Separation Anxiety

[valeriejsmyth]

I have always made my departing a game. I hide several pieces of their dry food in the house under couch pillows, under a toy so it becomes a hide and seek game. They are so occupied with searching for the treats that they have forgotten I a leaving. It's a great distraction and fun for them. As they become more comfortable with my leaving you can just take them for a walk to pee/poop and wear them out a little. Works great for me, hope this helps

[valeriejsmyth]

I have always made my leaving a game. I hide pieces of their dry kibble throughout the living room (under couch pillows, under toys or under blankets in their bed). They are so busy looking for the goodies that they don't notice I left. I also take them for a walk just before I leave to get them to pee/poop before I go. They poop an pee on command. that way I don't have to worry about leaving a pee pad if I am gone for only an hour or two. The other thing I used to do when they were pups was to hid a treat inside those donky kong toys and they would spend a half an hour trying to get to the treat. Hope this helps

[Clairewijay]

I have just joined this forum and realised that it is apparently the norm for Yorkies to have separation anxiety. I adopted Lola 2 weeks ago at the age of 11 months and she cried whenever she was left from the start. She got attached to me within a couple of days, which I thought was really strange. I found out that the previous owner had no understanding of dogs and had stayed with her 24/7 for 2 months then sold her on when she realised that couldn't happen long term and she needed to get a job. I work but not too long hours and near my home. I exercise her a lot and have bought a lovely cosy crate and made it really comfortable. I am not sure how she reacted today as she watches from the window and when she sees me coming she barks (my kids would do similar things as kids-cry when I left and stop as soon as I was out of sight). Neighbours have complained and I am quite nervous about being evicted as it's a rented flat. I have got lots of advice from the vet. Lola was on heat when I got her and I'm having her spayed next month. Do you think that will help with the barking? Also, she is aggressive with other dogs. She wants to play but HAS to dominate. Anyway, thanks for all the helpful posts on this site. It is really helpful. Claire and Lola (13/05/13)

[Uhohitscrystall]

Both my boyfriend and I work 8 hours a day so we have to kennel our pitbull and our yorkie. It actually works out well. Hero is very well Kennel trained for being 5 months and Jax is slowly getting there. Because we have the bathroom where the shower and toilet are separate from the actual vanities he stays in that area with the vanities enclosed by a baby gate. I did notice that he started to chew off some of my baseboard but he doesn't cry. My mom checks on both dogs while we are out and walks them and they go back to areas when she leaves. I recently bought Jax a kennel and he really likes it I haven't actually put him in it and closed it, but I'm getting him use to having it. Having Hero, it really makes training Jax a lot easier because he shows him how to behave, so sometimes having another dog is good. You just have to get them use to the routine.

[Uhohitscrystall]

Clairewijay, my Yorkie is the same way he dominates all the toys in the house, the bed, the food, the water, even the humans (lol). I'm not sure how to break this habit, if you find anything please let me know!

[Clairewijay]

Yesterday my daughter got home from school and Lola was NOT barking. Ignoring her before going and after coming certainly helped as does exhausting her from long walks and very active playtimes when we are around. I got a 'den' for her which is a large travel crate with her stuff inside. I don't know if that helps. I don't shut her in as she is not destructive. It is there to make her feel safe. She was also a bit more friendly in the park yesterday as her heat seems to be over. Meeting a few other less than friendly dogs was also good as she does seem to understand now that she can't be the boss of everyone. I can't wait for her to be spayed so that I know she is not going to run off with any male dog. Reading through the threads on here I am really fortunate that we have plenty of places to let dogs off the lead near where I live and London parks are marvellous. I've also managed to reduce my blood pressure and sugar levels since having Lola...

[deedeebear]

Sophie goes crazy when I leave. My husband says she cries and she will hit his leg with her paw and run to the door that I went out. I love that she loves me but I don't like her getting so stressed out.

[jbonn02]

Hey, Dexter is pretty remarkable with being left. I don't know if it's just him as a personality but here's some tricks i've done with him since I got him at 10 weeks to now at 9months:

1. If your puppy is crying when you leave her at your mothers, your leaving is too big of a deal. She can probably tell you don't want to leave her, and it's weird but they pick up on that. If I leave Dexter at my parents, I try and keep him occupied in another room with his dinner, a play mate or whatever is getting his tail wagging at that moment - and you just leave. No goodbyes, just go. As she does react badly, perhaps do this leaving process and then return in half hour, then repeat... she'll soon learn that you leave, you come back... staying at your mothers is not only fun, but she's not stuck there indefinitely. Also, don't make a massive deal about returning .. if you can, return and just not even acknowledge her straight away. It sounds horrible, but it gives her time to calm down and realise not only will you talk to her when she's a bit calmer, but that you coming and going is not a big deal.

2. In the house, same deal. No goodbyes. I typically leave Dexters breakfast or whichever meal my leaving coincides with on the floor as a somewhat scavenger hunt. Keeps him occupied and he'll spend extra time hunting even when I'm gone. [I personally have Dexter in my room when I leave, mainly because it's puppy proof and he likes to snuggle under my bed and sleep when I'm not there - reassuring I suppose]

3. Car rides -Dexter has a medium sized carry crate intended for cats which I strap into the car. Not only is he restrained, he's safe. There's no accidents going to occur with him being in there and he'll probably feel a lot more safe than swirving around on a lap (which he did do before I bought it - not my lap, the passengers haha). When he was younger, he used to find the car pretty daunting... so when in his crate, I'd place a thin jumper or something similar over the crate so it was dark. There's no distracting outside to scare him and it also stopped him being car sick when he went through a phase of it.



Hope this helps? They're just tricks I've picked up along the way... and now I can leave him and providing I give him a massive hug when I've got home.... he's more than happy for me to leave ha.