Quote:
Originally Posted by mypreciouspups  Suzy, I so enjoyed reading your post.. wow that was well said and well detailed..you could be making money on this.. LOL
pooh's mum |
Thanks so much...I tried-I'd really like to help with this if I can. I know how miserable we were when Emma was going through this. It wasn't fun for her to feel that kind of anxiety, fear, and lonliness when we were gone, and it was awful for us to hear her bark, scream and howl when we'd leave-not to mention dealing with the neighbors.
What we did really helped-but it took a lot of time, effort, and some money to get things to a manageable and comfortable point. We did end up having to use meds a few times too-I hated to do this, but it honestly did help her get used to being home alone, and I do believe it was the right decision for Emma and our situation. Only after we got Emma back on track, we ended up moving to a house, and we got Milli.
Please note: Getting another dog does NOT help separation anxiety-it's YOU they don't want to be home without. Another dog won't fill that void, and you could actually end up with TWO anxious dogs. I would strongly urge owners of sep.. anxiety dogs to get another dog ONLY after you have managed and overcome the first dog's issues. The addition of Milli to our family has given Emma a playmate, and therefore she is better behaved, and more tired from playing all day rather than just sitting, waiting for us. It's also given her a "little sister" to look out for, which I believe boosted her confidence and gave her a "job" to do, which she accepted willingly once she knew Milli was a family member.
She does not take any anxiety meds now, and hasn't for a year. She does, however still bark/cry for a few minutes right when we leave-mostly I think because she KNOWS we're leaving, and she hears the garage door go up. We toss her a kong, shut the door to her area, and leave. When I've come back 10 minutes later, they are quiet-until we open the garage door
They get so excited to see us, no matter how long we've been gone! 5-10 minutes of her being upset isn't ideal, and I wish she didn't have to go through that, but it's a tremendous improvement for everyone over hours of barking and crying.
Please let me know how it's going and if I can help you in any way.