Advice for Separation Anxieties
 

Well it would seem that Max is potty trained. He has gone a while without messing in the house or his playpen. I have stayed on top of things, watching him all the time.

Problem is, I am with him so much he now hollars when i leave? I do know he will quit the yelping after about 5 minutes but does anyone have any suggestions about how I can stop this before it becomes a serious problem?

He is 17 weeks now

I am in the same position. Dezi cries so much when I leave the house. :animal-pa

lexi used to do that too, it broke my heart... so now i throw her a kong
with peanut butter in it and run out the door real fast....she got used to it.
she had no choice...

I have had no problems with Cali, although I'm only gone 2 hours at a time, until i took my Pom to the groomers the other day. She cried and when I got back she was all worked up in her playpen. So even though the pom has free run of the house when I'm gone Cali must like having her around. So i think when my pom goes i will have to get another yorkie. Maybe you could leave the radio on. If he only cries for 5 minutes maybe he will never get worse.

I try not make a big deal about coming or going and leave a tv or radio on.

MaxiesMom - If your little guy only cries for a few minutes after you first leave, you don't have much of a problem.

I more or less sneak out - (certainly don't advertise it).... and I think I'm gone for a while before my dogs even notice it.

I can say that if I get ready - get my keys and leave with them watching, they are far more upset. They want to go with me!!! And - it's not separation anxiety at all - they just want to go because they have learned it's fun to go places......


Carol Jean

as soon as i start getting ready to go out romeo starts pouting. he gives me the sad face. when i leave he stares at me out the window and it breaks my heart. i wish the united states was more pet friendly. in france you can bring your pet everywhere. restaurants and grocery stores too.

You all have given me great ideas. This forum is invaluable to me. Yes Max does seem to cry only for a short time. I mean that is what i think Because when I am gone for like 5 minutes and I get back from whereever I go (and I'm talking about another room, outside, checking the mail) he is quiet. But if he knows I am still aroun, he will yell. I cannot even go to the bathroom. So when he gets up at 5:30 and he goes outside and then I need to go, he will wake up the whole house sitting crying waiting for me LOL I hate that I cannot go to the gym in the mornings for fear he will wake everyone

I should not even complain because he is so good about everything else.

What age would you recommend leaving for more than 2 hours?

My Romeo is awful. As soon as he sees me changing my clothes and putting shoes on he gets really nervous. He tried to jump in my purse since I take him out in his carrier sometimes. Then I have throw him some treats to distract him so I can slip out the door. It breaks my heart because he'll bark for a while. While im gone, he'll hide the bone i threw him and won't eat it until I come back. How do you handle extreme separation anxiety!!

As soon as I put pants on Diezel chases my legs right up until I put my shoes on. Then he trys to cling himself to my leg with a light growl or bark. I carry on and continue getting ready. Then one I am ready to walk out the door I give him a treat and he is fine. Giving him a treat is like saying "hey good times when mommy leaves"

Great advice thanks!!! Just wondering how old all of your Yorkies are?

I got my pup at 8-weeks of age. I took a week off to be with him (and believe me - he slept 75% of the time) - and the second week I dropped him off at my sisters when I worked.

The third week - I went back to work and left him home alone. I am gone for about 6 or 7 hours four days a week. He never cried when I left, and I know that he and my other dog slept most of the day away while I worked.

It's now that he's older that he has decided to cry or whine a little when I leave.....and, I don't think it's separation anxiety. I think he has simply learned that there is a world on the other side of that door, and when I leave he wants to go too......because he has learned that it is fun to go places.

***** I think it's probably good to leave your dog alone some when they are very young.... even if it's just to go to the mail box or run to the store or something. This helps make them more used to it at a younger age (when they sleep most of the day away). I would think it would be much harder on a dog to start leaving them for the first time when they are older and used to constantly being with someone.

Good luck!

Carol Jean

Thanks Carol Jean, I totally agree with you. After posting this and reading a lot of the replies, I have been leaving max for an hour here (going to the gym), 30 minutes there (grocery shopping) and also taking him with me on joy rides.

I am curious about how old your puppies were when you left them alone for more than 5 hours. I ask this selfishly because 2 weeks ago I missed going to a party to make sure Max was attended to. This weekend we were going to go to the Indian Casino. I realize max is my priority (over the casino) so if (at 18 week of age) I should not go out for more than 5 hours then that's cool

I am a rookie yorkie mom and need all the advice I can grab

Thanks

Well - mine was 10 weeks old when I had to go back to work - and I have to be gone for 6 or 7 hours. My dogs have never seemed to be any the worse for it.

Now at 7 months, my Yorkie is very used to being home alone for that amount of time - at least four days a week.

I do have another dog - but my pup is confined to the kitchen - and the other dog isn't. And the other dog sleeps the day away - clear on the other side of the room - actually where the pup can't even see him.

I leave a light on and radio on.

They are both thrilled to see me when I get home - but even more than seeing me - they want to go outside....whether I go with them or not! Go figure!

Millions of Americans get puppies and then have to go back to work. So - I guess it works!! You stay-at-home moms just have a good thing going - wish we could all do that!

