Severe Separation Anxiety..please help

[Leviboxer]

My wife and I adopted a fixed male boxer that is approximately 10 months old. This is our first dog. He has severe separation anxiety. We crate him during the day and I normally let him out at lunch. So basically 4 hours in, 30 minute beak, and another 4 hours in the kennel. He has destoyed everything that we have put in the kennel with him. Towels, blankets, pillows, and the plastic tray. He does not want anything to do with his toys that are in the crate until he gets out of the kennel. I run him 2 miles in the morning, walk him and wrestle during lunch, then in the evening we walk or run 2 miles. He gets plenty of exercise. We feed him in the crate morning and night and gets in with no problem. But when we are both gone, trouble starts.

When in his kennel he: cries excessively, drewls large puddles of saliva (entire tile floor is soaked in and around cage), his paws are always soaking wet and usually pink form scratching at the cage (I sometimes find drops of blood from his paws where he actually cut his paw scraping so much), he chews the crate (metal) and pulls the crate with his teeth.

I have left him out of his kennel when we leave but he gets into everything and scratches at the doors and cries. But when we are home, he is an angel. We have tried the Thundershirt but he ripped that off and destroyed it. I really need some help. We can't stand seeing our dog get so worked up when we leave. I am willing to invest money and time but we don't really know what else to do. Any help will be great. Please give advise.

 

[Ileana]

Some boxers, especially rescued ones, have severe separation anxiety that manifests worse if crated.

It may seem weird and risky to try, but here's what I'd do, keeping in mind that these dogs exist to protect the home, they need direct, unrestricted access to the main house entrance (the actual door through which you come in - so it may be garage door or front door).

I would limit his area to the hallway near the main door, and block his access to the rest of the house with anything that works: crates, plastic bins filled with books worked for us to block hallways. I would let him use that area free - uncrated, and give him plenty of toys and a bone or two. Then I'd do a desensitizing couple of days with him. I'd leave him alone in that hallway, with direct access to the main door, then come back after 30 minutes and treat and praise generously. Then leave again, for 45 minutes, treat and praise... etc. And so on, building him to the 4 hours span he needs to pull. That, of course, if he doesn't wreck the entire house while he's alone for 45 minutes.... So please use judgement - this method works with some dogs and doesn't work with others.

In our case with Lara, our rescue, it worked wonders for her to be able to guard the main door. She was willing to claw and eat through the walls just to get there. Lara lived almost 14 years without being crated, except for air travel, and, after desensitizing her, she had the entire house at her disposal and didn't even chew a carpet fringe.

It would also make sense to figure out how he was brought up until now. What is he so afraid of? What you're describing, that drooling, is a sign if intense fear, same goes for clawing until paws are raw. Was he a full house puppy? Or a crated rescue from the kennel? What was his life before you adopted him like? He may just be immensely insecure on his own... and scared out of his mind!

Please keep us all posted with what's going on and any progress you make.

Good luck!

 

[TwoDogs]

He may do better out of the crate but in a very dog-proof room. For some dogs it's not the separation, but the confinement in the crate.

Either way, I would make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can discuss behavior modification and possibly the use of pharmaceuticals to help you with this problem.

 

[Leviboxer]

Thanks for the responses. I adopted him through a friend's cousin. They wanted to give him a better home b/c they didn't give him any attention. They had another dog (Chihuahua). I don't know if Levi was a dedicated house dog or not. They said they chained him outside when they worked. He had one accident in the month we have had him. We did leave him out of the cage for a while one day just to try it. He was able to get 1lb of ground meat and a fresh pan of brownies off the back of the counter top and then raided the garbage can. We luckily made it through that situation with out any real digestive issues but have feared a repeat outcome.

We have no other animals. I believe we were mislead when we met the previous owners but that is another story. We now have Levi and are going to do what it takes to get him on track. He is a dedicated house dog now.

The construction of my house really limits the area I can confine him outside of his crate. We have really large doorways and the overall design of the house is very open. I will try doggy proofing an area near the front door/window or possibly the front bedroom with large windows. I have heard him scratch the door when we are outside and he can see us. I will have to correct this behavior.

I spoke with a trainer today about training advice since we don't have real experience correcting this kind of behavior.

Any other tips or words of wisdom will greatly help our moral.

