Hi all! I apologize for the lengthy post. My husband and I got our first black lab almost 3 months ago. He is a male black lab named Skipper, and is 5 months old. He is sweet as can be (though currently teething and losing teeth faster than I ever imagined), but I have a couple of concerns. As way of background, my husband and I work full-time during the week. We have a friend come over for around an hour twice each day at different times while we are gone. This summer, my friend that is a teacher, will be watching little Skip even more and letting him play with her pup some, who he loves. When we are home before work, after work, and on the weekends, Skip has our full attention. Lots of walks, hikes, trips to new places (state parks, the beach, stores, friends houses, dog parks, etc.). We play lots of fetch and tug of war, and give lots of cuddles. We have regular vet care and went through a training class with him, and keep the training going. We have a fenced in backyard and he has PLENTY of toys/bones/Kongs and he seems pretty happy. He likes his crate and will go in just upon hearing the words "Go night night." His crate is in our bedroom and he doesn't make a peep when he is in it if we are in the room. The problem, however, comes when we are not. We have occasionally crated him for 20 or so minutes while we are eating dinner or showering or something, and he has the most high-pitched bark the entire time. We have heard him "digging" on the plastic tray after he moves his blanket aside. We will leave him with toys and a stuffed-Kong, which he only partially eats. He has never pooped in his crate, and rarely potties in it. If we have to leave, he willingly goes in his crate and shows no signs of anxiety upon realizing that we are leaving. Our friend says he is always quiet and sleeping when she shows up to play with him, and we only hear him bark loudly upon our return if he hears the garage open. Unfortunately, he displays this same frantic, high-pitched barking if we even just leave the room (he has free roam of the house except for bedrooms/bathrooms and the kitchen), even if he can see us. He also will not walk into our fenced backyard for even 30 seconds to relieve himself unless we walk with him, as he stands at the glass door with his high-pitched bark, jumping up, walking in a circle, and frequently pooping right in front of the door if I open it to let him relieve himself and stand at the door to watch. He is happy as a clam if any people, and to some extent, dogs, are with him, but he cannot seem to stand being alone (if we are away from the room, house, etc...even if he can see us) for even 30 seconds. Again, he does not often soil anything (except the deck), has never hurt his teeth or paws, caused major damage, etc., but he will bark and bark and you can tell he cannot really handle being alone (and usually needs constant attention even when we ARE in the same room). I love him to death, but hate not being able to use the restroom or cook dinner without him getting seemingly upset. I have read about how to desensitize him, but like I said, he never gets nervous with our "leaving cues" and likes his crate just fine so I am unsure what we would desensitize him to. Is this normal, or does anyone have any ideas of how to make him more comfortable with entertaining himself or being left for even just a few moments, whether in his crate or in the family room (even while he can still see us)? Thanks in advance...this forum has been a lifesaver the past few months!
Hi Emily, and welcome to the forum. It may just be that Skipper just wants to be with you, spend time with you, which is understandable if you are both out working all day, even though he has his daily visits. If you think you are out at work, then you are sleeping, that this is a large proportion of the day that he is not able to "do things" with you. They really are like babies and toddlers. What is your normal routine for training and walking once you get home? It sounds like he settles once you are out the house which is good though! jac
My dog had separation anxiety, and one of the important things is to avoid situations where they get so anxious or frustrated that they bark, while at the same time training them to cope with longer periods in whatever situation they find frustrating. To start with just stop shutting him in the crate in a different room, leave the door open when you have a shower, don't shut the door when he is in the backyard etc. This way he will not be in a situation where he gets frustrated, or has negative associations with not being near you. Then, work on teaching him to cope with all of these situations. For leaving him in a different room in the crate: put him in the crate, leave the room and come straight back in, do it a few times in a row. Then the next time, put him in the crate, leave the room, count to 1 just outside the room, and come back in. Then gradually increase the amount of time you are standing outside the room until you can count to 10. At this point, you can start to walk away from the door. If he barks, then you have moved too fast for him, and you have to go back a step to leaving him for slightly shorter periods. In one session, I'd leave the room 5-10 times in the early stages, and do it once or twice a day. You can say something to him before you leave the room if you like, I say "back soon", but be calm and don't make eye contact or interact with him. You can apply this same method to going into the bathroom and shutting the door, putting him outside etc. How long this takes depends on the dog, but it's best to go really slowly with the first steps! For teaching him to settle in the same room as you, here's some useful information: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/attention-seeking-dog/
