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Old 01-21-2014, 11:26 AM   #1
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Default Separation Anxiety... what to do?

Hi I'm new to YorkieTalk! I have an adorable little Yorkie named Penny. She's 11 months old & weighs 3.6lbs. I absolutely adore her!! She is the sweetest, calmest, most loving little dog... unless I leave her. Then she becomes a bundle of anxiety and it breaks my heart.

I am a stay-at-home mom, so I am with her 90-95% of the time. When I do leave, she comes with me and either sits in her seat in the car (when it's not too hot or too cold out), or I'll pack her in my purse where she feels secure & is content to watch the world or take a nap. ...But occasionally I have to go somewhere where she is not allowed.

We have a little crate we put her in to keep her safe while we are away. Sometimes she becomes so upset that she's alone in it, that she poos in there and tramples it all over the place, while she is frantically crying & chewing up the crate to try to get out. I have tried putting toys and/or chewies in there, but she ignores them & occasionally they get poo'd on too. We always have her go outside to do her business before we crate her, and she is completely potty trained in the house otherwise.

I'm considering adding another female Yorkie to our family because 1) I absolutely LOVE Yorkies, 2) to try to ease Penny's anxiety when we have to leave her home alone, and 3) the vet has said Penny is a social eater (A lot of the time, Penny only eats when I eat). I really would love to get a little female gold Yorkie puppy, but haven't been able to find one yet.

The breeder I got my Penny from doesn't have any female puppies, but she does have a very calm & friendly female Yorkie available that is about the same size & same age (11mo) as my Penny. This female is a more independent dog, and last May, when my husband & I boarded Penny with the breeder, Penny & this female became good friends.

So my questions are... Should I add another Yorkie to my family? If I do, should it be a puppy? Or would a dog of the same age be okay? How can I ease my poor Penny's anxiety? She's gotten to the point to where when I shower & get ready, she sits in the bathroom, curls up next to my feet & shakes.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!
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Old 01-21-2014, 08:36 PM   #2
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Have you considered trying a Thundershirt? You can get them from Amazon or Thundershirt.com. I'm sure some pet stores sell them too. I have a 4 year old Yorkie/Poodle mix that I've had for a year. I'm pretty sure she had been abused by her previous owners or she just was never properly socialized. She's a very anxious dog and she's terrified of men. She's had a Thundershirt for about 6 months that she wears pretty much all of the time. I won't say it's helped her 100% but it definitely seems to have lessened her anxiety. This is Lily in her Thundershirt. Separation Anxiety... what to do?-lily.jpg
As far as getting another dog, have you thought about getting a male Yorkie instead of a female. I have 2 boy Yorkies and 2 girl Yorkies and maybe it's just my group but both of my girls get along better with the boys than they do each other.
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Old 01-21-2014, 08:50 PM   #3
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Picture of my Penny
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Old 01-21-2014, 08:59 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by yorkiemom76 View Post
Have you considered trying a Thundershirt? You can get them from Amazon or Thundershirt.com. I'm sure some pet stores sell them too. I have a 4 year old Yorkie/Poodle mix that I've had for a year. I'm pretty sure she had been abused by her previous owners or she just was never properly socialized. She's a very anxious dog and she's terrified of men. She's had a Thundershirt for about 6 months that she wears pretty much all of the time. I won't say it's helped her 100% but it definitely seems to have lessened her anxiety. This is Lily in her Thundershirt. Attachment 395846
As far as getting another dog, have you thought about getting a male Yorkie instead of a female. I have 2 boy Yorkies and 2 girl Yorkies and maybe it's just my group but both of my girls get along better with the boys than they do each other.
Penny's only anxious if she thinks I'm leaving her, but I will definitely look into Thundershirts to see if that helps her when I'm getting ready to go somewhere. Thank you!

I have thought about getting a male, but I'm worried a male would mark around the house. I also figured girls would do better with girls... but I guess that's not always the case?
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Old 01-21-2014, 10:51 PM   #5
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Your Penny is very cute! Mina is 3yrs old and lives with several other dogs. She loves her mommie and gets lonely for me,even though there are other dogs and people in the house. However,having another little girl doggie in the house has helped. Kenzie is an 8mth old Biewer. I put their crates next to each other for when we leave and there isn't someone here. My adult kids that live with us, tell me that when I leave Mina and Kenzie lay on my lounge and cuddle until I get home. So I do think that it has helped, it has not completely stopped Mina from missing mommie. We travel frequently and Mina can not be left at home, even with the other people and dogs that live here. We have a travel trailer,she and sister Kenzie go with us.
Good luck with your decision.
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Old 01-22-2014, 06:15 AM   #6
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What a little cutie, I assume you have tried leaving her for very short periods of time, if not start with 20 min, then give her a treat when you come home. Thunder shirt sounds like a great idea, lots of pups are less anxious with it. I think if she got along with the other yorkie before and since they are the same age and size it would be a great match, perhaps the breeder would let you do it as a trial for about a week, then you could see how she does. If it goes well you could eventually crate them together. I had two I crated together for years and they would often be snuggled together when I came home. Have you tried putting the crate on a table or someplace high where she can see outside. When Lola was a puppy and I crated her I found it caused her less anxiety if she could see outside so I placed the crate on my kitchen table so she had the birds, squirrels, ducks and geese to keep watch over. Now she has the run of the house, but always goes upstairs to her bed on the second floor foyer so she can look out the window and survey our whole street, this gives her first glimpse of me when I drive up. I can always see her running down the stairs when I drive in. Perhaps you can place the crate where she can see out to the street, dogs really like looking out the window.

