oh the anxiety

patrickkomar · 02-12-2008, 02:10 AM

this is my first post here so i will give you some history. bazel is 2 years old and came to me about 3 weeks ago. he is from a broken home and due to that fact he had to move from his previous owners home to a short say at the brothers house of his former owner. he is a really great hound and seems to mind me fairly well minus his bad habit of occupying couches when he shouldn't. now about the anxiety problems. he has to be with me were ever i am in the house, to the point of being under foot. if i step out to indulge in my terrible habit and leave him in the house he will wine and let out a quiet yelp( not like he is in pain but its not a full on bawl.) when i kennel him in the morning to head out to work he will wine for quite a wile(my upstairs neighbor has told me) to make things worse were about to move in to a new house on Friday. is there any thing i can do to help my poor hound out??? i don't want the poor guy to turn in to a quivering mass of mush over all this. i do take my hound with me when ever i can. he is more than welcome at all of my friends homes, is this helping or hurting my situation?

Mikey T · 02-12-2008, 03:16 AM

Quote:

i do take my hound with me when ever i can. he is more than welcome at all of my friends homes, is this helping or hurting my situation?[/b]

A little of both. see Separation Anxiety

Quote:

Separation anxiety is often triggered by either a high contrast situation – months of the owner home all day followed by sudden eight-hour absences – or some sort of life change – rehoming, a stay at a boarding kennel, a death of a key family member or major change in routine.

...Puppies and newly adopted dogs are at higher risk to develop separation anxiety if they are smothered with constant attention their first few days home. It is much better to leave for brief periods extremely often so the dog’s early learning about departures is that they are no big deal and predict easy, tolerable lengths of absence: “whenever she leaves, she comes back.”
Give your dog both physical exercise and mental work to do. Not only does problem solving increase confidence and independence, it is mentally fatiguing and so increases the likelihood that your dog will rest quietly when he is left alone. Teach him to play hide and seek with his toys, teach him tricks, learn to “free shape” with a clicker (enroll in a SFSPCA course and find out how!), get him involved in a sport like obedience, Flyball or Agility, let him free-play with other dogs, stuff all or part of his food ration into Kong toys, teach him how to play fetch and tug. The more activities and toys are incorporated into his life, the less he will depend on human social contact as sole stimulation.
Soften the blow of your departures by providing extremely enticing stuffed toys for him to unpack. See our “Kong Toy Stuffing” handout for tips on improving your technique![/b]

there are other tips as well the idea is a lot of little absences and minimize the long ones. Take the dog with you can minimize the long abscences but you must still incorporate short ones. Basset are quite social and as such do not like to be alone for long periods of time. IMHO basset owner are more likely to have multiple pets than other breed owners just for this very reason.

Houndsong · 02-12-2008, 08:56 AM

If I told my basset "stay here, I'll be right back" before leaving I would come back and find him sleeping (typically), whether I was gone 30 mins or 6 hours. But if I was to sneak out unannounced (say, while the dog was sleeping) very often he would howl mournfully or moan and gripe on discovering that I was not there - this even though my wife was there and despite his having an imperturbable coonhound buddy.

Aruuuu · 02-12-2008, 09:48 AM

Do not feed into his anxiety by making an overly big deal out of leaving. Simply do as Houndsong and very matter of factly say, "See ya!" If you coddle and coo and apologize for going out the door, your dog may react more severely to your leaving...

Lightning&Stomps · 02-12-2008, 12:26 PM

I think it is very common for rescued dogs to be excessively needy for a while. and given that you'll be moving into a new home, that will probably stretch it out even longer. Hopefully with time, though, Bazel will calm down. Good luck and thanks for rescuing!

2hounds · 02-13-2008, 05:16 PM

My boy Gibbs also has seperation anxiety. He quivers and whines whenever I leave...it's so hard on me. I just leave and let him have his break down. I don't know if thats what best for him, but we manage. Good luck with your new addition. Keep us updated.

~Heather

Stephn · 02-14-2008, 10:07 AM

HI
We found having a routine for leaving worked well for Charlie. We would tell him we were going to work give him a bisquit or peanut butter filled bone and kennel him. By the time he had the peanut butter cleaned out of the bone we were already gone and he didn't fuss. He didn't take long and he would race for his kennel and wait for his bisquit or bone. Bisquits were Charlies down fall he couldn't resist. So we always told him "going to work" we stopped kenneling him and he would just race for the kitchen. If you can get him into a routine it will make things easier. The 3 bassets we have had have all been very routine oriented. Some where we read or were told that Bassets get into habits good and bad so you want to avoid the bad habits. Brandy is my shadow she whines when I come home. She was very attached to Charlie but he died in Dec 2006 so Brandy is now attached to me.

Good luck and don't give up. You just have to find what works for you and Bazel.

Stephanie

Mahna · 02-14-2008, 11:18 AM

Getting into a routine is definitely the best thing I think you can do. I rescued Bogie on a Friday, and didnt leave his side for a few days. I even brought him to work with me the following Monday. He was attached to me like glue. No one believed I had only had him a few days. Tuesday, however, was his first day alone, and when I left I went and sat in my car to see if and how long he was going to howl for. I left before he stopped. Eventually I started doing different things. I never put up the baby gate right before i left, but about an hour or half an hour before, so it all didn't happen at once. I took a long time, and trying a few different routines, but once I figured out a routine that Bogie actually liked, he's absolutely fine with me leaving. He is incredibly spoiled, and not crate trained, so our routine is after a walk (I always take him outside for the same walk before I leave the house and I never leave after a play romp), me walking him with a meaty treat (He likes them, but they don't do the trick when I'm leaving) over onto my bed, where he curls up on his corner. I put the treat in front of his nose, and he smells it, but doesn't eat it. I give him a quick bit of ear petting, and get on my way. I also hide other treats in toys and such things, so he can seek them out if he actually gets off the bed while I'm gone. I'm still not convinced he ever moves until I open the door. The only time he howled with this routine is when he can see me digging out my car in the winter for half an hour, so he knows I'm not really gone yet. My neighbors say he doesn't howl at all during the day. So just try to find something that works for everyone involved, and he'll be happy.

