DOG SCRATCHING FRONT DOOR

Question
Hello Kristin,

My 4 y/o shih tzu has begun to scratch at the front door when we leave the house, again. We've had him a year, he was a rescue dog, and had mild behavioral issues we've had to overcome, but has turned out to be a fantastic dog! He only barks at the door bell, and is socialized. We've recently had a baby (5 months), and Roscoe seems to have adjusted fine to the newcomer. We continue to walk him, at least 3X a day, have playtime, and a car ride at least once a week. When we're leaving the house, he seems to think he's coming, and I have to tell him "no." About 2 weeks ago, he has begun pulling (and destroying) the rug in the foyer, and scratching the door. He knows he's in trouble as soon as one of us walks in the door.

*Sigh* What are we doing wrong? Why do you think he's started this separation anxiety again? We leave the TV on, and have play time before we leave.

Thank you for any advice you can give!

Best regards,

Jammy

Answer
A good way to deal with this is to ignore him ten minutes before you go out and ten minutes after you come home,as it will no longer be a big deal to him when you go out-and that is generally the cause of such anxiety,so do that for about 2 or 3 weeks,and see if there is a difference,and if it works just always do that,as changing it back to making a fuss-will cause it to resurface

If you don't make a big dead esp when coming back,he won't get so anxious to see you

However if this approach doesn't work,the next step is to find a trainer that can deal with this type of problem,and they can come to your house and see what might be triggers

but try the ignoring approach as it is easy,and saves time and money