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Question My 8 year old bichon was well beahved and housetrained before, when i went to work every day. Even on weekends, I could go out to dinner and he would behave. Now, for the past 2 months however, I have been working from home more often. If I leave the house now, either for work or to go out without him on weekends, he will pee in my chair, or on my personal things, etc. It is really frustrating since he used to be so good. I have tried giving him a treat before I leave and turning on music for him. It works sometimes, but he now expects a treat each time I leave and will still pee on my things if he feels like it. I am really at my wit's end. Is there any way I can make him stop?
Answer He is suffering from separation anxiety, the fact he pes on YOUR personal items is simply him attempting to exert his dominance over you.
The way to stop this is to go back to basics and now restart crate training him, if you follow my instructions he will be fine within two weeks, if not its just more effort on your part.
Just o be on safe side give him a daily dose of cranberry tablets for one week to ensure he doesnt have a UTI , then commence his new training regime.
I wou;d also consider giving him cranberry tablets daily now due to his age and the tendency for him to develop stones .
Crate training.
Remember that repetition is necessary. Your puppy will not understandwhat you want unless you repeatedly show him/her the desired behaviorMANY times.
Keep in mind also that your puppy does not know what is expected andmust be shown the proper place to eliminate, and when.
Your best potty training friend is your crate. When you cannot watchyour puppy, use a crate. Thinkof the crate the same way you think of a playpen for a human child.Even if you are only leaving the room for a "minute," either take thepuppy with you or use the crate. After all, you would not leave atoddler in the house alone "for just a minute" would you?
Crate training can be fun for the puppy if you make it a POSITIVEexperience. The DEN is an integral part of the wild dogs upbringingand safety zone. The same thing applies to the "crate". Giving the pupspecial "treats" is a great way to introduce him to his crate. Theonly time the puppy receives these special treats is when he is in thecrate; the treats become associated with the crate.
Use the crate wisely. Don't crate only when you are leaving the house.Place the puppy in the crate whileyou are home as well. Use it as a "safe" zone, or for "time outs".(thus keeping your sanity)
By crating when you are home AND while you are gone, the puppy becomescomfortable in the crate and not worried that you will not return, orthat you are leaving him/her alone. This helps to eliminate separationanxiety later in life.
Most puppies will not soil their "den." The first couple of tries youmight have some accidents, but don't be discouraged. An easy way toavoid accidents in the night for the first few weeks is by followingthis routine:
1. set your alarm for about 3 hrs after your normal bed time. When thealarm goes off, get up immediately, go to the crate and CARRY the pupoutside (I do this in my robe, with my shoes kept by the door to theoutside). Place him on the ground and encourage him to eliminate.PRAISE when he does, and bring him back to the crate. Go back to bed.
2. Set your alarm for another 3 hrs, and get back to sleep. When thealarm goes off repeat part 1.
3. After about a week of the above routine, IF it has been successful(no crate messing) then you can set the alarm for * way through yoursleep time. Follow the remainder of part 1. When you arise in themorning, TAKE the pup outside BEFORE you do anything else. Feed thepup and then crate. Follow your regular waking routine, then walk thepup one more time before going off to work.
4. Repeat the feeding, walking and crating at lunch time. Pups fromthe ages of 2 to 4 months CANNOT control their elimination for muchmore than 4 hours, so if you cannot return home at lunch time, arrangefor someone to do this for you at lunch.
If the CRATE is too large, the pup can easily soil on one side andsleep on the other. The way to prevent this is to buy a crate thatwill accommodate your pet when it is fully grown. Then get a box thatwill fit inside the back of the crate. The box should be large enoughthat there is only room for the puppy to stand and lie downcomfortably.
As the puppy grows, provide more room by putting in a smaller box, orcutting down the size. When the puppy reliably asks to be put outsideto eliminate, remove the box so the puppy can use the whole crate.
If the puppy messes the crate, replace the box size to the point atwhich the puppy was reliable, and just give the pup a little more timeto learn. In conjunction with crate training, potty training startsimmediately.
Whenever you remove the puppy from the crate or just want the puppy to"go potty," take the dog to the door that will always be used to "gooutside." Use the SAME door throughout the training period.
