Separation anxiety or frustration?

[Melanie]

Me again. Without going into the whole saga too much, Axel as almost 8 and we've had him nearly 4 years. Up until we moved a year and a half ago, we had only the occasional issues with leaving him. Since moving he has been up and down being left. We keep thinking we've cracked it and then something else happens. We've had him confined to hallway (silent at first, then got worse and started breaking out, then crate, went mental, then freedom of living room, but he started climbing on the window and barking, risking injury and damage. So now we're back to trying hallway again. We had to leave him today and so we set up 2 gates and an airer to try and stop him jumping it. Before we even left the house he was barking upstairs, he's normally at least quiet as we leave (though never relaxed).

This is a small snippet. He was like this on and off for the whole time. Can anyone tell me if he looks more anxious like with separation anxiety or simply frustrated at being behind the gate? Don't watch if you're easily upset.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6pD1XEpvQQ&feature=youtu.be


I'm losing all hope in ever having him happy being left. I think he'd be happier with a second dog for company, but that isn't an option for us sadly. I don't know what else to do - advice or success stories very welcome! We've had almost a year and a half of this, in varying degrees and I just want to help him. He's left 2 days a week while I work (someone comes to let him out) and a few hours here and there the rest of the week.

[LindsayA]

Watched a little bit of the video, I can't say whether its frustration or anxiety, particularly as I don't know what he sounds like normally if he gets frustrated. We are currently on a program for our dog with separation anxiety though, and when he is left alone in the house, he barks and then does a long groany howl at the end. He also wees in the house and is destructive, but only targets doorways (chews doorframes, scratches up the walls by the doors). If the dog is just destructive generally, it is normally due to boredom. Also, we try not to change things when we go out; he has the run of the downstairs where he spends most of his time with us, and is given kongs to play with, tv left on and lights left on, though recently on the 3 days a week when both me and my bf work we have started taking him to dog daycare, so he is never by himself while we are working on his desensitisation program. We are hoping it won't be a necessity forever, but he seems to love it at the moment; he comes home exhausted and doesn't look back when I drop him off in the morning.

Hopefully someone else can advise on the video

[julies]

Can't see the video sorry but have a look at Lindsay's thread and see if you can use some of the advice .. I have to admit my first greyhound couldn't cope alone and I had to get her a friend but appreciate that's not always possible .. the other thing you could do is offer to foster? When people foster our Perry Barr greys we pay for the food and all other bills - we just need people to look after our more challenging hounds and that might be an oldie or other who has been returned not just one who has problem behvaiour ... there are many greys who don't do well in kennels and fosters are brilliant. Gap are always asking for fosterers and it'd help everyone

Good luck

Julie xx

[alexandsteve]

Don't have much advice, Baxter my Bridge Whippet had SA not severe but it was there, he most certainly wouldn't have coped without Cerys our Lurcher being there for him. Would a companion be posable?
I hope you can get him to settle I'm sure you've done all the usual things, DAP, tele/radio on/kong/exercise before left/safe place/ignoring/NILF.
Xxx

[Melanie]

Thanks for the advice

We had a brainwave....we used the airer folded up and we lean it against closed curtains. The other end of the room is light as you can see straight out into the garden. So the room is a little darker, but not dark. I think the combination of that and letting out again (maybe he appreciates it again) he's been better. He has been barking a little bit on and off, but nothing like above! So it's hopeful that he is on the mend. Yesterdays video looked like he was silent all day snoozing on the couch! (I skip through the video when I get home).
So fingers crossed he's getting better and life can relax

[greybeard]

Perhaps you've hit on the right solution Mel.We never had to pin the curtains down but if we didn't close them when we were out,Kizzie would sit in "her" chair and bark at whatever came in her "no fly zone".Curtains closed,Classic FM and free run of downstairs(she didn't do stairs in our house)solved the problem.Her half sister Tillie was also happy with this - and I think Perry just accepted it as normal.But now Perry is a lot more vocal -especially since Kiz went to the bridge.Anything to do with car and he thinks he's going to meet houndies.To be honest he's not used to being an only hound - but at the moment adopting another is not practical.Cath