Apologies in advance for this as its a long one bear with me. Max my 4yr old lab is a very special lad indeed always been a bit on stressy side and taken a hell of a long time to train up for the most basic of things. He has always been semi destructive when he's left. Usually randomly out of the blue maybe once a month or maybe twice. Just recently it's every day whenever I leave the house as soon as he's on his own we have to work.. He like always has a dog walker also have him another dog friend (a bitch carefully chosen to help him) we leave him the way we always do kongs etc. We have always been advised by behaviourists and now they (all 4) are at a loss with him. We have had him to the vets to do full mots on him to ensure its not pain related they've drawn a blank too. We are abosolutely at a loss because the damage is so great and it's causing us to fall out. He can jump babygates, open doors escape cages, self inflict harm, bark, howl, destroy, he's on anti depressants, he's walked by us and dog walkers in the day, we have advise of professionals and it continues. Can anyone at all help? Experienced anything similar. ? What do I do to be kind to him the stress he's Enduring must be so great and the pain he's feeling physically and mentally. We are running out of money and ideas. I cant break up my family.
That sounds really tough... I'm sure it's all enormously stressful. Can I ask what the behaviourists have recommended and what you've tried (from a training or behaviour modification point of view) so far? Have you tried any anxiety reducing medications at all?
Sorry to hear you are having such trouble. It is hard to know what's going on exactly, it sounds like you've had lots of professional advice. But as Rachael says if you could give us a fuller picture of what you have tried it would help. Have you used a crate at all?
So the advise we have had we had to go through training of a safe place. Aka a crate. He liked this for only a short time and now if you leave him in this or even with it open he still destroys. He can also escape a closed crate and will bash himself until he bleeds so a crate is a no no We have tried the leave 5 mins and build it up each time again only successful for a short amount of time no matter how often we do this. We physically tire him as advised and mentally task him, off lead walks lots of training he's like a trick pony and can retrieve and find items etc. We have tried the plug ins and some calms these had literally no effect. He currently has anti depressants to make being on his own more bearable. I'm seeing a tiny difference but he was still bad when I left for 2 hrs yesterday. We bought a bitch for him carefully selected to show him hey life's ok. She's so chilled she never joins the rampage but he still needs me. I'm on a dog day care waiting list, even if he's been on full day care with our walker he can still destroy and he is utterly exhausted when he comes home but his fear is much greater. Hope this helps.
also we have been asked to find a trigger but I can't find one at all! We have also tried pressur bands on him that is meant to relax the dog by certain pressure points. This again worked partially.
I feel your pain and frustration. Our dog, Homer has developed anxiety especially related to noise. There are houses around us having extensive building works and the noise of the skips and delivery lorry set him off but now he anticipates the noise when left alone. It's become difficult to leave him on weekday mornings when we go off to work and his dog day care pick him up up to 2hours later. H has scratched so much he's ripped up carpets, and like yours escapes from his cage and got through a baby gate. Our dog is on medication and has an Adaptil plug in but I'm not convinced how effective they are either. I have no advice, I wish I had. But sympathy. I have a tread "too scared to go outside" which tells the long version of our story.
That sounds like quite severe separation anxiety. I have once fostered a spaniel with SA so I feel for you. It is not an easy thing to deal with. The most important thing during the dog's rehabilitation was to never leave him alone. That would have set back all my efforts to desensitise him to being left alone. The steps in which we progressed were tiny, extended by seconds rather than minutes every time I left the room. I needed a lot of support at the time from friends I trusted and the dog felt comfortable with when I needed to go out. But my life was pretty much put on hold for a couple of months. The dog was also put on Prozac by the vet for a while which helped. You will need a very understanding and supportive network of friends and family to work through this. But it will get better if you take tiny steps.
I wonder if he is/was frightened by a noise. My 10 year old Labrador suddenly was frightened by the squeak of the battery running out of the smoke alarm, just a fairly soft, occasional 'pip' and he would stay in the house. I took him a few months to get over the fear, he is fine now. Can you think of anything like that so that he feels fear? Is he at all stressed when you are at home? It does seem that something has happened to trigger this off. I see that @Jes72 that her dog was rather like mine.
Our problem is its only when we're out. I mean I've stayed in all day in silence to find a noise etc cameras outside cameras inside. Everything we can look at we have done. We're at a utter loss. I mean he's always struggled slightly with being alone but his episodes let's call them have gone from once every few months to every single day. It's becoming unmanageable. We both work have a young son and send him with the dog walker etc already ,
From what you describe it really sounds like classic separation anxiety and the trigger is you walking out of the door and the dog being left alone. When I started with my foster spaniel I could only leave him for 30 seconds max before he would become stressed and I built up from there.
I know how frustrating it is when their anxiety escalates for no apparent reason. I've had people assume he's a rescue dog traumatised by some past experience - No, just us! H was a perfectly happy confident dog. We could take him with us to the pub, along a busy road to the station, on trains and busses without any problem. We did all this regularly to make sure he was used to all sorts of city noise. Now he won't even turn up the road.
