Separation Anxiety in young cocker spaniel

Question
Kerri--I hope you can help; I took the first person on the list last week and she was unable to answer the question.

Hi--thanks in advance for your help. I have created a monster [or, more probably, I am the monster]. We have a 13 month old
female cocker [Daisy] we got from a breeder at 8 weeks. The breeder was wonderful, Daisy was weaned, healthy and pretty
much socialized to everyone and everything.

We had to go 300 miles to get her and the ride back was a nightmare; she had never been in anything smaller than the kennel in
which she stayed with Mom and sibs. She cried almost the whole time; she was in a carrier and, understandably unhappy.

We were going to crate her to house train her [we are retired and have a big yard so I did not expect this would be a
problem]. Putting her in the [larger] crate was as much a nightmare as the trip--she screamed for an hour the first time we tried
it. So, I gave in and we have not crated her since--the housebreaking is not going all that well, of course.

My main problem is that she won't let me out of her sight. She loves my husband and she plays well with our two older dogs
[they are outside/basement dogs, not house dogs] and the year old kittens [two] we have. However, when I leave her she
starts this whining that escalates to a scream almost. I went to the grocery store this morning and my husband said she
whimpered at the door the whole time I was gone.

I just do not know what to do--simply crate her and start all over? The house breaking is important but I hate to think of the
unhappiness I cause her by leaving her.

See what a wuss I am--I can almost imagine your eyes rolling as you read this! I have only had one other puppy [also a
cocker] and we were both working at the time so she was in the kitchen with papers and the gate during the day. She never
had such problems.

Any suggestions are truly welcome.

judy knight  

Answer
Hi Judy!
No, I don't think you are a monster (or have created one!). You are a concerned "mommy" and that's wonderful. I have looked up some advice on seperation anxiety and found some helpful hints that may be useful to you.
A dog that is so nervous that it must be in the same room with you all the time requires working with sit and stay until it can tolerate you being out of the room -- then start to work on leaving the house. It can help a great deal with steps 2 and 3 in this process to use an anti anxiety medication, such as amitriptylline (Elavil Rx) or buspirone (Buspar Rx). Talk to your vet about this. It is also very helpful to consider asking about referral to a certified veterinary or animal behaviorist for assistance

Leave for short periods and come right back -- sometimes all you can do is stand outside the door for a few seconds. Don't stay away long enough for your dog to get upset. The idea is to lengthen the time gradually. It may help to vary the time some so your dog can't keep track of a "routine". Keep this up until your dog is comfortable with you gone for a reasonable length of time. Don't make a big deal over coming back in -- it is best to greet the dog quietly or ignore it.

Once your dog can tolerate you being gone for an hour or two, it will probably be possible to make the jump to longer durations without much problem. Usually, about the time your dog is very comfortable with being left alone, it is best to begin a slow taper off of any behavioral medications used to help in the treatment of the separation anxiety. Abruptly stopping the medications can lead to a relapse, so take a little time to wean your dog off according to your veterinarian's directions.

If you are concerned about medications, there is also a product called CALM DOWN which is a blend of vitamins and herbs for a stressed out dog. It helps to calm them when you are away or under any other stressful situation. I found this product at www.vitamincircle.com. I am almost positive I have seen it at Wal-Mart. I would suggest trying the natural solution before medicating.

I hope these suggestions help you a little. There are lots of different things you can do to deal with seperation anxiety. So if this doesn't work, don't despair! Get a book from the library that deals with this topic or surf the web under seperation anxiety for some more useful tips. The important thing is to have patience, determination and be CONSISTENT. You'll only confuse your puppy more if you aren't consistent.

I wish you all the best, and thanks for the question!

Kerri