New Dog "Harley"

You might try giving him an activity/job to help tire him out and keep him focused on positive behaviors. Do you have a Kong? Those are great. Fill it up with cream cheese and stick other little treats along with it, such as pieces of dog food and parts of dog treats. It will keep him busy for a long time.

Hi M.,
Having adopted three adult dogs over the years myself, I have a few ideas that might help. First, generally separation anxiety tends to last for only a few minutes after you leave. There are several toys on the market that you can stuff with dog treats, etc., that keep dogs busy during that time. Kongs are great if you stuff them w/ something sticky, but it's easy for dogs to get treats out of them. A Kong is still a good thing for chewing, but buy one of the other treat toys that take longer for the dog to finish as well. Only give him this toy when you leave. The routine with a special toy can help. Second, and this is a tough one to do but really helps, ignore your dog for about 15 minutes before leaving him and for 15 minutes after returning home. When you create Harley's comfortable spot, do so without any fanfare, petting, or conversation with him. I know it feels awful, but Harley will do better once he learns that your leaving and returning are not related to him. He wasn't bad so you left and then good so you returned. A monotone "Be a good dog" when you leave and "Hi Harley" when you return is as much as you should give him if you aren't able to ignore him completely. I had to do this with my first dog, and it just about killed me, but it really helped my dog. Once your dog is more used to you coming and going, you can gradually reduce the time you spend ignoring him. However, you never want to get all huggy and kissy before you leave the house or overly excited when you return. Third, some dogs are actually more comfortable in smaller spaces. Has your dog been crate trained? You might want to look into that (just google it). Having a safe feeling smaller spot available to him in his larger space might help. Fourth, some people actually put their dogs on antidepressants like Prozac, though I've never done that. Finally, rescue dogs tend to have separation anxiety, and sometimes it never completely disappears no matter what you do. It helps me to remember that the dog is not upset the whole time you are gone. The first several minutes are what's bad. Last thought -- any chance of having a dog walker come midday? I hope some of this helps.

Hi M.,

I just wanted to second Karen G.'s advice. I worked with dog trainers for several years and she is spot on in her advice. Ignore your dog for 15 minutes before you leave and once you come home. This method is called the serene homecoming and helps the dog's stress and anxiety levels to stay low as you exit and come home. Additionally, everyone in the family must practice the serene homecoming for it to work properly.

Many people have also suggested Kongs and they are great, but I also wanted to suggest a few other busy toys that you can hide around the room for Harley to discover once he's finished his Kong. A few other great toys are the Busy Buddy, monster mouth, Buster Cube (only use on carpeted surfaces) and the Tricky Treat Ball. The Tricky Treat and Buster Cube are great because you can actually put Harley's daily food allowance in them and he can gradually "forage" for his food. In the wild, 90% of a dog's day is foraging for food and when we feed our domesticated dogs in bowls, we've dropped their day down to 90 seconds (at least my dog!). You can set all of these treat dispenser toys up the night before and have them ready to hide in the morning when you leave. Give him one toy and hide the rest for him to discover.....that way your furniture, shoes, etc. won't bear the brunt of his anxiety. If Harley's separation anxiety is really bad, you can also purchase pheromone sprays to help him calm down.

Finally, involve the family with training Harley. This is a great way to develop a wonderful bond with him and a great way to show him you love him when you are with him. Most positive reinforcement training programs these days focus on building a positive relationship with your dog through consistent, kind leadership.

Oh yes, one more thing to note is that dogs in shelter environments have extremely high levels of stress hormone (cortisol) in their systems. It can take up to three weeks for those stress hormones to come down before you can actually start making much progress with his separation anxiety at home. Remember to stay patient with him while he adjusts to his new home and kudos to you for adopting a dog.

-H.