Does it help to know that most breeds sleep 14 to 16 hours a day?
Especially house dogs, of course.


Carol Jean

thank you and it absolutely does help to know that. Max has a playpen he stays in. He doesn't get free reign yet. he is about 95% housebroken but its that 5% that makes me nervous.

His playpen has his toys and a blanket and also a pad. I guess that's my biggest concern that I'll come home and find him in a mess, poor little guy.

Anyway, thanks so much for your input. Its greatly valued

My baby will be 1 year old on April 7th!

Dezi will be 4 months on the 12th.

My pup stays in my kitchen (with an adjoining laundry room) when I'm gone. He has everything he needs and doesn't make too many messes (just the usual). I'm not sure I will ever give him full run of the house when I go to work. I just think there might be too many ways he could get in trouble, do damage, or hurt himself. Of course, the minute I get home - he is out of the kitchen and has full run of the house.

This is all my pup has ever known - so it's just the way life is as far as he's concerned. It works for us!

Good luck!

Carol Jean

yelping
 

my 16 week old yelps like crazy when i am out of her sight. like some of you said, even if i go to the bathroom or kitchen or whatever. i left her in her crate the other morning and went back to bed for a while and she yelped for almost 1/2 hour. i take her to work sometimes and she does the same thing as soon as i go around a corner and she can't see me. as long as she can see me, she's ok.

when i leave the house for longer periods and she knows i'm actually gone, she doesn't yelp at all. (i listen sometimes when i'm outside the door) the yelping really drives me crazy. do they ever stop it? she just wants to be with me but obviously she can't be every minute - any idea how long this might go on?

omega

My puppy is the same way, except he does it even when I'm actually gone. And he goes longer than 1/2 an hour...sometimes over an hour. When I am home, if I get up and am out of sight, even if its for a minute, he goes CRAZY! I leave him home all the time because I'm in school. He hasnt gotten any better.

I think that if he has a play pen , peepad ,no collar on he can be left for a few hours. We leave Alfie and Lottie for about 3-4 hours whilst we are at work and they are fine. \i have been off the last 2 weeks and they continue their own routine , Alfie sleeps where he normally sleeps during the day and Lottie has been spending more time with me but she is sure sleeping a lot. I think that its harder for us sometimes, to leave them we fret and worry!
Are you going to Mohejan Sun , we went there last yeat as we where down in Mystic for a few days as part of our annual holiday in the US.
If so have a good time.

Oh Yes that is exactly where we are going!!! Its about 45 minutes from our home.

Max never wears a collar. I only have a harness for him when we go for walks. Other than that he's naked LOL. How was your visit to US? You';ll have to PM me and let me know

As for hogan--My Max is exactly like you described. So I have been putting him in his playpen for about an hour at a time on our enclosed patio. Of course the temp must be above 50 or I wont do it. Its so funny, he whines a tad, nothing near as dramatic as when he's in the house in the playpen. After about 2 minutes he's out cold LOL sleeping peacefully. Lately I have noticed the separation anxieties were getting better. Today I went to the gym for 2 hours. My Fiance was here but Max was on the patio. He did come out after an hour and let him out in the outside pen because I knew he would have to go (timing issue with breakfast).

Good luck and i hope slowly weaning them from us will help

Sharon

Again, I'm so glad to hear others are struggling with this - Buddy SCREAMS when I leave the house - sometimes worse than others - I guess more recently because he was sick it's been harder...but last night I swear he screamed the whole hour I was gone to the grocery store - when I came home I could still hear him yelling. When I went in to get him he was swallowing hard - sounded like he had barked his throat sore, and he was SO stressed (and *I* was so stressed!) I let him sleep in bed with me, and this morning he was happily chewing on a Small Dog Training book I had left on the bed. Thanks Buddy! hehehe.

But I wish I had left him home more. I am embarassed to say that I send him to Doggie Daycare at http://www.everydog.com which has been SO great for him in terms of socialization - and they crate train them which is great. He has been very hard to completely crate train though - I have the same problem - whenever he is out of sight of me, he yells like crazy. Sometimes if I yell "QUIET" he will calm down a bit - but the trainers all tell me, concentrate on teaching them to "sit" and "down" - when they're assured that you're the Alpha and that you're taking care of things and you're the boss, they'll calm down.

I hope so!! Buddy is still only about 4.5 months so I have hope!

Max is 4.5 too. Born 11/25/2005.

Poor lil Buddy, sounds like he had a tough time that day. I think they get over it faster than we do

Aww - yeah probably! I just have to keep telling myself that...
Buddy was born 11/10/05!

I tried leaving Nap in his crate next to my bed at night while I sleep (on my bedside table so he could see me), and since then no barking problems. Now if I could get him to not pee/poop in the house, everything would be perfect!

Have you tried the playpen? Max was in a playpen environment at his breeder's home so he was used to it. He is in the playpen 80% of the day/night and never messes in it anymore. Only time he's out is when I am sure he's not going to mess. We play in the living room, train and groom. So far (knocking on wood) he has never messed in the house