Mary1957

If I'm correct "seperation anxiety" is a Basset trait. I'm already worried I'll have this with Maezie especially when Maddie goes to her new home on Christmas eve. I don't work...and home quite often..maybe only going out 2-3 times a week...but not for real long periods. Is there anything I can work on now at this young age (9wks.) that would help. I live in an apartment with someone living above me. That person will have a complete fit if there is alot of barking. I really want to train her manners..etc. on my own...because I don't drive which will make it hard to go to doggy classes. Maybe I am worrying over nothing...I've trained 3 boxer pups in the past with great success. I'm already such a worry wart over her already. Any advice will help. Thanks in advance.

Barney'spal

Mary, are you crate training? If you are, Mikey will probably post the ins and outs of how to do it. I have never had a problem with leaving. I've never used crates, just a personal preference, confining them to the kitchen and have dog doors. When I leave, I give them a large uncooked beef bone.....they know when I get these out that I'm leaving. I pretty much ignore them when I get back until things get back to normal. So much of it has to do with routine...I try to leave them a short time every day even if I have to find somewhere to go....just to keep the routine in place.

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Properly trained, a man can be a dog's best friend.

Mikey T

'[quote] I'm correct "seperation anxiety" is a Basset trait[QUOTE]

Not a basset trait but a problem behavior inheirent in all dogs, Basset being more social than the aver dogs will however be more like to have this problem because socialibily and the desire for social interaction are contributing factors.

Seperation AnxietySF/SPCA

The one thing missed by the article above is not to make greating and departures special. do not create a big welcoming when you arrive or lavish exra attention when you leave it only exaserbates the problem. Make departure and arrivals low key like you never left. Wait for the puppy to calm down before you even acknowledge it upon arrivial. I know I am as guilty as any one of liking a welcoming committee when coming home but it only contribute to the problem.


boxers are not basset. on top of that each dog is an individual what works with one is no guarantee will work with another.

a lot of times there is much good will to be achieved to being proactive. for instance if the person is directly above you you can with little effor a a few buck help then train the dog to be quite.

by using a Manners Minder Remote Reward Training System

when you leave you can have the person in the apartment above reward the dog for being quite with a push of a button by giving them the remote.

Callahan

[Edit: I'm repeating some of what Barney'spal and Mikey have said/linked to, but I was busy typing.]

According to Callahan's trainer (whom we keep in good contact with as friends but no longer require her service), separation anxiety and separation distress need to be identified first. Separation anxiety is a more severe phobia that requires different training from separation distress which is more of a learned habit in dogs rather than a medical condition. Because Callahan suffered from separation distress, I can only speak for techniques that worked for us, and remember that he was a neglected and abandoned adult when we started, not a puppy like Maezie. The only thing about separation anxiety (the phobia) that I know is that the dog cannot be left alone. It would be equivalent to locking a claustrophobic person in a closet and saying, "Get over it."

Because Maezie is a pup, you have the upper hand to condition here to connect positive feelings with being left alone. Once the other puppy leaves, I would immediately start alone time training. Even though you will be around a lot, I think it's important to condition Maezie to not expect your constant companionship and to be okay with that. Here are some tips:

-Desensitize departure ques. Sit down and make a list of all the things you do when leaving the house. Do you pick up keys, wallet/purse, coat, bag, put shoes on, etc? Once you have this list, start doing these ques at random times not necessarily in order. Get up and put on your shoes, then work around the house or at the computer, etc. A couple minutes later take off the shoes. Ten minutes later put on your coat, take it off. Get up and open the front door and close it. Get up and play with the door lock/handle, etc. Do this throughout the day during your normal routine to teach Maezie that you're very crazy and those things mean nothing.

-Make sure she has plenty of exercise just before leaving her so she wants to rest, and supply her with nice toys that will keep her attention.

-Start alone-time training, slowly at first. Don't make any fuss about leaving. Ignore her for five minutes before leaving her and after returning (or longer until she calms down). Don't make eye contact and don't say anything. If you feel bad about leaving, give her love and tell her you'll miss her ten minutes before you actually leave. Start by keeping her in her confined area (crate or fenced area?) and go into another room for ten seconds. Come back in to where she sees you and ignore her while doing something. Once she calms down, give her love. Later, bump it up to 15 seconds being gone. Do this up to a minute. Place her enclosure to where she can watch you leave the house. Start exiting the house. Before doing so, walk over and give her a small piece of a special treat you will only use when you are leaving her alone (a small kibble of some sort will work best for this with her size and for how much you will be giving her). Don't make eye contact or say anything, and just drop the treat in front of her. Leave the house, shutting the door behind you, and stand outside for ten seconds or less if she vocalizes before reentering. Follow the above up to a minute. Then start bumping the alone time up by 10-15 seconds each time. Once you get up to standing outside or sitting on the porch for 5 minutes, start bumping alone time up by 1 minute. After being gone ten minutes, bump it up by 5 minutes; after 20 minutes, bump it up by ten minutes. It's quite painstaking, but you get plenty of reading done on the porch or in the car. What I've described above is only a rough baseline because Maezie's reaction will modify your routine. Maybe she can handle only slower progress or maybe faster. Also, I wouldn't do these exercise one after the other, and no more than five or six times a day. The purpose is to let her slowly get used to you being absent and connect it with a special treat and time for her to relax. You never want to reenter the house if she is barking or whimpering because doing so just a handful of times will reinforce a habit of vocal complaining as something positive that brings mommy home. You don't want that at all. You want to enter the house when she's nice and quiet, reinforcing calm, quiet behavior as something that brings mommy home. If she starts barking or loudly whimpering when you are out, weight until she breaks for at least 20 seconds before reentering. It's some of the worst feelings I've had listening to Callahan anxiously bark for twenty minutes straight before he stopped long enough for me to reenter after 20 seconds, but it paid off. I found that a baby monitor was a perfect tool to ensure that I never entered when Callahan was vocalizing. Video recording Maezie might also be helpful to see how she is reacting to you.

