...that way they have a place to sleep but a bit of room to move but are safe. I used an xpen with Finnie as well as the crate and used zip ties to close the xpen.
You can get different sizes of X-pens as well as heights. They can be expensive but can always be found online used.
P.S. I wouldn't give any human medicine unless speaking to your vet first. Also, many human medications now contain xylitol which can kill a dog fast so ALWAYS check the labels first (even food...peanut butter and breads/cookies and gums are prime examples ).

 

[Margi]

I can't remember exactly how long I had to baby gate the house when Fillion was a pup. Like you, we were home almost all the time but you gotta go out sometimes LOL. Fillion was a GOOD puppy--but he was a puppy First time I left him for a few min. alone he dumped a trash can and shredded every paper in it! Luckily our house is set up so I could gate off the kitchen section which gave him plenty of room to romp with his toys or sleep on his bed and have no wires/outlets I had to worry about. Floor is tile so if he piddled well that's an easy clean up. I was lucky he didn't chew furniture or drywall. I eventually moved the baby gate allowing him more space, but it was a while before he had free run of the whole house. I closed off all rooms for a long time. Easier to close a door than replace clothes or furniture!

 

[Sandy in CT]

I am a crater!!! and a homemaker so home lots (retired stay at home mom now that I'm an empty nester) When we had our first doxie, I crated and we've done it ever since. I had read about a women with two pups, left out, chewed an electrical cord and she lost both so I've always crated even though Brodie is my first chewer. Our dogs both have large crates, very comfortable crate pads and crate covers that have a flip down 'door' for at night. At bedtime, all we have to say is let's go to bed and they trot off and enter their kennels - the crate cover goes down and they snooze away until morning. Sometimes when I leave the house just to run down the road I will let them be, but most times, we say 'kennel' and they trot off - no crate cover for daytime.

To our puppers, the crate is not a punishment, it is their safe spot,THEIR space! With our doxies, when one got a back injury, his acceptance of his crate was key in the very long rehab he had to avoid surgery. When we travel, we collapse the crate and bring along with us. We can, and have, stayed anywhere - hotels, rental houses, campers - because the puppers are not nervous - they have their safe spot. When potty training, the crate was a blessing! Our puppers also have dinner at times, not breakfast, in their crate - cuts down on begging at the table but comes in handy when company comes for dinner - they see it as normal, not punishment. I have tags on the front, rear and driveway doors that show someone exactly where my puppers are in case of an emergency - grab and go. My puppers do not cry in their crates, although they did at times when young, but as noted - it's their safe space, their bedroom. They sometimes nap in the crates even when they don't have to!

Brodie ate two sections of drywall when he was teething - I still need to repair.... boredom, teething, just a natural tendency to chew for some. Brodie ate a section of the dowel for the crate flap, he chewed the buttons off his crate cover, if shoes are left out - he will chew the laces, if a coat is draped over a chair instead of hung up - he will chew the zipper, he has chewed the bottom of a few of my curtains. He was gated as a pup, but ate holes through the gate - quite proud of himself when I got home! For him the chewing is almost like a pacifier not anxiety - when he naps, he lays along one of the walls, and that is where my drapes are. We go through a LOT of dog chews! When he was younger and I wanted to keep him busy for a while, I would fill a kong with the kong squirt stuff and squish one of the kong treats in there as well. Some say to freeze stuff in the king, but I'd never remember to toss it in the freezer. Brodie still likes to relax at night and watch tv while nawing away on a bully stick.

I tried those diffusers when my cat was having anxiety after our first doxie passed, I don't think they did much other than drain my wallet and they made me nervous plugged into walls. I have used drops of essential oils on bedding but nothing they could touch or lick - the side of the pad or the crate cover.

This too shall pass!!!

 

[RikyR]

If you go the frozen Kong route, give it to your pups before you do anything else. The minute Zulu heard the freezer open, he was running to his pen. Once he had the Kong, he could care less what we were doing. He now has run of the front of the house, but we still give him a couple of small treats before we leave. He now sits in his bed waiting for them before we leave.

 

[Wendy C]

Cooper gets the frozen Kong and yes he could care less that we are going out. If he is getting a Kong we cut down kibble on one of his meals.