Terrified of the Spare Bedroom-Suggestions? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

mich_cain · 10-24-2015, 06:05 AM

It's been a while since I've been on. Things are going good overall and Sadie's digestive issues are under control. I have company coming for a few months so Sadie and I will have to move into the spare bedroom while they're here. I decided to take her in there as a test last night. She was absolutely TERRIFIED. Shaking uncontrollably and panting heavily. She started to growl nervously as well. I tried to comfort her by cuddling her tight and speak in a soothing tone but nothing helped. As soon as we left the room and went back to our own bedroom she was cool as a cucumber. I am not sure what she is so afraid of in that room. She used to stay in there when she was a puppy and I went to work. After about a year she started being afraid of being put in that room. She will go in there to use the potty pad and briefly bark out the window, but other than that she really tenses up if she thinks she is going to be put in that room???? Now she just hangs out in our master bedroom all day and seems fine with that. Any suggestions on how I can desensitize the fear? Gotta figure something out or I'll have to sleep on the couch for two months. :-)

Maximo · 10-24-2015, 06:15 AM

Happy to hear Sadie's is doing well with her tummy. Sounds like she associates the bedroom with you leaving for work, separation anxiety.

If you haven't already, try putting a favorite doggy bed and toys in the room. Have play sessions in the room, training sessions too with treats.

Always stay with her in the room -- or do you still need to use it as a safe place to contain her when you can't be with her?

mich_cain · 10-24-2015, 06:44 AM

I used to keep her in there when I went to work, but about a year ago she really started fighting me on going in there and I could tell she was really afraid, so I have been leaving her in the master bedroom when I leave for work. She seems perfectly fine with that as that is where we sleep at night and I think she feels comforted in there. I always leave the radio on talk radio when I leave so she has voices to keep her company. :-) She will go in the spare bedroom to bark out the window when she gets excited about something but she is usually only in there for a few seconds and comes running back out. I was trying to think back to when she first started being afraid of that room. Seems like it was last fall. I thought maybe she had seen a mouse or something, but it doesn't appear to be that. I am wondering if it was around the time that I had to work really late at a special event and the person I asked to come let her out to potty forgot her. So she was in that room for 14 hours alone. After that she wouldn't let me pick her up for a few months and would run away when I tried to put her up so I could go to work. We slept in that spare bedroom about 1.5 years ago and she was perfectly fine. It was probably about 6 months after that that she got so scared to go in there. Her potty pad has been in there for a while so she will go in there to use that at night. I thought me being there with her would make it all okay, but I guess not. What can I do over the next week to help her realize it is not a scary place? I will try playing with her in there as you suggested. She LOVES treats and doing tricks so we'll try doing our practice in there vs. in the living room.

mich_cain · 10-24-2015, 06:47 AM

I was wondering if a thundershirt would help? I used one on my boxer when she got so terrified with thunderstorms and she calmed right down instantly. Wondering if a thundershirt would help with Sadie's anxiety?

JadeD · 10-24-2015, 08:06 AM

Is there a tv in the room? Go in there without her and watch tv for a bit and see if she will come in there on her own and watch tv with you. If she does just play with her and snuggle her like normal and maybe try this everyday for an hour or so before your company comes.

I am lucky that as long as I am there my dogs will sleep anywhere with me. When we go visit family we sleep in a camper and my dogs just settle right in. We are the only people who have used the camper for several years though so I think it must smell like us to the dogs as my dog just walked right in and jumped up on the bed and made himself comfy right from the start. The puppy didn't seem to mind either. This past summer I went camping with my 2 dogs and they did just fine. Sometimes we sleep in our camper because our bedroom is hot and stuff and the camper is not and the dogs adjust just fine as long as I am there.

I would try spending a little time each day in there with the dog and at night when you are staying there I hope they will choose going in the room to be with you over the dog sleeping in the living room and hopefully after this they will not fear that room any longer.

Good luck!

Jkpal · 10-24-2015, 09:45 AM

Ok, this sounds weird, but could she be picking up something in that particular room that is other-worldly, as it were...? Her giving you such an extreme reaction is almost like she's trying to tell you something...Yes, no? I'm probably being ridiculous, but...our canines have ability to sense things we don't necessarily pick-up on... oh heck, maybe it's just too close to Halloween for me!

mich_cain · 10-24-2015, 01:45 PM

Thanks for the advice. Okay, first I tried coaxing her in the room with treats. Got her all excited about the ball and that we were going to play with treats. Nope, wouldn't come past the door....So later I tried to lay on the bed and take a little nap with the door open so she could come in on her own. She came and peeked in but just sat at the door and cried. Then she went in the living room and appears to have thrown up from being nervous!