Again, this is my experience with Callahan who suffered from separation distress and not anxiety, and it was originally planned out by our trainer and then adjusted by me as I got input from Callahan during our months of training. Believe it or not, I started leaving the house for only three seconds before he would bark. Slowly we bumped it up, then he would relapse sometime days and we'd have to go back down. This went on for about three and a half months every day. Mind you, Callahan was 4 years old at the time and had been abandoned many times, so his habits were deeply rooted. I expect Maezie will react positively much quicker because you are conditioning her as a puppy.

To this day, I always leave Callahan alone at least once a day--even if I don't want or need to leave the house. I'll leave him and go have coffee at a cafe for half an hour before coming home. I'll leave him to go read outside for a bit, etc. I don't know if I need to do this anymore, but the point is that my leaving every day is normal and should not bring about any anxiety. He's not an angel with barking and is still vocal some days, but, in most cases, he barks while I'm gone because he hears one of my four neighbors leaving or returning, the mailman, another dog outside, the upstairs dog who never stops barking, etc. But they are short-lived barks that don't sound anxious like his incessant barking of our early days. I hope that very long post helps to some degree. I have more tips if you're interested, just let me know.

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jaylii9

Separation anxiety is not a basset trait, it's a problem that can develop in all dogs.

I was against crate training when we first got Libby, but our trainer convinced me that she would feel safest in her crate and it would help us get the upper hand on house training her. I found the ASPCA crate training in one weekend guide very helpful. We spaced it out over more than a weekend, but the steps are the same: ASPCA - Virtual Pet Behaviorist - Weekend Crate Training

It has also been said by other posters, but don't make a big deal out of your coming and goings. I would also develop a routine with Maezie as soon as possible. Also, make sure she is getting lots of exercise and interaction with you when you are home.

We also always made going into the crate positive for Libby. She had bedding, a couple toys and water in her crate. It might also be good for you to give Maezie something stimulating to do when you leave. We would make Libby a kong those first few months. You can fill kongs with lots of stuff (look online), but we usually used some wet and dry dog food to stuff it. Seal the ends of the kong with peanut butter. As she gets smarter with the kong you can also prepare one and freeze it ahead of time to make it more challenging for her.

This is roughly what our routine was with Libby the first few months we had her. We first did all the steps of the crate training I linked above.

Leaving:
-Walk with her to crate.
-Tell her "bed"
-She would go into her bed and we would praise her and give her the kong.
-Close crate and say bye in a calm, normal way
-Turn on radio in room (classical station or npr)
-Leave

Coming home:

-Go straight to her crate.
-If she was overly excited we would stand there and ignore her until she calmed down (advice from our trainer).
-Once calm we would say hi quickly, get her out of the crate and immediately take her outside to pee.
-We taught her the command "potty". She is very smart so this comes in handy! She doesn't like going out to pee in the rain, but we are firm in our requests (this is important with a stubborn, smart basset!)


Another good piece of advice that our trainer gave us is to practice her being alone when we are in the house. We did this the first few months for short periods of time, just to reinforce to her that we will always come back, she is safe etc etc We would just follow the coming and going routine. Leave her in her crate for 5-30 minutes while we were doing things in other rooms of the house.

Good luck! She shouldn't have a problem with separation anxiety if you work with her as a puppy. I also think that it's never too late. Our Libby is a rescue and came to us at age 3. We did not know her background at all and she had horrible separation anxiety. Lots of hard work, but it has paid off!

One final thought! Invest in dog training! We took an eight week class with Libby and learned SO much! It was also great to have the support of the trainer as we all adjusted to one another.

bubbad

If you are not in favor of a crate think again it is your best bet for curbing barking because they usually fall asleep in them once use to being in one.

Mary1957

As soon as my daughters pup goes on Christmas..yes I'll be crate training. Worked for my Boxer's.. Now they are just taking naps in a large box...and of course at bedtime.

Cassidy

Lots of good advice here already, but we also leave the radio playing NPR for Fergus to help calm him. I read somewhere that it helps because they feel like someone is still there. Either way, it makes me feel better and I'm making my dog smarter... hahaha

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Mom to Fergus aka Ferg-a-licious- a spunky, eats-everything boy.

Mary1957

Lots of good advice! Thanks so much. I'm just worrying myself to death. Once Maddie goes to my daughters Xmas Eve...I'll start Maezie in the crate. For now I am sorta working on...going out to potty every 30 mins. or so...play time...nap time...in that order. Just experimenting for now...to see what helps. Sometimes I wonder if it's how the owner is with a new pup...is how things may turn out as they get older. Could be wrong though. I've only had experience with Boxers...and 1 Schnauzer in the past. I imagine I have alot to learn. I want her to learn that I'm the boss...I think that makes for a better dog.

dreamons

She may let you think your the boss but we all know what being owned by a Basset really is.

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Maggie Mae- Basset
Daisy Wiggles- Basset
Yogi Titus- Puggle (He thinks he's a Basset)