Separation anxiety
 

Hi,

A nice lady PMed me today asking if I could give her some advice regarding her yorkie's separation anxiety...

I thought I'd make a thread and link her to this. I don't know whether or not she has attempted to make a thread and it is waiting for a moderator's approval, but I'd thought I just try.


Here is what she sent me:

Hi,
I am very new Yorkie owner. We rescued what we think is a two year old Yorkie. Her one eye is injured and she will need to have it removed.

She is such a joy, but even though she has someone home for four-days, she does exhibit separation anxiety from me, especially.

This morning, she followed be around like always and I know she may have a difficult time when I had to leave for work. We do have a six year old beagle that is very calm and they get along with her during the day.

Any suggestions on how to make leaving less stressful to her?
Deb


Do you all have any advice/input for her? I PMed her some good separation anxiety articles and old threads here on YT about the topic.

That was very nice of you to PM her some articles etc.


My dog is the king of separation anxiety but, unfortunately, I found the only thing that works for him is not leaving him along for long hours.


But, not everyone is as fortunate as I am to not have to work at the minute...:confused:

Separation anxiety can be tough to deal with. You could make a small bandana that has your smell on it, and put that (safely) around her neck so that your smell is with her. Also, I'd try leaving for 1 minute then come back, leave for 5 minutes and come back, leave to 15 minutes and come back and so on....this helps her learn that you *are* coming back.

For some reason I thought that said banana :D

It helps to know what kind of anxiety you are dealing with. For example, my little Mylee gets anxiety just when we are leaving. She exhibits a full on charge and will sometimes sneak up and bite us on the leg if we don't follow procedure which is asking her to sit/stay on a rug away from the door as we exit. However, once the door closes and we are out, she is fine and draws comfort from our other dog. Some dogs are anxious and nervous the whole time their people are away and turn to destructive behavior. I like the idea of leaving items laying out with a scent on them for comfort. Kennel/crates might be an option too. Don't think of it as a "cage." Some dogs find great comfort and security in their own quiet space like a crate and will settle in for the duration of the time their people are absent. Some dogs are nervous about the "quiet" noises they hear while the house is empty. When things are quiet, small little house creaks, or neighbor's dogs barking, or even delivery services can be quite stressful. Maybe leave a radio on for noise. Just some things to think about in trying to determine the cause of the anxiety, it helps to know how to deal with it.