I bought a thundershirt this afternoon and some anti-anxiety drops. Will try to get her calm and try again tonight. I really don't see what she is so scared of if I am right there with her? Will keep trying over the next week before my company comes. Hopefully she can work out her fears.

Yorkiemom1 · 10-24-2015, 02:30 PM

You know, dogs can see/sense ghosts......

Kerryn915 · 10-24-2015, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jkpal

Ok, this sounds weird, but could she be picking up something in that particular room that is other-worldly, as it were...? Her giving you such an extreme reaction is almost like she's trying to tell you something...Yes, no? I'm probably being ridiculous, but...our canines have ability to sense things we don't necessarily pick-up on... oh heck, maybe it's just too close to Halloween for me!

That's what I was thinking! They do have a sense of sensing things that we don't.

mich_cain · 10-25-2015, 10:38 AM

Thanks for all the advice. She could be sensing something that I am not. I know she gets really upset at night and starts barking at 3 AM for no good reason, even in the master bedroom. I did manage to get her into the spare room today. We played in there doing tricks for about 5 minutes or so and she forgot she was afraid, so we're making progress! I think she would have stayed longer if the treats hadn't run out. :-) I was also moving my stuff into the spare bedroom and she would pop in and check it out when I was in there, so I think she will be okay by the time my company gets here. Will just keep gently coaxing her in with fun stuff. Gonna try sleeping in the bed again tonight but leave the door open so she can flee if she needs to. :-) She was afraid of the thundershirt, so I guess that will be going back to the store. My boxer totally mellowed out with the thundershirt, but I guess all dogs are different. Sadie tends to spook easily.

yavenay · 10-26-2015, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jkpal

Ok, this sounds weird, but could she be picking up something in that particular room that is other-worldly, as it were...? Her giving you such an extreme reaction is almost like she's trying to tell you something...Yes, no? I'm probably being ridiculous, but...our canines have ability to sense things we don't necessarily pick-up on... oh heck, maybe it's just too close to Halloween for me!

I was thinking the same exact thing. My cat use to sleep in a chair in my bedroom. On the day that she passed away, Duchess went crazy barking at the empty chair. She was so terrified that she wouldn't even go into the room. She stood at the door of my bedroom barking. I am convinced it was Zoey tormenting her one last time. It only happened that one time and it never happened again.

I am not trying to scare you but she had to have seen Zoey. She was barking at the chair that Zoey slept on which she had never done before and she started barking on the same night Zoey passed away. I wasn't really scared, I knew it was Zoey but she has since move on and has not come back to torment my Duchess. So I wouldn't discount that there may be something supernatural going on.

By the way, I am not religious at all but I do believe in the afterlife.

mich_cain · 10-29-2015, 04:01 PM

We're slowly making progress. I talked to a couple trainers at the Vet and they said to just pretend like nothing is wrong and not to acknowledge the fear as that will just make her think there is something to be afraid of after all. They said to sit with her in the room until she stops shaking and panting. Not to let her out, but just sit calmly with her and do something on the side so I am not tempted to coddle her. I was able to keep her in the room for about 15 minutes. She would only shake off/on so I think we're making progress. This weekend we have to move into the room as my company is coming, so hopefully with time she won't be so freaked out. I got to thinking back about what happened a year ago when she started being so afraid of that room. As I recall I had 3 special events for work all in a row in which I did not get home till 8 or 9 PM. I had arranged for someone to let her out to potty and spend a little time with her, but they forgot all three times.

(needless to say I don't rely on her anymore......) So anyway she was left locked up in that room alone for 14.5 hours!! I would be traumatized too....After the last experience she wouldn't let me hold her for 2 months and refused to go into that room anymore. I finally got her to trust me again, and now she happily walks back to the master bedroom and goes to sleep while I go to work. Since our bad experience I take her to doggy daycare whenever I have to work late. I KNOW she is being taken care of there.

I don't put it past her to be seeing spooky things in that room either. We have had some creepy stuff happening. I don't believe in ghosts, but there is definitely something going on at night, but it is in the whole house.