M. - You've received some really good ideas, however being the fairly new "mom" of a 9 yr old Husky we rescued in September, let me add a few bits. Our Kula suffers from separation anxiety, a fact we knew when we adopted him, as a result of 3 years he spent left alone and ignored in the backyard of his former owners house. While he certainly has improved during the last 7 months, he does not do well if left more than 3-4 hours at a time. Harley's past will affect the way he adjusts, or not. If you're only talking about 2-3 days per week, you might consider doggie day care...who knew. My husband and I were away for 3 days on business, so boarded our Kula with Pet Villa on Laurelwood in Santa Clara. It is owned and operated by a family who has operated kennels in San Jose for over 30 years. We took a tour of the place in January before we scheduled and it was clean and organized, dogs were supervised, cats hat their own separate space and the staff was attention and clearly loved animals. We found out then, that they also offer day care services and there are quite a few dogs in that program. Check them out on their website wwwapetvilla.com. We steered clear of Pet Hotel because they do not allow tours and I've heard of problems with Pet Smart grooming services.
Harley's anxiety may be temporary until he adjusts, but may also be a result of neglect in his former home, which is a whole different matter. It takes dogs 3-4 months to actually settle in to a new home and family. Our boy now behaves like he's been here his whole life, though absolutely hates being left alone, he tends not to be destructive. But why make them suffer if you can avoid it. Our boy is with one of us 95% of the time. We're fortunate that my husband can take him to work most of the time.
The Kong toy idea stuffed with peanut butter and small dog biscuits is a great one. That will keep him occupied for at least an hour.
Good luck with Harley. And kudo's to you for rescuing a dog!

I agree 100% with Karin G. I have a few things to add to her wonderful ides and insight.
As far as a Kong goes, freeze it when it's full. I use to stuff mine (well, my labs) with cream cheese or peanut butter, stick dog treats in there, chunks of chicken, our dinner, etc. Shove them in really tight with a spoon. Then freeze it. Since it takes so much work to get the stuff out it exhausts them.
Another idea is to take the dog for a walk before you leave for the day. I've read that a dog is a pack animal (which I'm sure you know) and that the only time the pack leader leaves them behind is because they are too tired to follow. So, if Harley is tired he will see a reason for you leaving.
Best of luck,
C.
PS. Congratulations on the new addition to your family!

When we go, we leave the radio or TV on for our dogs. Another thought is a companion dog. When my little dog was young, I would leave a ticking clock by her for company.

M. -
Harley is probably already feeling insecure by being abandoned by his previous owners. A dog cannot tell time, so a 7 hour day without you to him, is probably years. He needs companionship and being inside a garage alone must be hard on him. You didn't mention if you had a fenced yard, so I'm guessing that you don't.
You've only had him for one week, so you will have to get him used to the family's routine.
The Dog Whisperer Cesar Milan is very good, and I recommend his book - Cesar's Way". Check out page 241. He is very big on walks. He has other books out also.

My kept my dog on the patio until she got to big and then we put her in the garage and she hated it soo much that she just trained herself to not potty in the house. She does not go potty all day and we set up a bed for her but she just stays by the window all day and waits for us to come home. She does not chew or anything but we gave her some toys to play with that she can't choke on but she doesn't want to play with them until we get home. See if you can house train her and find a spot and put a gate up or something. They need the light and they need to see something.

M.,
Congratulations on your decision to rescue a wonderful dog for your family! Consider that the backyard (if secure and escape-proof) may be the better place for Harley. Whenever you leave him, be very, very consisent in what words you use - at our house we use 'take care of the house' - whenever we leave. Our pets know that we will be leaving and also have come to learn that we will be back. Try leaving Harley for short periods of time, say an hour, being sure to say whatever your specific words are, then come back and start a specific routine for letting him out of the garage/yard - again pick specific words or actions (petting) or a treat each time you come home to have a consistent routine when you get home. The next time leave Harley for 1 1/2 hours, same words and routine when you leave, and same words and routine when you come home. The routine and consistency is critical. I've been doing this with my various pets for the last 20 years and it generally works out quite well. On the other hand, we once got a dog that was terrified of being confined in spaces with wooden fences or wood of any kind - he absolutely had to have a significant amount of wire to look out of. It cost me hundreds of dollars to fix damaged wooden fences at two different houses and I even had to fix part of a garage once when we had no choice but to leave him and our other dog in a garage overnight. Nice dog otherwise and wire fences helped keep him safe and saved my pocketbook.
Good luck and, again, congratulation! - J.