On the handle of this door, tie a bell to a string, dropping it evenwith the height of the puppy's nose. When you bring the puppy to thedoor, lure the puppy to touch the bell with either it's nose or paw,(using a treat) causing the bell to ring.
After the puppy rings the bell, give it the treat, (use a SMALL pieceof meat or dried liver) and say "OUTSIDE" in a happy tone of voice.Take the puppy outside on leash.
Reminder: During housebreaking DO NOT allow the pup outside toeliminate alone or loose in the yard. Yes, that means in the rain,snow, whatever: YOU GO OUTSIDE ALSO. Give the puppy plenty of time.Don't rush or you will be sorry. When the puppy urinates ordefecates, praise the puppy with "Good Outside" and again, give thepuppy a tiny, tiny treat.
Continue to wait. When the puppy poops, again praise the puppy with"Good Outside" and give a treat.Go back inside, stop at the door again, and treat once again. If thepuppy does not "potty" even after stayingoutside 15 minutes, return back inside, place the puppy back into thecrate, wait 15 minutes and start again from the beginning.
If done religiously, this training process should take only about 2weeks for the puppy to understand. This method will work with any dog,regardless of age. If you adopt a dog from a shelter or a rescueprogram, follow the same routine. Remember, even though the dog isolder or even an adult, he still does not know the rules of your home,and may not have ever BEEN in a house. Be PATIENT and this method WILLwork.
Take it slow and easy...be PATIENT....and have FUN with your dog!
1) What is Separation Anxiety (SA)?destructive behavior
Perfect pets, like perfect people are hard to find. Separation anxiety (SA) is a pet’s exaggerated fear over separation from its owners. It is a modern, industrial age, disease. I see it most often in dogs, parrots mice and cats. Simply said, they are afraid of being left alone.
2) What are the Signs of Separation Anxiety ?
You can diagnose SA by noting its signs and symptoms in your pet. After all, you know your pet better than any veterinarian can. Separation anxiety is not the same as boredom, which can also result in chewing, pawing, digging, and other bad behavior. SA begins as a panic soon as you leave, boredom, after an hour or two
All puppies show some signs of Separation Anxiety. It’s only natural for an infant of any species. But as time passes, normal puppies and other pets show these signs less and less and become more confident about being alone. It’s worrying about your being away or about their being away from “the pack” which is out of line for “teenage” puppies and other pets.
Signs of SA in pets are: fearfulness (worry, apprehensiveness), clinginess, hyperactivity, barking and yelping (screaming in birds), destroying objects, urinating inappropriately, defecating in the house, vomiting, diarrhea, salivation, depression or aggressiveness when they are about to be left alone or think they are about to be. Some over-eat; some under-eat. Some twitch their ears, pace, pant, hide or jump and bounce about. Parrots and cats over-groom, resulting in bald areas on their chests. Some pets can be left alone for no longer than a few minutes before they panic and exhibit these behaviors. Sometimes separation anxiety is caused by a change in schedule that requires the pet to be left alone for longer that normal. Unidentified changes in older pets may also cause sudden separation anxiety, which can be mistaken for senility. What your pet is thinking is that it is about to loose its main friend and that you will not be returning. It is preoccupation with this that sets off the cycle.
I have seen SA equally in male and female pets, unneutered and fixed. Among dogs, dolichocephalic (long nosed) shepherd-like dogs, bred for herding and guarding as well as spaniels and setters more commonly have the condition. I have noticed that dogs with SA tend to be lean or thin and have periodic digestive disturbances. Among cats: Siamese seem over-represented; among birds, Cockatoos, African Grey Parrots and Macaws. Age at onset in dogs is usually 5 months to two years. In parrots it can occur at any age. I would guess that in its severe form, it affects 4-8 % of the pet dog I have seen over the last 40 years and a similar percentage of Parrots. It is much less common in cats.
3) What are the Causes of Separation Anxiety?destructive behavior
Some puppies, kittens and parrots, for reasons we do not entirely understand, retain their normal early fear of being left alone. Perhaps these were puppies that were removed from their parents too young or whose mothers were unavailable. Others come from families of dogs genetically prone to anxiety. Many, are multi-owner dogs that bounced from one home to another, from shelter to shelter. I am a licensed foster parent and many of the pets I have seen with this problem remind me a great deal of my foster children. Certainly some of these pets were abused; but only a small percentage of abused pets develop SA. Social risk factors for SA include early maternal rejection by the dame, lack of stimulation, poor maternal health, and neglect as a puppy. The owner’s personality types also play a part in this disease.