Jkpal · 10-30-2015, 09:48 AM

You are such a loving and patient person; I'm sure your little love will adapt with all the kindness and consideration you're providing in helping her to settle!

Russpilot · 11-01-2015, 07:03 AM

Ok, crazy fact... I have been a paranormal researcher for some time now. Have had the fun of spending the night in several of the "Most haunted" places in the US.
While animals can certainly sense things that we can not, I don't think that the paranormal is a good explanation of these events. Nobody has passed in that room since Sadie was ok with being in it. And it doesn't sound like anything that would trigger the paranormal has happened in that room. I would think that there is something else that is causing Sadie's unrest. It may be as simple as something as Sadie hurt herself or got insect stung/bit in the room and has associated it with that.

mich_cain · 11-01-2015, 10:32 AM

I spent 6 hours in the room with Sadie on Friday night and neither of us got any sleep. She was terrified out of her mind, and it was all I could do not to cry. She got worse and worse as the time went on, and not better at all. I have tried everything the professionals said to do. I am going to try to move the beds around so my company can stay in the spare room and Sadie and I can just stay in the master bedroom. It was a HORRIBLE experience seeing her so utterly terrified and clawing the window, door, and floor trying to get out. I couldn't take it any more. We finally gave up and spent the night on the air mattress in the living room. She LOVED that. She was all giddy and excited as I was blowing it up. I think she was probably just overjoyed to have been let out of the torture chamber. If the beds won't fit in the move around, at least I know she will be fine with sleeping in the living room.

I don't believe in ghosts and such. I think the thing that is freaking her out is having been forgotten in that room for 15 hours on multiple occasions within a months time when we had a couple of special events at work. I learned my lesson last year not to trust other people with your pets. I will always take her to daycare from now on whenever I have to work late. Wish I would have known more about the daycare before as we wouldn't even be in this mess to start with. My boxer was a lot heartier and not so clingy and temperamental, so I didn't realize how freaked out little dogs can get. Holly was comfortable being on her own. Just hated thunderstorms. Other than that she had no fears so this is all a new experience for me.

Love my little girl no matter what. Whatever happens, I am not putting her thru that torture anymore. I'd rather sleep on the couch and throw my back out than make her suffer like that anymore. :-) She is more important to me than almost anything else.

Thanks again for all the advice. Appreciate the help. Guess she was just too traumatized to get over it.

10-24-2015, 06:05 AM	#1
mich_cain Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Greenwood, DE, USA Posts: 47	Terrified of the Spare Bedroom-Suggestions? It's been a while since I've been on. Things are going good overall and Sadie's digestive issues are under control. I have company coming for a few months so Sadie and I will have to move into the spare bedroom while they're here. I decided to take her in there as a test last night. She was absolutely TERRIFIED. Shaking uncontrollably and panting heavily. She started to growl nervously as well. I tried to comfort her by cuddling her tight and speak in a soothing tone but nothing helped. As soon as we left the room and went back to our own bedroom she was cool as a cucumber. I am not sure what she is so afraid of in that room. She used to stay in there when she was a puppy and I went to work. After about a year she started being afraid of being put in that room. She will go in there to use the potty pad and briefly bark out the window, but other than that she really tenses up if she thinks she is going to be put in that room???? Now she just hangs out in our master bedroom all day and seems fine with that. Any suggestions on how I can desensitize the fear? Gotta figure something out or I'll have to sleep on the couch for two months. :-)

10-24-2015, 06:15 AM	#2
Maximo ♥ Maximo and Teddy Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 25,041	Happy to hear Sadie's is doing well with her tummy. Sounds like she associates the bedroom with you leaving for work, separation anxiety. If you haven't already, try putting a favorite doggy bed and toys in the room. Have play sessions in the room, training sessions too with treats. Always stay with her in the room -- or do you still need to use it as a safe place to contain her when you can't be with her? __________________ Kristin, Max and Teddy