Hi M.!

Congratulations on the addition to your family! The laughter has just begun :O)

I know how sad it is to hear those "cries", but they really don't last forever (well, they mostly taper off). He just loves you and hates to see you leave him.

We didn't do anything special except for say "we'll be right back", and then gave our dog lots of love. I tried to come home and check on really long days, but that wasn't very often.

To this day, our dog is 4 now. When I say "we'll be right", he knows we are leaving, and he gives a little whine, but goes to the backyard anyway :O) It's when we come home that you think he's lost his mind! He starts crying so whole neighborhood can hear as I'm pulling in the driveway.

Your furry friend is establishing his home "routine". This is his new life. Just do the best you can for him and he'll adjust to your family soon.

Have fun!

~N. :O)

Hi M., I know you have only had your dog for a week, but have you thought about getting another dog? I know when animals are alone, they feel better if they had a friend. It could be too, that this is a new situation for this dog and he may just needs the reassurance that he won't be left behind again. Have you tried to leave him out for a little bit while you are home? There is doggie day care too, that I heard can be fun for a dog. Good luck, and that was so nice of you to rescue a dog from a shelter. My animals are all rescues and they are great.

hi, congrats and bless your heart for saving a dog! You may not want to hear this, but maybe he needs a canine friend to keep him company and exercise him while you are gone-consider another!!???Just make sure you have some individual training time set aside for both even just a few minutes at a time sometimes...
I like having 2,just no more than that-i have always had a dog pack b4 and that is hard
otherwise, hopefully he will adjust when he learns the routine,but maybe he has insecurities that landed him in the pound resulting from the last owners lack of attention and just needs to learn to trust he wont be abandoned for good.
Be patient, and maybe he is quiet once you are gone, a nice neighbor may be able to check on him for you if possible at first...? Have fun with him, he will be great for your daughter!!

Sounds like Harley may need a companion for when he's alone. You may always want to think about doggie daycare. I know it may sound silly, but I take my dog every week/every other week for one full day. She comes home happy, completely worn out, and in the meantime stay socialized with other dogs. My vet has this service, which is really nice ... my Sofie loves the staff, she doesn't see them just for bad stuff, and if I need anything done, they can take care of it while she's there (nail trim, flea med application, shot updates, etc).

Good luck!

Hello M.,
Congratulations on your new Yorkie! We have one also and we absolutely love him. My 4 year old adores him. A crate is a really good idea, we use one for Milo at night. The first couple nights we used the crate he cried while he was in there, so I bought him a dog bed and put that in there with him and the crying stopped immediately. The crate is also a good way to housebreak them if that is an issue.

Good Luck!

Hi there

Firstly, what a lucky dog to be rehomed with such a caring forever family. He's fallen on his feet, hasn't he??!!
We had this very same problem with our dog, also a terrier, which we also adopted from a rescue center. I would say the whole experience that he has been through has been very traumatizing for a dog - the noise and chaos of the SPCA, the lack of attention and personal space all add up to one scared animal. It takes time for them to build up a sense of security, and like you say, it's only been a week.
I would say that the dog cage might be a good idea for a while, rather than shutting him in the garage. Set it up in a room where you spend the most time together, and leave the door open when you are home so that he can check it out with no threat or fear. Dogs like a feeling of security, and you may find that he goes there at quiet times of day to nap, or have time alone. This is what you want for him. If this doesn't work out for you - and it didn't with our dog - then filling a Kong (available everywhere) with some canned food and leaving it out for him may keep him amused while you are gone. Also, try not to allow him to follow you around the house. This adds to the feeling of anxiety, and although it's very flattering, he needs to give you some space. I wish I had done this more, so that our dog had gained confidence quicker. Shut the doors behind you sometimes, or put up a baby gate so that he can't be right behind you all the time. It seems harsh (and you are still in the sympathy zone!) but he needs to gain confidence by himself and not through you.
Also when you come home, don't make a big fuss of him. Let him out of the garage/dog cage, and totally ignore him for about 5 minutes. Once he is calm, you can greet him. This worked wonders for our dog, and I think it works because he isn't so wound up about our absence and return. It will work out, I am sure. It's been 3 years for us now, and although our dog still cries when we go out, it's only for a few seconds and he goes back to bed. Good luck!