02-12-2008, 09:48 AM	#4 (permalink)
Aruuuu Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Central MA, USA Posts: 773	Do not feed into his anxiety by making an overly big deal out of leaving. Simply do as Houndsong and very matter of factly say, "See ya!" If you coddle and coo and apologize for going out the door, your dog may react more severely to your leaving... __________________ If stress were exercise, I'd be in great shape!

02-13-2008, 05:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
2hounds Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 1,152	My boy Gibbs also has seperation anxiety. He quivers and whines whenever I leave...it's so hard on me. I just leave and let him have his break down. I don't know if thats what best for him, but we manage. Good luck with your new addition. Keep us updated. ~Heather __________________ Mommy to Gibbs and kitty kitty Eva Dear sweet *Lily (ATB )* you will never be forgotten.

02-12-2008, 02:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
patrickkomar Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 8	this is my first post here so i will give you some history. bazel is 2 years old and came to me about 3 weeks ago. he is from a broken home and due to that fact he had to move from his previous owners home to a short say at the brothers house of his former owner. he is a really great hound and seems to mind me fairly well minus his bad habit of occupying couches when he shouldn't. now about the anxiety problems. he has to be with me were ever i am in the house, to the point of being under foot. if i step out to indulge in my terrible habit and leave him in the house he will wine and let out a quiet yelp( not like he is in pain but its not a full on bawl.) when i kennel him in the morning to head out to work he will wine for quite a wile(my upstairs neighbor has told me) to make things worse were about to move in to a new house on Friday. is there any thing i can do to help my poor hound out??? i don't want the poor guy to turn in to a quivering mass of mush over all this. i do take my hound with me when ever i can. he is more than welcome at all of my friends homes, is this helping or hurting my situation?

02-12-2008, 08:56 AM	#3 (permalink)
Houndsong Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Woodland Park, Colorado Posts: 136	If I told my basset "stay here, I'll be right back" before leaving I would come back and find him sleeping (typically), whether I was gone 30 mins or 6 hours. But if I was to sneak out unannounced (say, while the dog was sleeping) very often he would howl mournfully or moan and gripe on discovering that I was not there - this even though my wife was there and despite his having an imperturbable coonhound buddy.

02-12-2008, 12:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
Lightning&Stomps Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Versailles, Ky. Posts: 1,203	I think it is very common for rescued dogs to be excessively needy for a while. and given that you'll be moving into a new home, that will probably stretch it out even longer. Hopefully with time, though, Bazel will calm down. Good luck and thanks for rescuing!

02-14-2008, 10:07 AM	#7 (permalink)
Stephn Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 77	HI We found having a routine for leaving worked well for Charlie. We would tell him we were going to work give him a bisquit or peanut butter filled bone and kennel him. By the time he had the peanut butter cleaned out of the bone we were already gone and he didn't fuss. He didn't take long and he would race for his kennel and wait for his bisquit or bone. Bisquits were Charlies down fall he couldn't resist. So we always told him "going to work" we stopped kenneling him and he would just race for the kitchen. If you can get him into a routine it will make things easier. The 3 bassets we have had have all been very routine oriented. Some where we read or were told that Bassets get into habits good and bad so you want to avoid the bad habits. Brandy is my shadow she whines when I come home. She was very attached to Charlie but he died in Dec 2006 so Brandy is now attached to me. Good luck and don't give up. You just have to find what works for you and Bazel. Stephanie

02-14-2008, 11:18 AM	#8 (permalink)
Mahna Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 157	Getting into a routine is definitely the best thing I think you can do. I rescued Bogie on a Friday, and didnt leave his side for a few days. I even brought him to work with me the following Monday. He was attached to me like glue. No one believed I had only had him a few days. Tuesday, however, was his first day alone, and when I left I went and sat in my car to see if and how long he was going to howl for. I left before he stopped. Eventually I started doing different things. I never put up the baby gate right before i left, but about an hour or half an hour before, so it all didn't happen at once. I took a long time, and trying a few different routines, but once I figured out a routine that Bogie actually liked, he's absolutely fine with me leaving. He is incredibly spoiled, and not crate trained, so our routine is after a walk (I always take him outside for the same walk before I leave the house and I never leave after a play romp), me walking him with a meaty treat (He likes them, but they don't do the trick when I'm leaving) over onto my bed, where he curls up on his corner. I put the treat in front of his nose, and he smells it, but doesn't eat it. I give him a quick bit of ear petting, and get on my way. I also hide other treats in toys and such things, so he can seek them out if he actually gets off the bed while I'm gone. I'm still not convinced he ever moves until I open the door. The only time he howled with this routine is when he can see me digging out my car in the winter for half an hour, so he knows I'm not really gone yet. My neighbors say he doesn't howl at all during the day. So just try to find something that works for everyone involved, and he'll be happy.

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