10-24-2015, 06:44 AM	#3
mich_cain Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Greenwood, DE, USA Posts: 47	Spare Room I used to keep her in there when I went to work, but about a year ago she really started fighting me on going in there and I could tell she was really afraid, so I have been leaving her in the master bedroom when I leave for work. She seems perfectly fine with that as that is where we sleep at night and I think she feels comforted in there. I always leave the radio on talk radio when I leave so she has voices to keep her company. :-) She will go in the spare bedroom to bark out the window when she gets excited about something but she is usually only in there for a few seconds and comes running back out. I was trying to think back to when she first started being afraid of that room. Seems like it was last fall. I thought maybe she had seen a mouse or something, but it doesn't appear to be that. I am wondering if it was around the time that I had to work really late at a special event and the person I asked to come let her out to potty forgot her. So she was in that room for 14 hours alone. After that she wouldn't let me pick her up for a few months and would run away when I tried to put her up so I could go to work. We slept in that spare bedroom about 1.5 years ago and she was perfectly fine. It was probably about 6 months after that that she got so scared to go in there. Her potty pad has been in there for a while so she will go in there to use that at night. I thought me being there with her would make it all okay, but I guess not. What can I do over the next week to help her realize it is not a scary place? I will try playing with her in there as you suggested. She LOVES treats and doing tricks so we'll try doing our practice in there vs. in the living room.

10-24-2015, 06:47 AM	#4
mich_cain Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Greenwood, DE, USA Posts: 47	Thundershirt I was wondering if a thundershirt would help? I used one on my boxer when she got so terrified with thunderstorms and she calmed right down instantly. Wondering if a thundershirt would help with Sadie's anxiety?

10-24-2015, 08:06 AM	#5
JadeD YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC Posts: 1,201 Blog Entries: 1	Is there a tv in the room? Go in there without her and watch tv for a bit and see if she will come in there on her own and watch tv with you. If she does just play with her and snuggle her like normal and maybe try this everyday for an hour or so before your company comes. I am lucky that as long as I am there my dogs will sleep anywhere with me. When we go visit family we sleep in a camper and my dogs just settle right in. We are the only people who have used the camper for several years though so I think it must smell like us to the dogs as my dog just walked right in and jumped up on the bed and made himself comfy right from the start. The puppy didn't seem to mind either. This past summer I went camping with my 2 dogs and they did just fine. Sometimes we sleep in our camper because our bedroom is hot and stuff and the camper is not and the dogs adjust just fine as long as I am there. I would try spending a little time each day in there with the dog and at night when you are staying there I hope they will choose going in the room to be with you over the dog sleeping in the living room and hopefully after this they will not fear that room any longer. Good luck! __________________ It's raining Yorkies here! LOL Teek ,Rowan , Raksha (Grand Puppy) , Raelyn

10-24-2015, 09:45 AM	#6
Jkpal YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Lake Geneva, WI Posts: 2,776	Ok, this sounds weird, but could she be picking up something in that particular room that is other-worldly, as it were...? Her giving you such an extreme reaction is almost like she's trying to tell you something...Yes, no? I'm probably being ridiculous, but...our canines have ability to sense things we don't necessarily pick-up on... oh heck, maybe it's just too close to Halloween for me!

10-24-2015, 01:45 PM	#7
mich_cain Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Greenwood, DE, USA Posts: 47	Thanks Thanks for the advice. Okay, first I tried coaxing her in the room with treats. Got her all excited about the ball and that we were going to play with treats. Nope, wouldn't come past the door....So later I tried to lay on the bed and take a little nap with the door open so she could come in on her own. She came and peeked in but just sat at the door and cried. Then she went in the living room and appears to have thrown up from being nervous! I bought a thundershirt this afternoon and some anti-anxiety drops. Will try to get her calm and try again tonight. I really don't see what she is so scared of if I am right there with her? Will keep trying over the next week before my company comes. Hopefully she can work out her fears.

10-24-2015, 02:30 PM	#8
Yorkiemom1 Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas Posts: 9,462	You know, dogs can see/sense ghosts......

10-25-2015, 10:38 AM	#10
mich_cain Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Greenwood, DE, USA Posts: 47	Update Thanks for all the advice. She could be sensing something that I am not. I know she gets really upset at night and starts barking at 3 AM for no good reason, even in the master bedroom. I did manage to get her into the spare room today. We played in there doing tricks for about 5 minutes or so and she forgot she was afraid, so we're making progress! I think she would have stayed longer if the treats hadn't run out. :-) I was also moving my stuff into the spare bedroom and she would pop in and check it out when I was in there, so I think she will be okay by the time my company gets here. Will just keep gently coaxing her in with fun stuff. Gonna try sleeping in the bed again tonight but leave the door open so she can flee if she needs to. :-) She was afraid of the thundershirt, so I guess that will be going back to the store. My boxer totally mellowed out with the thundershirt, but I guess all dogs are different. Sadie tends to spook easily.

