I can’t say what it’s like or if it’s any different raising girls. What I can say is that it’s pure craziness over here. All the time. Jimmie has only added to the chaos, but in the most beautiful of ways. I obviously still miss Sarah, but I’m grateful to have a dog around again. And Jimmie feels like a good fit. Our only issue is with leaving him alone; he has horrible separation anxiety. Even when only one of us leaves, he starts pacing and panting and whining. The windowsill from the second story has scratches all over it from where Jimmie tries to look out the window for us. And when we do return, we’re always met with piss and shit to clean up. It makes leaving him really difficult.
We took him in the car a little while ago and someone called the cops, saying that there was a dog left in a car that “wanted out”. We went into the store for 10 minutes, tops. We went out to dinner and left him in the crate only to get a phone call from our neighbor saying it sounded like something was “wrong” with Jimmie based on “noises” he was making.
We’ve done our research and are feeling a bit defeated. Sounds like some dogs have it so bad that they’re willing to injure themselves to escape being alone. He looks like he is going to have a heart attack anytime we leave; every bone in his body shakes in fear. We spoke to one trainer who refused the case saying that changing a dog’s personality is “hard”. She wished us good luck.
Anyone have any advice?
Another dog? We adopted a second large dog while
Living in a 3rd floor Chicago apartment (crazy) to
Keep the first dog company. Although we didn’t have such severe separation issues.
Our Nieghboor had a dog who cried and peed all day when alone. It was terrible to listen to- just heart breaking for everyone. She did a mix of sending the dog over to us for company and a plug in pheromone thing- I think it’s pretty easy to find. Not sure how it actually works- but this was 5-7 years ago and we don’t live in the same place but I know it did get better. So
Sorry! This is really hard.
Hey Ashley,
Our dog had/has some serious separation anxiety issues. We used a crate system. It was rough at first while he got used to it, but after a while being in a smaller space that became “his” with a few treats and a cozy blanket really helped him feel secure. I don’t know if that’s your style, but thought I’d throw that out there. It’s also helpful when traveling to take his “home” with him.
I just saw you’re already using a crate………um…….
these photos are great! my son is also wild. it takes a strong woman to raise boys, i’ve decided. they are so busy, everything is a game.
have you tried kenneling Jimmie while you are home? or leave the crate open for him to lay in as he wants. fill it with his “stuff”, make it appealing to him. also, crate him at night (that will be tough initially) to get him used to being in it. then he won’t have such anxiety about it when you are leaving him alone. the more time he spends in it he will become more comfortable and will feel like it’s his home or safe place when you are gone. takes a lot of patience, time, and energy.
We’re making progress with the crate… baby steps… Thanks for the advice 🙂
Aww, I love all your boys. And, yes, your house IS craziness. I hope Jimmie starts feeling more secure. Poor dude.
Have you heard of thundershirts, or something like that? i haven’t used one but i hear they help a lot with dog anxiety. Try practicing leaving, calmly putting the dog in the crate giving a treat, walk out as if you are leaving, and when (if) you hear him calm down come back in and calmly let him out and give another treat. Trying to get him in a calm state is key, as is not making a big deal out of leaving and returning. Also try putting something old of yours in his crate that he can smell and be comforted by. I bet if you youtube cesar milan anxiety you could find some good tips too. but yea, anxiety is hard, hope it gets better soon!
We finally got him into a crate at night… which is a huge step. Thanks for the tips, will definitely do some research.
oh, yay! I didn’t see your response until now. Glad to hear it 🙂
get another dog to keep him company 🙂
I’d like to remain sane, thank you. Ha. But really, no. I really do want to remain sane.
Rescue Remedy! Great for anyone/thing with anxiety. Just watched it work wonders on a dog who couldn’t travel in a car without thinking he was going to the vet (and thus, losing his mind). I get it at Whole Foods.
Totally looking into it, thanks.
Drugs. No but seriously our dog had wicked separation anxiety or so we thought, it turned out to be our downstairs neighbors were loud and sucked. It totally went away when we moved into a house. A second dog helped a lot too but that’s really not the answer. My aunt has had some luck with rescue remedy for dogs. As for the piss and shit let me know if you figure that one out, our dogs were alone for 9 hours most days before our kid came along without going, now they can barely make it 2 hours sometimes.
Oh you better believe we are looking into drugs. He needs something. It’s far from normal and much more of an issue than simply leaving a tV on or turning on music. Thanks for the suggestion.
There’s hope with anxious dogs. When we adopted our 9 months old put, he was a wreck. The first day we left him home alone he ate through a door and drooled a bucket. I know how it feels to get notes from neighbors. I tried everything and even thought of giving him dog Xanax, but ultimately what worked for us is a kong ball with peanut butter or a big bone stuffed in crevices with peanut butter. I only gave it to him when we leave as a special treat. Then I’d leave for 5 min, then worked it up longer. That part will be hard with two toddlers. But basically it was just to reassure the dog that we’ll come back, darn it! Also the treat is a distraction from the actual leaving the house. It was like a trigger for tantrum, y’know? Good luck!