What do I do about my dog?

[TTB Yeee]

Our dog is the same way. If we put him in his crate he lays down and goes to sleep. If we leave him out while we go outside, he loses his mind. He also seems to know when we're leaving because he heads over to his crate, lays down, and waits for me to shut the door and give him his treat.

My dog stands right by the door or follows me around while I have my keys in my hand. I need to start giving him a treat when he goes in his cage so his anxiety will drop before I leave....good idea! haha

 

[Roadie]

Have to agree that crates are not cruel and work amazingly well. My wife's chihuahua LOVES his crate, and will go in there on his own just to relax.

 

[Caleb]

Dog crates are your friend

 

[ericb]

You will need to give him extra love when you are home! He will be fine, You will be the wildcard in this situation. I have 3 dogs, its always hard to leave them for any period of time, maybe a sibling for him?

 

[lyric911]

Crate, but be sure to have him in it some when you are there, also. That way he doesn't associate crate with abandonment.

 

[Caleb]

He should be in there at night, and while you are gone... The first two or three weeks are the worst. Just remember not to give into his cries

 

[Effingham]

As I look at my post and some of the replies, I realize I shouldhave given y'all more information.

I've bought Gladstone a Thundershirt to keep him calm, but he doesn't really seem to need that very much. I also have two DAP infusers in the house (like those Glade plug-in things, only putting out doggie-calming pheromones),he's on daily doses of puppy Prozac, and I even bought a CD of music specially intended to calm dogs ("Music for a Dog's Ears" or something like that). I've also bought and read ever McConnell book there is, and a few others for good measure -- and I'm in awe of the Dog Whisperer.

I put him in the cage overnight because I don't trust him yet, and he has no problems with it when it's dark, but during the day he knows that the cage means "the boss is leaving for an hour at least!" (again, I don't trust him to have the run of the house when I'm gone -- he won't pee in the cage) and he goes all stiff and "please don't hit me" when I try to put him in. Should I cage him when I'm trying to work, so he'll leave me alone and stop bringing me toys to toss for him? (I don't play with him when I'm at the desk, but that doesn't keep him from trying.)

When I cage him when I'm leaving, he used to whine and howl like crazy -- I haven't heard the whining or howling lately, but the downside is he's harder to crate up when I'm leaving. When I get back and let him out, he's bonkers to see me and get out, and I try to ignore him for a bit and let him wind down so it ceases to be a big deal, but that's not going very smoothly or quickly.Every time I crate him he gets a special Kong crammed with goodies and peanut butter (the only time he gets PB, his favorite thing in the world, is when he's being crated).

I do get the "going and coming is no big deal" thing, and I really don't do anything special. I am trying to make it as matter-of-fact as I can, but if he's not in the crate and I'm just going to get the mail, I practically have to throw him away from the door or I can't get out.

We do walks once or twice a day for about half an hour or 45 minutes, depending on how much sniffing he needs to do around the ground (hey, he's part beagle).

I don't know how the hell to get him on a going-out schedule. I've tried. He wants to go when he wants to go, but MAN it pisses me off when he really gives me the "I need to go outside" vibe and all he wants to do is look around. I swear, it makes me want to throttle him with his leash when he does that -- especially if he's interrupted my work flow just for a "look-see" outside.

When the weather is good, I let him run around in the backyard and he just goes bonkers back there. He's never caught a squirrel, but I'm sure he's given a few of 'em a coronary. I had some plumbing done recently in the back, and a big chunk of the backyard is a dirt pit, which is fine when it's dry, but it becomes a mud pit when it rains, and he likes to dig. Not a good combo. I've put in a sandbox for him where I bury toys to try to redirect his digging -- it's working more or less, but I've had to "no-dig" spray a few places he really likes to dig around the foundation of the house.

Gladstone doing his "Tony Montana" impersonation in the sandbox:

There is no WAY I am going to add another dog. Part of the problem I have is that I can't leave for regular weekend trips and so on as I really want, and two dogs would DOUBLE my problem there. It would also double the general headaches of dealing with walking and so on, and I'm really not down with that.

I know eventually I'll be able to wear him down to where I can disappear for three or four hours and he'll be fine in the house, but the real issue I have is the long term one, of losing my own freedom to just take off for a while. Beyond that, of course, right now I'm having a devil of a time getting any work done. Usually I can go through about ten or so pages of translation in an afternoon, and I've been lucky lately to get five or six done in TWO DAYS. This is not good for my income (and I've already lost a major client due to missing a deadline thanks to poochie, and that's an $8,000 hit this year).

For the record, I adore my behaviorist. She even gives talks at vet conferences in different places in the country. I'm trying to do what she says, but she does say I'm a softie, and Gladstone, being so bright, is a tough haul.

Frankly, I don't know if I'm up to it.

He's a sweetie, and I don't know if I'm being fair to him considering what I want out of the relationship (more independence). I guess I kind of thought he'd be more like a room mate than a kid...

I really appreciate the feedback, folks. Thanks!

 

[Double T]

Do you take him out on a leash? Or do you have a tie out? Our dogs used to want to go out all the time when we leashed them to pee/poo. We now have a 20ft tie out for each of them (puggle and a golden)

When its nice out, they chill on the back patio for an hour or so in the shade on their tie outs. I should also tell you to avoid the plastic covered cable tie out. We almost lost our goldens foot to one...it locked up on her foot like a snare. Bolt cutters were a good thing to have handy.

I wish you the best of luck and don't give up!

