separation anxiety

Question
Hello, it has been exactly two weeks since my husband and I adopted an adorable female dog from a shelter. She's a wonderful dog, but we're worried that she may have separation anxiety(SA). We moved into a new apartment yesterday, and we just realized that she has a digging/scratching (and perhaps urinating) problem whenever I leave the house. The place we used to live in had a steel door, so we didn't know how bad the digging/scratching was until we moved into a place with a wooden door/door frame. She hasn't made any "potty" mistakes until very recently when I was out of the house, so I think this may also be caused by SA as well (or it could be due to anxiety brought by moving into a new environment). Do you think working with a dog pen and taking obedience training classes could help her SA? Would a crate be better? We got rid of the crate that my husband and I had bought for her - she didn't like it one bit, and we thought it could have reminded her of the shelter she used to live in. My husband and I have never raised a dog before, and we are worried that our behavior may be worsen the SA. I realize that I shouldn't react to her overexcitement whenever I come back home, but is there anything else I could do to help her SA?

Another concern is her extreme attachment to me. She follows me all around the house and her gaze is mostly fixed on me. She ignores my husband's calls or orders and only pays attention to what I say or do. Is there anything we could do about this? I understand that in her eyes I am the "pack leader", but I think her ignoring my husband can create a problem. Do you think training classes would help?

I apologize for bombarding you with all of these questions, and I appreciate your time and concern. Thank you!

Answer

Hi Jiyong,

Just moving to a new home can be very stressful for dogs. They thrive on routine, and quite suddenly, just as she was getting used to her new home, all of a sudden things got pretty chaotic (as moving is!) except your dog didn't have time to prepare for the move, as you and your husband did.

It's not at all uncommon that even reliably house trained dogs will have accidents in the home after a move. If your dog is crate trained, then by all means, crate your dog when you leave the house. If your dog isn't crate trained, leaving her in a crate might add to her stress, and do more harm than good. If she isn't crate trained, confining her to part of a room, with the help of a child gate or two, or using an indoor dog pen to confine her, would be better choices than a crate. Dog pens come in different sizes, styles and prices. This is an example of one kind of indoor dog pen: http://www.petptt.com/uploads/allimg/11/1-11062R30Z40-L.jpg

Obedience classes are always a good idea, it helps build a dog's confidence. A dog that's confidant is secure in it's surrounding and with a variety of people.  Along with a class, which might take several classes before you see improvement, a REALLY helpful thing would be to increase the amount of daily exercise you give your dog. You may need to wake up earlier in the morning on work days, but a simple thing like exercise can help calm your dog. When you leave her for the day, she should be a panting, and worn out pup! When you return home, she should have another exercise session. Long leashed walks at a brisk pace, off the leash runs, or chasing a ball are all great forms of exercise for a dog. She should be receiving an hour to an hour and a half of exercise daily, in the coolest part of the day.

Get a variety of mentally stimulating (and dog-safe) toys which you only give your dog when you leave the house. Rotate which toys are left, so she doesn't get bored. This will give something to do while you're gone. Toys that you stuff with treats or food work best to keep her mind occupied rather than having her waiting anxiously for you to come back. Good toys that fit this bill are Kongs and BusterCubes.

Along with the extra exercise, containing her so she doesn't have the unsupervised run of your home when you aren't home, and an obedience class, here are some web sites that outline the training routine you can try to break your dog of her separation anxiety:

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/SeparationAnxiety.php

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/separation_anxiety.html

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2510076&page=1#.UEEpeVR9zJ5


Best of luck,

Patti