10-29-2015, 04:01 PM	#12
mich_cain Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Greenwood, DE, USA Posts: 47	Making Progress We're slowly making progress. I talked to a couple trainers at the Vet and they said to just pretend like nothing is wrong and not to acknowledge the fear as that will just make her think there is something to be afraid of after all. They said to sit with her in the room until she stops shaking and panting. Not to let her out, but just sit calmly with her and do something on the side so I am not tempted to coddle her. I was able to keep her in the room for about 15 minutes. She would only shake off/on so I think we're making progress. This weekend we have to move into the room as my company is coming, so hopefully with time she won't be so freaked out. I got to thinking back about what happened a year ago when she started being so afraid of that room. As I recall I had 3 special events for work all in a row in which I did not get home till 8 or 9 PM. I had arranged for someone to let her out to potty and spend a little time with her, but they forgot all three times. (needless to say I don't rely on her anymore......) So anyway she was left locked up in that room alone for 14.5 hours!! I would be traumatized too....After the last experience she wouldn't let me hold her for 2 months and refused to go into that room anymore. I finally got her to trust me again, and now she happily walks back to the master bedroom and goes to sleep while I go to work. Since our bad experience I take her to doggy daycare whenever I have to work late. I KNOW she is being taken care of there. I don't put it past her to be seeing spooky things in that room either. We have had some creepy stuff happening. I don't believe in ghosts, but there is definitely something going on at night, but it is in the whole house.

10-30-2015, 09:48 AM	#13
Jkpal YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Lake Geneva, WI Posts: 2,776	You are such a loving and patient person; I'm sure your little love will adapt with all the kindness and consideration you're providing in helping her to settle!

11-01-2015, 07:03 AM	#14
Russpilot Donating 500 Club Member Join Date: May 2015 Location: Jacksonville, FL USA Posts: 881	Ok, crazy fact... I have been a paranormal researcher for some time now. Have had the fun of spending the night in several of the "Most haunted" places in the US. While animals can certainly sense things that we can not, I don't think that the paranormal is a good explanation of these events. Nobody has passed in that room since Sadie was ok with being in it. And it doesn't sound like anything that would trigger the paranormal has happened in that room. I would think that there is something else that is causing Sadie's unrest. It may be as simple as something as Sadie hurt herself or got insect stung/bit in the room and has associated it with that. __________________ Russ, Denise, Bella and Bailey .

11-01-2015, 10:32 AM	#15
mich_cain Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Greenwood, DE, USA Posts: 47	Gave Up I spent 6 hours in the room with Sadie on Friday night and neither of us got any sleep. She was terrified out of her mind, and it was all I could do not to cry. She got worse and worse as the time went on, and not better at all. I have tried everything the professionals said to do. I am going to try to move the beds around so my company can stay in the spare room and Sadie and I can just stay in the master bedroom. It was a HORRIBLE experience seeing her so utterly terrified and clawing the window, door, and floor trying to get out. I couldn't take it any more. We finally gave up and spent the night on the air mattress in the living room. She LOVED that. She was all giddy and excited as I was blowing it up. I think she was probably just overjoyed to have been let out of the torture chamber. If the beds won't fit in the move around, at least I know she will be fine with sleeping in the living room. I don't believe in ghosts and such. I think the thing that is freaking her out is having been forgotten in that room for 15 hours on multiple occasions within a months time when we had a couple of special events at work. I learned my lesson last year not to trust other people with your pets. I will always take her to daycare from now on whenever I have to work late. Wish I would have known more about the daycare before as we wouldn't even be in this mess to start with. My boxer was a lot heartier and not so clingy and temperamental, so I didn't realize how freaked out little dogs can get. Holly was comfortable being on her own. Just hated thunderstorms. Other than that she had no fears so this is all a new experience for me. Love my little girl no matter what. Whatever happens, I am not putting her thru that torture anymore. I'd rather sleep on the couch and throw my back out than make her suffer like that anymore. :-) She is more important to me than almost anything else. Thanks again for all the advice. Appreciate the help. Guess she was just too traumatized to get over it.