 

[patience0830]

problem I have is that I can't leave for regular weekend trips and so on as I really want, and two dogs would DOUBLE my problem there. It would also double the general headaches of dealing with walking and so on, and I'm really not down with that.

I know eventually I'll be able to wear him down to where I can disappear for three or four hours and he'll be fine in the house, but the real issue I have is the long term one, of losing my own freedom to just take off for a while. Beyond that, of course, right now I'm having a devil of a time getting any work done. Usually I can go through about ten or so pages of translation in an afternoon, and I've been lucky lately to get five or six done in TWO DAYS. This is not good for my income (and I've already lost a major client due to missing a deadline thanks to poochie, and that's an $8,000 hit this year).


If my dog cost me $8000 I'd eat the dog. Screw the crate.

For the record, I adore my behaviorist. She even gives talks at vet
conferences in different places in the country. I'm trying to do what she says,
but she does say I'm a softie, and Gladstone, being so bright, is a tough haul.






Frankly, I don't know if I'm up to it.

Make up your mind and quit trying to weenie out of it by askin us. Either you man up and do right by the dog and yourself or take the needy little roommate to the pound. Maybe somebody else will have the time and inclination to take over where you gave up. You know by now what is needed, sounds like. Make a decision. By putting the decision off YOU are hurting yourself AND the dog.
The dog is just being a dog. You're doing the whiny human tricks so stop blaming Barkey.

Sorry to be so plainspoken but sometimes its necessary.

He's a sweetie, and I don't know if I'm being fair to him considering what I

want out of the relationship (more independence). I guess I kind of thought
he'd
be more like a room mate than a kid...

I really appreciate the feedback, folks. Thanks!

[/QUOTE]

 

[abnk]

You seem to be anxious about leaving him, that's fine, but when he sees you upset, that upsets him. You see him getting nervous, which worries you, making him more nervous, and so on. You need to remain calm. Take short trips, to the car, mailbox, ect. Treat them no differently than going into another room. Soon he will realize that it's no big deal.

Stick him in a crate when you are leaving. You gotta train him to sleep in it so he feels secure there before hand obviously.

I agree with both of these. It's just a dog. It does not have your reasoning abilities. Just toss it in the crate before you give yourself ulcers.

 

[Mosinguy]

Keep him in the crate more often. Don't give him constant attention. It'll be rough to start out but he'll get used to being able to bend you if you don't show him tough love. You're dominate, not him.

 

[Benny]

Dang, this is hands-down the neediest dog I've ever heard of.

I agree with others that you should lock him in a kennel until he gets over this. Is he neutered (sorry if you already said)?

I'm too much of a softy. And that's part of the problem

You already answered a big part of your question though.

Keep with it and don't get rid of him, please. He sounds like a keeper except for this one problem.

 

[Oliver]

My family used to have the same problem with a 120lb German Shepherd. My old dog would freak out so bad it would literally go up to walls and eat holes in them.....seriously. We had to put him on "puppy-prozac". It worked ok, but what helped best was disregarding the medicine, and simply running the hell outa him before we left. I mean, seriously running for long periods of time. It only took about a month or so before he caught on that when he started to freak out, he got wore out. Either way, good luck and keep the pup!

 

[Goober135]

When my dog was a pup, we would crate her when we left. We trained her to go into her cage when we said "kennel in". After she got older and could be trusted to be left alone, we would tell her to "kennel in" when we left, but wouldn't lock the crate so she could go out if she wanted to. It worked wonders!

Good luck!

 

[1911 DeadHead]

It sounds like you are too emotional. The dog can read that. Maybe you're not ready to commit to pup. The dog at 9 months needs obedience training so you don't have to "throw him away from the door".

You are letting the dog win, and when he wins, he really loses. Everything he does from now on should be YOUR IDEA. When he accomplishes your ideas praise like hell. If he continues to freak out just when you step out, just ignore him for 10-15 minutes. If he ever does good and is quiet, praise VERY much.

I can comment on the doggie meds. Just seems dumb to me. Dogs reflect their owners. An anxious over emotional owner will never be a good pack leader.

 

[Caleb]

When my dog was a pup, we would crate her when we left. We trained her to go into her cage when we said "kennel in". After she got older and could be trusted to be left alone, we would tell her to "kennel in" when we left, but wouldn't lock the crate so she could go out if she wanted to. It worked wonders!

Good luck!

We said "sadie, in your place"

she's a good dog!

 

[sepe]

I agree with the crowd telling you to just put him in the crate and try not being such a softie. The dog will be fine and will get use to it. I'd also say that I think prozac for dogs is stupid. There are several vets in my area that push it and it annoys me every time one of my friends tells me about having a pet on mood altering medications. You said he is 8 months, yeah...he'll be a pain in the butt at times but you should be able to train yourself and him so you can get past the anxiety.

 

[gungirl65]

Since you don't want to get another dog, is there anyone you know who has a dog that you can arrange doggie play dates with? When we first got our Fox Terrier she wanted our constant attention. Once we got her a playmate she was fine. She played with her new sister and didn't require as much attention from us.

Maybe if he had play dates with other dogs that would help wear him out.

 

[Caleb]

The dog is still a pup...I do not think he needs meds

 

[sepe]

The dog is still a pup...I do not think he needs meds

A pup that has some beagle in him. A friend had one that was a pain in the butt for a couple years. He was a really good dog but I don't think they realized how high energy/drive he'd be. Smart dog with a lot of energy, it was kind of hard to keep his attention for training while he was a pup but once he figured out what he was suppose to be doing...everyone was happy.