In dogs, the remission rate with SA is fairly high – that is, a lot of your pets are going to have good days and bad ones, good periods and bad periods. Some fortunate ones will cure themselves altogether with minimal help from you. Older pets with SA may have difficulty moving to new homes, accepting new pets, babies and new situations in general. But although we do not yet know the exact cause of separation anxiety, some risk factors are known. Affected pets tend to belong to families that are close-knit. The disorder often develops after a stress such as death or illness in the family, a move, a new baby or pet or changes in family structure. Dogs and people with SA often have parents and siblings with SA. If one human identical twin has SA, the other almost certainly does too. The same pertains to litters of dogs – although with less certainty. I read two interesting articles (Grachev et.al, 1998, Rauch & Savage 1997) that concluded that many humans with similar problems show abnormalities in a tangle of nerve cells near the front of the brain (orbitofrontalstriatal area). The brain is an immensely complicated organ and these types of experiments are difficult to conduct and interpret. Some pediatricians feel that these abnormalities might result from bacterial infections. They call this syndrome PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuro-psychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infection) – a good reason not to over-vaccinate your pets. We definitely need more research on this subject – consider this my pitch for generous funding of my alma mater, the N.I.H. Today all that can be said with certainty is that SA results from abnormalities in neural (nerve) circuitry and/or chemical transmitters in the brain’s basal ganglia (probably nor-epinephrine, serotonin and dopamine).
4) What are Some of the Non-Drug Therapies for Separation Anxiety?
These non-drug therapies should always be the first-line approach when possible. Some times it is possible to improve them without medications and sometimes it isn’t.
In some dogs, all that is required is to place the dog in a smaller space, a “crate”, where they can feel secure when you leave. If the dog panics when crated, don’t force it in. This will make the situation worse. Some people, including me, have problems accepting the crating of dogs for long periods. Crating can be a simple “fix”, but I would try positive reinforcement techniques and medications before I resorted to “crating” my own dog. Positive reinforcement teaches the dog that it does not have to be fearful and panic when it is left alone and that being alone is not such a bad thing. We do this by rewarding desirable behavior and ignoring bad behavior.
Besides positive reinforcement, another term that is thrown around a great deal is “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy”. This has four components: 1) recognizing anxious feelings in your pet, 2) reassurance in anxiety-provoking situations, 3) developing a plan for coping with the situation, and 4) evaluating the success of coping strategies and behavioral therapy.
Here are some practical steps you can take to minimize separation anxiety. All attempt to teach your dog that it does not have to be frightened and panicky when it is left alone and to lessen its dependency:
a) Teach your dogs as many commands as possible. Your pet should be able to “sit” “relax” and “stay” on command while you stroke and reassure him. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to join a group obedience class. Each member of your household should participate in a “take charge” way because it is impossible to have happy, well-adjusted family pet if family members are below it in the “peck order” (social order). The point of this training is teaching anxious dogs to relax and give it confidence. Do the exercises in various rooms of the house and in the yard. Give out praise effusively and chew treats liberally.
b) Find a room in your house that is not easily destroyed. Place the dog in it with some of his favorite toys and stay with him a while. Then leave and shut the door promptly without fanfare. When you return, a few minutes later, give him a pat and his favorite food treat. Over days, repeat this; but each time stay away a little longer. You may leave a radio or television playing but be careful about electrical cords. (The technical term for this is Graduated Exposure or desensitization)
c) Dogs know when you are thinking of leaving long before you do. Perhaps it is because you put on your shoes, pick up your purse or car keys or put on your dress clothes. If you can determine what the clues are that you give your dog, you can try to desensitize him to these clues by repeating them frequently but not leaving and by giving him a treat and praise when he behaves well. When you have made progress, make your departures quiet and quick. (The technical term for this is Contingency Management or unlearning)
d) Some feel that diet might play a part in SA. There is no harm in offering your pet a diet that one leading manufacturer offers as a “brain food” (Prescription Diet Canine b/d) or a hypoallergenic diet (CNM’s HA or Hill’s z/d).