Hi,

It's really great that you adopted Harley from the SPCA. You not only saved his life, but also the life of the dog who will now be in his kennel waiting for a family. First, a walk before leaving is always good. If this isn't possible, the t-shirt trick will help, but also he might do well with crate training, where you train him to stay in a crate while you are gone. It is a safe den-like space that is like his "room." It worked well for an anxious golden I had a long time ago. She would go in there during the day (when I was at school) and sleep or chew on something. Also, a chewy or one of those puzzle toys with treats inside might help. You could even set up a "hide and seek" in the garage with hidden puzzle toys. You would have to show him how to play the game first, but once he gets how to seek out hidden items, you could set it up the night before and when you need to leave in the morning say a quick bye and then send him on a "mission." My friend has a terrier and he's pretty good at finding things. Maybe at least he would have something fun to do instead of thinking about how you are gone. Just make sure he only gets that game on days when you are gone, then he may think of them as special. I hope this helps. Lots of pats to your goggy.

Speaking as an animal behaviorist and holistic care practitioner with years of experience rescuing and re-homing dogs, here's my two cents: Any newly adopted dog will go through a period of adjustment, and since you probably know little about his former life, it's hard to diagnose how quickly this behavior will change.

You can try giving him Bach's Rescue Remedy (a couple of drops directly on his tongue, or put into his water dish). This is not an immediate cure; it might take a couple of days or even a week for you to notice a difference. There are also more specific remedies (search OnlyNaturalPet.com) but Bach's is the one I keep on hand for general use.

Also, try not giving him his food in one dish. Instead, buy several small "Kong" toys, stuff the food inside (you can seal off the ends with peanut butter or cream cheese), and hide them around the garage for him to find. This will keep him busier and distract him from the fact that he's alone.

Try leaving a radio tuned to a talk-radio program, or classical at a very low volume (although I once had poodles who couldnt stand certain classical composers -- very sophisticated tastes, those French dogs)

It does not sound like his behavior warrants any more extreme measures (i.e. prescription drugs). Give another month or two to adjust, give him as much calming attention as possible when you are with him, and evaluate from there.

Good luck and thank you for adopting a shelter dog!

Hi M.,

I'm a professional dog trainer, and I have some short advice about this issue on my website at http://www.wagntrain.com/SeparationAnx.htm

In addition there's a great book called "I'll be home soon" by Patricia McConnell (I have links to buy it on the site).

Your whole house already smells of you so leaving a shirt behind wouldn't change much - unless you went through the training process that told him that the shirt was a cue that he wasn't being left for any longer than he can handle.

True separation anxiety is curable but takes quite a bit of work. Meanwhile, try more exercise (you can almost never exercise some terriers enough!), have a neighbor talk him for a mid-day walk (or hire a dog-walker), and try the Canine Comfort Zone with DAP plug-in or collar (described on the page above).

I wouldn't rely on advice from TV unless the person giving it is actually a certified dog trainer or veterinary behaviorist! These days anyone who is charismatic enough and has connections can get a TV show, even if they spout ideas that have been outdated 20 years ago... If you need help, there are very excellent certified pet dog trainers and behavior specialists in our area who would be happy to work this out with you!

I wonder if, beside being lonely, Harvey may feel uncomfortable staying in the dark garage all during daytime. He may miss views/activities but most of all sunlight which is crucial for all living things; it can drive one crazy if staying in the dark all day long...! But I know it is hard to keep him and everything safe... however, it makes an effect on him.

congrats on your new family member! believe it or not, harley would be happier and feel safer if you left him in his crate/cage while you were gone. yes, give him a comfy thing to lay on/smell etc., water also, perhaps something large to chew on (so he doesn't choke) but dogs with seperation anxiety truly, truly, feel more comforted, safe and secure in their own, personal, smaller confined space.
glad you asked!
i've worked in the animal care field my whole life so this is an informed reply -
smiles,
S.