Jumping at the door, HELP!

[ThespiErin]

My 1 1/2 year old boxer jumps REALLY high and hurls herself into our front door every single time we leave the house. We've already gotten numerous complaints from neighbors and people think she's hurting herself. She has really bad separation anxiety. I don't know what to do! She'll hurl herself into the door for an hour or more. We got a note on our door tonight. :( Please help with any suggestions. Normally she's a great dog and very calm when we're here. We pay her lots of attention and constantly play with her. Help!

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

There is a ton of information on this site about separation anxiety. Do a search on the words "separation anxiety" and you'll find many, many, many threads of useful information on how to deal with this issue.

Good luck.

 

[Krikkit]

As Dan said, a search on the site will bring up lots of info on this type of problem. You may like to restrict her access to the front door in the meantime and think about crate traning or some other form of confinement to a dog safe area in your home. There are many very excellent articles here on seperation anxiety which are well worth reading http://boxerworld.com/links/Training_and_Behavior/Separation_Anxiety/

If it is too severe you may like to call in help from a behaviorist. You could also try leaving her some 'interactive' toys like Kongs, Buster Cubes or Treat Balls. The book 'Culture Clash' by Jean Donaldson has a wonderful section on alone training for your dog and covers this type of thing in detail with step by step traning methods.

All the best with your girl.

Sharon