It must be so distressing but don't despair. This post on separation anxiety recently appeared in my FB feed and it looks like the next post to come might be helpful. What anti-depressant is he on? My pup's on Clomicalm (clomipramine) for general anxiety although it's most often prescribed specifically to treat separation anxiety. It's not a magic pill, but it's worked for us and eased his anxiety just enough for training to become effective - he's finally calm enough to focus and learn and work in new environments which builds his confidence and decreases his anxiety in a virtuous cycle. I admire all your efforts to help Max and really hope you can find some way to help him.
So we have had him on medication for weeks now and he's still slowly getting worse. I really am at a point of despair now as he dosnt look like he's enjoying life. Yesterday was a bad day. Then on top of this when we returned he heavily panted for around a hour. Then whilst we slept he was pacing the bedroom most of the night. Standing staring 2 inches off our faces. He's slowed right down on his walks too because all his destructive behaviour impacts his legs. I'm currently going to get in the shower. He's panting and the odd whine downstairs I have to leave for work in 40 minutes and at this time I know what I will return too. My other half will be collecting him in 3 hours. But the destruction will still be there. Over £150 on vet fees alone this month. Never mind the day care and expensive food. Feeling heartbroken and lost.
I am so very sorry for your situation , you must be distraught . Just wondering , having read right through, if there is a deeper neurological reason why he is displaying this extreme behaviour , especially with the heavy panting as any neuro type issues can make a dog exhausted after bizarre behaviour . It might be worth going back to the Vets again , and exploring this possibility , sorry I cant be any more help x
Hi there, I'm so sorry to hear about your problems with your boy. I have a anxious dog, too, who is on medication. I would say you need to have another talk to your vet. His medication isn't working. That's not unusual; just as some antidepressants don't suit some people, the same with dogs. I believe many anxiety drugs have a potential side effect of increased anxiety, so it could be that you need to find something that suits him better. Or, it may just need more time to start working. I'd be asking for a referral to a neurological specialist, rather than just talking to your regular vet, as this is so extreme. Willow is on Fluoxetine (Prozac) but was also put on Clonazepam for the first few weeks, to bridge the gap until the Prozac kicked in. But, my vet stressed, the drugs aren't a cure-all; they're simply a way of getting her onto a more even keel so I can start working on desensitisation with her. That still needs to be the biggest part of the process. With a dog with such severe separation anxiety, that would mean, until the drugs have kicked in, he shouldn't be left alone at all, or you do risk making it worse. And, then, starting with only a few seconds of separation at a time and gradually, gradually, building it up. I know that's very difficult to arrange when you have to work, so I don't know what to suggest, other than, is there someone you know he can go and stay with during the day, so he never has to be left? Or can you or your husband work from home? Or take him to work with one of you? I know how difficult it can be, and how the lows can outweigh the highs. I've been sat in tears on the kitchen floor with my girl, trying to explain to her that no harm will come to her, I just won't let it. When we love them so damned much, and wish with all our hearts we could explain to them that they are safe, loved and protected. Damage to property be damned, it's how our hearts break when we see them in such distress, that's the real damage.
@snowbunny is absolutely right. If you want to help your dog's separation anxiety to get better then you can't leave him alone. Please, read my post further up in this thread about my own experience with a dog who suffered from SA.
We have been working on not leaving him as he sometimes can go to work with my other half. He cannot work with me and I cannot work from home. We have a dog sitter but again I'm running out of money and time ( young family, mortgage, nursery) We have spoken to the vet about neurological issues and there is a possibility that it is that. We have been offered to see a specialist for around £300 consultation he is insured but not for behaviour. Sod's law I didn't notice when I took it out. I don't know where to go from here. He literally has to be rehomed where he won't be left alone ( he's on a rehoming site and 1500 views not one contact) Or will have to be euthanised, I don't care about the state of my house really... But my poor lad suffers every day after 4 years of trying and failing with vets behavioursts etc where does it end for us all. Distraught
Have you tried the Labrador Rescue Trust ? if so , sorry for posting but they really are wonderful at finding the very best homes . I feel your pain and sympathise , you must be at the end of your tether , so very sorry x
Oh you poor thing! How incredibly distressing. My heart goes out to you x It does sound like your dog picks up on the fact you are leaving, way before you go, obviously suffering from enormous anxiety, and as a family you are all caught in a vicious cycle. We have fostered some dogs with extreme SA, however, we were working with these from day one, and always someone was home. We did get some respite from marvellous kennels down the road, when hubby just had to go out. For respite it might be worth contacting some kennels or even a home boarder, just to give everyone a break. Where about in the country are you? Which rehoming sites are you in contact with? There are some excellent ones out there who specialise in gundogs breeds that might be able to help. One of them I work with is BRX, (Black Retriever Cross) if you are thinking of rehoming. A very professional set up who have a waiting list of experienced dog owners and fosters based at home drop them an email they may be able to help jem@blackretrieverx.co.uk Medication also helps, it can take a while to get the combination right for your dog.