 

[Ileana]

or possibly the front bedroom with large windows. I have heard him scratch the door when we are outside and he can see us. I will have to correct this behavior.
.

Access to front door - yes.
Access to large windows - maybe not now.

If he's triggered by a sound outside, like the postman delivering your mail, he might push and scratch against the glass, with serious risk of injury.

We installed opaque draperies to keep Gracie relaxed while we're out, after seeing her throw her entire weight against a window, just because of a UPS truck :(

Puppy proofing a kitchen was easy for us - all garbage temptations housed in the garage, no foods on the counter, etc. So far she hasn't figured out how to open the fridge

We've watched her discreetly and when we leave, she curls up on our couch and just sleeps. Gracie is, on a scale of 0-10, about a 12 in restlessness and anxiety.

Most important - don't give up. Because he's a new addition to the family, I would suggest some bonding activities.

Quoting froma German Shepherd forum: "go slow. Slower than you have planned. Set a routine and keep to it. As much as you would like to show him off, stay home with him and let him settle in. Carry treats on you all the time, and whenever he does something that you want to encourage - like approach you on his own, come when he is called, looking at you for permission to eat, or go out, or something similar, praise him quietly and give him a treat.

If he has never had a chance to bond to a particular person, it may take him up to six months or so to really relax and completely trust you."

Lara, my former rescue, was very frightened when I first brought her home. I would sneeze and she would yelp and take cover under the table. I used to lay down on the carpet, perfectly still, to let her come and sniff me, feel comfortable enough to trust me - it took weeks of work to get her relaxed enough for us to be bonded.

Feed him from your hand for a while, not in the crate, but in the kitchen somewhere. Works miracles of bonding. Invite him to be a 60 lbs lap dog and sleep in your arms when you watch TV.

Fingers crossed and keep us posted!

 

[TwoDogs]

Access to front door - yes.
Access to large windows - maybe not now.
>snip<
Feed him from your hand for a while, not in the crate, but in the kitchen somewhere. Works miracles of bonding. Invite him to be a 60 lbs lap dog and sleep in your arms when you watch TV.

I agree with limiting access to the large windows but for a different reason. Some dogs suffering from severe separation anxiety have thrown themselves through windows in an attempt to get out to where they think their owner is.

As for the feeding from the hand, yes that is good for building a bond, but I would still feed in the crate. The dog is not just afraid of stuff, it is suspected that he suffers from separation anxiety--that is a very different can of worms. Feeding in the crate can do an awful lot to build a positive association with being in the crate. If the crate is where he needs to be when you are gone, good feelings about the crate are worth cultivating.

If you were a client, I would recommend a few things.
First, I'd tell you to get yourself a copy of Nicole Wilde's book "Don't Leave Me: Step-by-Step Help For Your Dog's Separation Anxiety"

Next we'd use a video camera to determine if there is a pattern to the behavior while you are gone as well as to determine severity of the behavior.

Experimentation with different setups in the home to determine if it is an issue with confinement in the crate or true separation anxiety--again video would be critical.

A complete checkup from the vet possibly including blood panel if behavior seemed severe enough to warrant it or if pharmaceuticals were to be considered.

Discussion with the vet about possible anti-anxiety drugs to assist in behavior mod program with the initial goal to be eventual weaning off the drug.

Use of a DAP diffuser in the area where the dog is confined.

Systematic work on Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol (up to and including working the program in the crate if the goal is to have the dog be crated in your absence).

Systematic desensitization and counter-conditioning work every day involving you leaving for random, short intervals of time.

If this dog is generally anxious and lacks confidence or clings to the owner, then also a series of obedience exercises and games aimed to provide structure and predictability to the dog thereby increasing the dog's confidence in its ability to function within its environment without having to rely on the presence of the owner.

Separation anxiety is managable but it takes a fair amount of effort to fix the problem, and some dogs are never completely comfortable being left alone but can at least get to the point where they aren't so stressed they are physically harming themselves.

The thing it is important to remember is that separation anxiety isn't a behavior that needs to be corrected. It is an underlying emotion that needs to be changed. If your dog wasn't feeling the way he is about being alone, he wouldn't be doing the behaviors he is doing. Change the emotion and you'll change the behavior.