As you know leaving a dog in a car is not a great solution too many things can happen. what happens when you do, does she have accidents there?

Good luck I am sure it breaks you heart to know how upset she gets when you leave.
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Old 01-22-2014, 10:27 AM   #7
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What a cute little girl!
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Old 01-22-2014, 11:07 AM   #8
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She is adorable! I have one that is the same way and is 1 year old. I am a stay at home grandma and take her along most of the time. Like you said, there are times when they just can't go. Even when I leave her with my husband, she is unhappy until I return home. I have never tried the thundershirt, but hope if you try it, it helps. You will have to let us all know!
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Old 01-22-2014, 11:39 AM   #9
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Penny is a cutie patootie!

Hope the Thundershirt will work for you. We have one for ours and like Yorkiemom76 said, it doesn't take 100% of the anxiety away, but it does help.

Do you crate her only when you leave the house and no one is home? If you are home, she is ok in the crate? I was just thinking perhaps if her adversion is also to being in the crate, you could slowly get her more accustomed to it by putting her in there while you are home. Get her to associate the crate as a positive thing.
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Old 01-22-2014, 11:56 AM   #10
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Penny is adorable!
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Old 01-22-2014, 12:58 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by My lil friend View Post
Your Penny is very cute! Mina is 3yrs old and lives with several other dogs. She loves her mommie and gets lonely for me,even though there are other dogs and people in the house. However,having another little girl doggie in the house has helped.
Thank you! I don't mind if she gets lonely for me, it's sweet that your Mina & my Penny miss us when we are gone. I just don't want her so upset & anxious. And it sounds like having a friend might help that. I certainly wouldn't mind another Yorkie... they are so much fun!
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Old 01-22-2014, 01:19 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DBlain View Post
What a little cutie, I assume you have tried leaving her for very short periods of time, if not start with 20 min, then give her a treat when you come home. Thunder shirt sounds like a great idea, lots of pups are less anxious with it. I think if she got along with the other yorkie before and since they are the same age and size it would be a great match, perhaps the breeder would let you do it as a trial for about a week, then you could see how she does. If it goes well you could eventually crate them together. I had two I crated together for years and they would often be snuggled together when I came home. Have you tried putting the crate on a table or someplace high where she can see outside. When Lola was a puppy and I crated her I found it caused her less anxiety if she could see outside so I placed the crate on my kitchen table so she had the birds, squirrels, ducks and geese to keep watch over. Now she has the run of the house, but always goes upstairs to her bed on the second floor foyer so she can look out the window and survey our whole street, this gives her first glimpse of me when I drive up. I can always see her running down the stairs when I drive in. Perhaps you can place the crate where she can see out to the street, dogs really like looking out the window.

As you know leaving a dog in a car is not a great solution too many things can happen. what happens when you do, does she have accidents there?

Good luck I am sure it breaks you heart to know how upset she gets when you leave.
Thank you! I have tried leaving for short periods of time, I just don't do it very often. Sometimes she seems to do okay when we go... sometimes not so much, and I can't figure out what makes the difference. I do want to look into that Thundershirt!

I LOVE the idea of a trial, I will definitely ask the breeder! The last thing I want to do is bring another pup into our family that will annoy or be aggressive towards my Penny. I really want them to love to cuddle & play like yours do!

We usually leave the crate by the sliding glass door, so she can see out, but unfortunately, I can't put her crate on a table. I have no idea what Penny does in there... but it's common to see her crate moved about 2 or 3 feet from where we placed in it the hardwood floor! She can even move it around on carpet!! Not sure how a 3.6lb dog is moving that crate!

Penny has only had 2, maybe 3, accidents in the car when we've left her. Once when she was tiny, and it's been awhile since any others. She has her own little seat she stays in so she can see out the window, and we never leave her alone in the car very long.
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Old 01-22-2014, 01:41 PM   #13
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Penny is a cutie patootie!

Hope the Thundershirt will work for you. We have one for ours and like Yorkiemom76 said, it doesn't take 100% of the anxiety away, but it does help.

Do you crate her only when you leave the house and no one is home? If you are home, she is ok in the crate? I was just thinking perhaps if her adversion is also to being in the crate, you could slowly get her more accustomed to it by putting her in there while you are home. Get her to associate the crate as a positive thing.
Thank you!

The majority of the time we crate her when no one's home, but there have been a few times when she has been in an ornery mood - getting into things she knows she's not supposed to (because she wanted attention & we were busy at the time lol) that we crated in her the same room as us. She whines a bit, but stays mostly quiet.

When we first brought her home, we would occasionally crate her to get her used to it... she has never liked it, but she would tolerate it. I try to put treats in there now to make it more rewarding, but she still doesn't like it. I guess maybe I should go back to crating her for short periods of time while I am home. Sigh... that's gonna be tough for me too, I like having my little shadow follow me everywhere, hopping into my lap the minute I sit down.
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