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"Aidan Bindoff's Positive Petzine is simply the BEST canine advice column I've seen in years. Everybody who's got a dog, who's thinking of getting a dog, who working with dogs and/or dog owners should subscribe. Trainers and schools should print and distribute these in classes. Clear, well-written, to-the-point, logical advice dealing with every behaviour problems pet dog owners could face. The world dog community can only hope Mr. Bindoff writes a book (or two!). In the meantime, read Positive Petzine!"
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Please help Me! with my Jack Russell
I have a four year old female Jack Russell, She is perfect temperment, but has always suffered with Seperation anxiety, However due to illness i was off work for a year and now upon returning back to work, the seperation anxiety is really really bad. Bless her!
I cannot leave her for even ten minutes without her doing her business in the house. I have tried alsorts leaving her from 30 secounds and increasing it to half an hour, but she is not stupid she knows when i'm outside the door and when i have actually gone out.
She has plenty of toys and i have tried on and off to leave tele on for her but she is the same.
I can imagine how hard and upsetting it is for her, so i need to sort this out as quick as possible to minimise any further distress to her.
Anybody with any advise.!!
- Stephnrosie's blog
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Comments
Separation Anxiety?
Hi Steph, apart from the house-training accidents, is there anything else that specifically leads you to believe she suffers from Separation Anxiety?
I really need to know before I can offer any further help.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com
seperation Anxiety
Hi Aiden
I believe that it is seperation anxiety as she has to be with me everywhere i go, even sat on or near my legs whilst i use the bathroom, she has to be in the same room as me or she gets upset, barking or chewing her leg till its red raw etc.
Also when i am in the house with her she asks to go to the toilet, she will sit by the door and 99.9% of the time she is clean as long as i am in the house with her.
Obviously i have no choice but to work and i just feel so awful that she suffers when i leave the house.
Steph.
Yup, that is SA...
...and therefore needs to be treated as Separation Anxiety and not a house-training issue.
Given that some of those behaviors can get out of hand, and the general condition is fairly serious I would definitely see a veterinary behaviorist regarding a proper diagnosis and possibly medication.
Medication takes up to 6 weeks to take effect. Once it has taken effect you get a good window of opportunity to carry through with a behavior modification plan which is much more likely to succeed with the help of the medication.
Proper behavioral modification for Separation Anxiety is a fairly detailed process so I would urge you to speak to a competent and properly qualified veterinary behaviorist.
In the meantime, consider doggy daycare as a temporary measure. Also, make coming and going a non-event. No attention until she is calm. Shut the door when you're in the bathroom. Work on exercises where she has to be away from you for short periods, like out of sight stays. It scratches the surface but it's an excellent start and excellent starts carried through lead to excellent endings eventually.
I think the main idea behind leaving the TV or radio on is that it's not something you would usually do when you leave the house, but it wouldn't take the average dog long to figure out what is going on. Picture this though, when you are home there are usually noises and sounds and when you leave all of a sudden the house is very quiet and empty. Leaving the TV on won't solve separation anxiety but it might make her feel a little less alone.
another approach
an approach commonly used to deal with problems (by a tv vet) is distraction. have you done any obedience training with her? just the basics - sit, stay, drop, come. its never too late to start. find out what food treats she likes the most, and use those. cooked chicken, cheese, cooked roast meat, even a commercial treat.
have a friend come to your house, and do some work with her. just a sit to start with. your friend can also get the dog to focus on her (or him) by holding the treat to their eye. the dog focuses on the person's face as a result. then when she is focused on the training, and food, leave the room. come straight back in.
a few sessions like this and your little dog will be focused on the training, and not you leaving. the friend could stay a while and work with her some more while you are out, play games, or just hang out with her. the friend needs to be good to her, and not use any negative reinforcement, yelling, or other punishment. just reward the good things she does.
a tired dog is also more likely to settle. take her for a long walk before you go out, or play a game of fetch. get her tired enough to want to sleep, and provide a nice warm bed for that purpose.
terriers are active, and looking for stimulation. try some different toys. maybe some treat balls that dispense food when rolled around the floor. make a game of it with her, to show her what to do, and then see if she will take to it by herself.
encourage independence. this can be done with games. even agility, and other dog activities. games with balls. fetching. swimming. interacting with other dogs. gradually learning that she is safe without you around. learning new things will help too. it will make her more confident in her own abilities.
extend the training if you want, to tricks. it suits smaller dogs, because it looks cute and they can do things like stand on their hind legs more easily. shake hands. crawl. jump thru hoops, weave poles (or your legs). wave. dance. scenting. lots of things you can try, without needing much equipment.
Great advice, bluefilly!
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com
Update
Any progress on the condition? If so, what route(s) did you take?
Progress update
I was not keen on using Medication so i started using flower remedies and some homeopathy remedies, there has been some improvement, she has a slightly longer concentration span, and now 9 times out of 10 she soils in the upstairs bathroom.
Which in a way the soiling in the bathroom, i think is her doing just what we do??? short of me going outside and doing my business out there.?????
I did make bottles up with food in but she will play with that for two minutes and get bored and then it never gets touched. Her concentration levels can be really bad, so when tryin to show and teach her things she'll always find something else more interesting to do!
Let me enlighten you further on my and rosie situation we live in Bahrain (rosie travelled with me from england) and unfortunately there is not that many good vets here, fortunately i do know an english vet but he works on the arigultural walfare information side in saudi arabia. I discussed the issues with him and he has met with her, he said that that it looks like she is just that kinda of dog and will always be this way.!!!!
Is this true?? Would it be cause she was taken from her mum so early? is there any hope for her.
yes, there is hope for Rosie
In my opinion, it's not strictly true that "she will always be this way".
Genetics play a large part in behavior. Dogs find certain things reinforcing because of their genetics, and then they learn behaviors that work for them. So in some respects, it may be true, and in other respects, it doesn't mean we shouldn't try to make life more comfortable for them.
Medication attempts to address a chemical imbalance in the brain, or I should say "good medication" does this. There are some medications that just sedate the dog and these should be avoided. You need to find a competent veterinary behaviorist if you eventually choose to go down this path. A competent practitioner will also provide a behavior modification plan. I'm not sure that there are any resources on the internet which come close to replicating this service.
I hesitate to offer help for genuine separation anxiety cases on-line, they require more than a written opinion from someone who hasn't seen the dog or the owner in action. A phone consult with a veterinary behaviorist in the UK, USA or Australia might be an option (particularly these days with VOIP), but that person would not be licensed as a professional in Bahrain (which probably doesn't matter).
Sorry this doesn't help all that much. I'm glad the flower essences have helped.
Attention span can be increased through learning. Short and slowly increasing clicker training sessions will do this. Tracking training is brilliant for this, we don't need to teach dogs to track but we do need to teach them to stay on task for longer and longer periods with ever increasing distractions. The Training Levels plan at http://www.dragonflyllama.com is another excellent option, particularly with it's strong focus on the "doggy zen" concept.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com