e) In some pets, you can reduce dependency by spending less time with them for a training period of several weeks or months. That means less eye contact, less verbal praise and less comforting, less commands and less scolding. During these periods the dog should not be allowed to sleep in your bed or bedroom. While doing this, never “reward” unwanted behavior by making a scene, scolding or interacting with the pet. Always be mellow with your pet – mellow people tend to have mellow pets. The purpose of all this is to make the pet more self-reliant. (The technical term for this is Response Prevention)
f) There are mixed thoughts about the benefit of having a companion pet for your pet. Some say this may help the situation and others say it will make the problem worse. I have not personally seen this approach work. It will overcome boredom.
g) It really helps to work with someone who has experience with SA in pets because it is fairly easy to make things worse by being too zealous, too harsh, or too shy with your pet.
Other Strategies
As I mentioned before, make do not make your departures a big production by hugging the pet and cooing over it because your are guilty about leaving. This only makes the problem worse. Try leaving through a back or side door. Departures should be quick and quiet. The Family should ignore the dog 20 minutes before you leave and 20 minutes after you get home.
Dogs need vigorous exercise once or twice a day. A good plan is to take them for a walk or jog an hour or so before you leave for work and then give them 20 minutes or so to calm down before you leave.
3) What are the drugs used to treat Separation Anxiety?
I suggest that drug therapy not be used until you have attempted some of the non-drug therapies listed above. Preliminary research suggests that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) may provide effective treatment of separation anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders in pets. Neither tricyclic antidepressants like Elavil nor benzodiazepines such as Valium have been shown to be more effective than placebos in children although some veterinarians do prescribe them.
I have used Haldol (haloperidol) successfully in parrots, cockatoos and macaws to prevent feather plucking, a form of SA in birds. I do not like the drug because it causes loss of coordination (dyskinesia) and loss of mental acuity. One of my daughters was placed on it and these side effects were debilitating.
I will discuss the general approach to psychopharmacology that I use – some animal behavioralists would probably use non-drug therapy longer than I agree to. This is because I am part pharmacist, somewhat impatient, and because I have seen the success these drugs offer. I have had personal pets, zoo animals and my own children on these medications before. The SSRI’s appear effective in treating SA in pets; they are most certainly effective in human children and adults. SSRI’s are all antidepressant and antianxiety medications. SSRI’s all affect the way our pets think, feel, and act. They affect nerves that are involved in the regulation of mood, appetite, sexuality, sleep, aggression, obsessions, and compulsions. They have remarkably few and mild side effects. Some side effects are: dry mouth, sleepiness, dizziness, fatigue, tremors, and constipation. They occur fairly commonly.
Antidepressant and Antianxiety Medications of the SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibition Class* ** ***
*Only Clomipramine (Clomacalm) is approved for use in dogs. None are approved for other pets although all have been used.
**Cats are very unique in their metabolism of drugs. I have only used the tricyclic antidepressant, Elavil and the serotonin receptor blocker, cyproheptadine (Periactin) successfully in cats.
***Most of these medicines offer pediatric doses, which can be used to calculate pet doses. Another technique for calculating dose is allometric scaling. As with children one should always start at a dose, which is likely, Too Low (20%) and very slowly increase the dose until it is effective or one is satisfied that it will not work. It can take several months to make a decision.
Brand Name Generic Name Brand Name Generic Name
Anafranil clomipramine Celexa citalopram
BuSpar buspirone Sinequan doxepin
Effexor venlafaxine Tofranil imipramine
Luvox (SSRI) fluvoxamine Wellbutrin bupropion
Paxil (SSRI) paroxetine Zoloft sertraline
Prozac (SSRI) fluoxetine Rimeron mirtazapine
Serzone (SSRI) nefazodone Lexapro escitalopram
When SA is successfully treated, you will notice other changes in your pet. They will usually be less tense, more carefree, enthusiastic, and less depressed. They may get a bit pudgy. Don’t feel guilty about using these medications under your vet’s guidance. There should be no more stigma attached to them than aspirin - you are just treating a brain hormone imbalance. Try to be content with improvements – not total makeovers
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