seperation anxiety

[DuchessWienerSchnitzle]

Hello fellow wiener lovers!! For those of you who didn't read my intro my husband and I just adopted a 2 year old mini dachshund named Duchess. She is a very sweet little dog but also very shy. She came from a puppy mill type situation where she was crated almost 24/7 and never taught how to behave. The biggest issue I'm dealing with now is her horrible separation anxiety, it is to the point where if I even start to get up to leave the room she begins howling and whining. I have never had a dog before but even so I am a firm believer that this type of behavior needs training not drugs and wondering if anyone can offer me some tips or good articles on how to deal with it. Her main issue is the howling and whining, as of yet she's not too destructive or pottying in the house. Thanks so much and I'm sorry if this is a silly question!

 

[Steph]

Not a silly question at all. Even some of the most well trained dogs experience separation anxiety in their lifetime. I know this page (link below) is a bit of a long read, but it does have some good information in it. Just remember that not every method works for every dog. Take it one suggestion at a time and see what happens. My youngest has a bit of separation anxiety and I give him lots of educational toys to play with in his crate - special ones that he ONLY gets when he's in his crate. There's a radio playing and I have a fan set on low to drown out some of the neighbourhood noise (the garbage truck scares him silly still) In the end, don't be ashamed if she has to go on medication for her anxiety...sometimes you can wean them off the meds and they will be just fine.

ASPCA | Separation Anxiety

 

[nola]

I agree with Steph. I LOVE Kikopup on YouTube, and use a lot of her training methods with Nola. This video is how I dealt with Nola's SA:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGxhcb-itO4]How to train your dog to be left alone- clicker training - YouTube[/ame]

And here's her one on house training (I just read your other thread). Congrats on your new girl!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvPiFcG7ROI]Dog Training: House training a puppy or rescue dog - YouTube[/ame]

 

[vizzla]

My advice is to let it take time! Dont rush it. Make sure she is not alone untill she can handle it. She has been in a crate for so long and I can understand her fear of beeing left now that she has people she likes in her life

She may never get over it. I have a dog that cant be left alone for more than 3 hours. Thats his limit. He just is that way, even though we trained and trained. So we let it be that way, my husbands parents have him during the day. He doensnt have to feel any stress and I can feel calm at work, not worrying about him. Everyone is happy!
If we didnt have his parents we would get a dogwatcher, someone that can take him during our working hours.

Good luck and I hope it will work out soon.

 

[Inkeri]

Very good advice above.
SA is quite common with rescued dogs which is very understandable considering their past. Good luck with the training!