So, my roommate has been back in the country for about three weeks now and he just informed me today that every time I leave the room (even if its for 30 seconds) Joey starts whining. He said he'll continue for up to five minutes or so. He also said Joey will stand at the top of the couch looking for me or pace around nervously.
I just ordered "I'll be home soon" to get some ideas, but I thought I'd ask my favorite dog people too. Does this sound like separation anxiety? If so, its pretty mild right? Should I be concerned that it will get worse? Any suggestions or analysis you have would be awesome. Thanks a lot!
It sounds like very mild separation anxiety. Since he only whines up to 5 minutes and then realizes you aren't coming back he accepts it. Most dogs with separation anxiety will pace and whine for hours and even get destructive. In that book, there was an incident where a dog actually leaped out of the window to follow her owner. Another sign of separation anxiety is if you notice that he starts damaging the bottom of your doors or your windows. A sign that he is trying to get out and follow you.
To me, it doesn't sound that bad, but you can never be too cautious. That book is really good and she gives a lot of useful tips and tricks to get your dog to get used to you leaving without it seeming like it's the end of the world. You will learn a lot from it, I would probably just start conditioning him with you leaving. You should keep an eye to see what it is that you do that makes him get anxious. If its when you put on your belt, or your coat, or jangle your keys. And then start doing that thing that sets him off on a regular basis, even if you don't leave, just to get him used to it.
Sounds like mild separation anxiety to me too - but I would not get to freaked out yet. Five months is the PERFECT time for fear to start showing up, puppies will go through fear stages right before or as they are entering a growth spurt. I bet he will grow a little in the next week or so. Might be close to his last one - Shibas reach there full size super fast.
I think I got kind of lucky with that, Kuma accepted us leaving pretty fast. He used to whine and cry, but he got over it with a toy overload to keep him busy. Still, to the day, we never leave the house without diverting his attention form the fact. I think that making him sleep out side the bedroom for the first months actually helped (although it was very hard at start). With Kuma what really worked very well was his Kong stuffed with some peanut butter. That would even keep him distracted enough for us to come back in if we forgot something at home, and he wouldn't even care.
Brad is right. Dogs, like babies, go through different phases as they get older. One of them that always happens is a bit of seperation anxiety.
I know a guy whose Akita once jumped out of a second floor window, and then walked around Boulder, CO until she found him outside at a coffee shop. Then she just sat down next to him.
tsuki went through this phase around 4-6 months old and it only really lasted a little while. I don't think you have to worry about separation anxiety - its much more involved, not so much whining as barking - continuous barking - and destructive behavior and eliminating in the house. We could tell distinctively the difference between tsuki's phase and our foster basset's anxiety. Tsuki was Linus, the basset's quick cure, when we put their crates together, it would stop him from getting really really anxious.
Although that could happen to any breed at any age, so maybe since he's displaying this sort of behavior, just keep an eye out for it getting any worse!
It seems really common in breeds that are known to be loyal. Sounds like a really, really mild case. Mika would tear up the drywall, door molding, insulation and the speaker wires next to the door. She would also bark and howl for the entire time we were gone.....which is the reason we couldn't leave her at home when we went to visit you.
I thought she had outgrown it when we got Keigo, but it was really just a band aid.
Thanks for the reassurance guys (and thanks Romi for the book suggestion)! I'm not all that concerned about it yet, but I don't want it to develop into something that will become a lot more difficult to deal with. I appreciate the input! :-)
Oh yeah! I will admit it... we leave the tv on to Animal Planet or some such silliness sometimes for Josephine. That seems to help, and it also seems like she is lot less prone to anxiety if we keep her engaged socially (i.e. playing with other dogs) before we have to leave her alone at home. Not sure if the dog interaction wears her down so she then rests/sleeps while we are out? Good news though --- there are two new pups in the neighborhood with tons of energy, so either one or the other or both is up to a 30 minute romp practically at the drop of a pin. So we can usually count on her being pretty calm these days (and maybe that's one of those signs of maturity!) as long as we plan and make one of those encounters happen before we leave for a few hours ...
sorry for bumping this old thing but i have a similar situation...
I'm just wondering what a dog WITHOUT seperation anxiety will do when you put him in his crate and you get ready to leave the house? Versus a dog with a mild to major case of seperation anxiety?
Kuma will whine and paw his crate door, but it lasts all of a minute or two. I do notice some of the bars of his crate are bending, is that seperation anxiety or just being bored too long?
