Greyhound; extreme seperation anxiety?

Question

basic story is we have 2 dogs, give them moderately high amounts of attention during the day. Only problem is if we go into a different room, the male suspects we're leaving the premises and starts to go insane. there are boundaries in our house where they can't enter for guests and expensive furniture and I can't sleep in the same room without remodeling the whole interior. any methods or tips would be appretiated

Answer 1

Sep Anx. Dogs do well if you kennel them. SOMETIMES. I have a Basset/Lab mix that has a severe problem and the ONLY way we fixed it was to get her used to a crate, and crate her when we cant be near her. She was so bad as to jump through windows, and when she was abused as a puppy she chewed off some of her back and front toes. We even had to medicate her with anti-depressants for some time to help her get over it. Shes 8 now and shes declining due to Bone Cancer, but even now she will still tear up anything she gets her teeth on if we get out of her sight for a long period of time. Once it was a wall, once a solid oak door, once a 2 X 4 stud behind the wall. Broken teeth, broken nails, lacerations, severed tendons. She was a crazy. The Kennel was  our savior for her.

Answer 2

Did you rescue him?  If so, contact the agency you rescued him from.  Retired racing greys are prone to separation anxiety, as they're used to being around people and dogs at the racing facility most of their lives.

My only other advice, is start gradually working with his separation anxiety with the help of a large and comfortable crate.  And do so very very slowly and gradually.

Start by selecting a location for the crate.  If possible have it in a room that you use, but not a high traffic busy area like the kitchen.  A quiet sitting room or not out of the way bedroom will work.  Put him in the crate.  Shut the door, stare at the walls for a while, ignore the dog.  Let him out.  You're done!

the trick is to not make going in the crate, or out of the crate a big deal.  If you start praising and giving attention when you let him out of the crate, all he's going to think about is how excited he is to get out, and it's just going to heighten his separation anxiety!  Basically treat opening and closing the crate as if there was no dog in it at all.  

Then just gradually work up your time.  Step out of the room for two seconds, walk back.  Try not to let the dog out after he whines etc... try to time releasing him when he's calm if possible.

Make sure the crate is comfortable etc (padded with blankets or a dog-bed).  A lot of dogs tend to like the kind that is wire mesh on all sides, for visibility.  The plastic-sided ones will also work.  

Eventually you won't have to leave him in the crate very much.  But him learning that when you leave, you DO come back, and it's "very boring and unexciting" (leading from the example of your calm behavior), should really help his separation anxiety.

Answer 3

hi,

The term gets tossed around casually, but separation anxiety is a very serious matter. True separation anxiety is your dog's panicked response to being left alone. The results--including the destruction of your belongings and the deterioration of your dog's mental and physical health--can be devastating.

here's more info:

http://dogtime.com/separation-anxiety.ht...

hope this helps.

Answer 4

call the owls, I haven't had any problems with my greyhound.