Maybe we aren't the right home for her :-(

This is a place to gain some understanding of dog behavior and to assist people in training their dogs and dealing with common behavior problems, regardless of the method(s) used. This can cover the spectrum from non-aversive to traditional methods of dog training. There are many ways to train a dog. Please avoid aggressive responses, and counter ideas and opinions with which you don't agree with friendly and helpful advice. Please refrain from submitting posts that promote off-topic discussions. Keep in mind that you may be receiving advice from other dog owners and lovers... not professionals. If you have a major problem, always seek the advice of a trainer or behaviorist!

(Page 4 of 9: Viewing entries 31 to 40)
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Lenny

Lenny -The- Wrecking Ball

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 4:41pm PST


	I don't think you have to find a dog fostered solo. My pup was fostered with 5 other dogs (some other fosters and others the foster's own dogs) and he adjusted to being a single dog just fine for 2 years until we added our second boy. Maybe others can chime in, but I don't think you have to find one fostered by his/herself.

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Smokey

Let's play tug!!

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 4:55pm PST


	For the most part, separation anxiety doesn't go away on its own. Short, frequent absences do help though, as does not making a fuss when you come and go. I HIGHLY recommend this book. It's a super easy read, and if you download it on Kindle, you could start working with her right away. I think if you're able to understand her behavior, implement the techniques, and start to see improvement, you'll feel much better. If your lifestyle allows that for the foreseeable future, you're able to send her to daycare any time you're going to be gone for hours, have experience with rescues, and are willing to work with the separation anxiety, I truly think you're the perfect home for her. For what it's worth, I felt exactly like you- like I had bitten off entirely more than I could chew, and a bit like I was prisoner in my own home. Smokey was a ball of terror for about 3 or 4 weeks. He whined constantly, barely ate, and jolted awake every time I so much as rolled over, lest I leave him alone. He took about four weeks to play with me. One day he picked up his tug rope, wiggled it in my face, and has pretty much spent all of his waking hours since encouraging me to play keep away with his toys (he doesn't actually want them to himself- if I look up at the screen he sits and whimpers, then goes back to trying to keep his toys away from me as soon as I look down. It's hilarious.) Just now I went to run to the laundry room, and he glanced up, saw what I was doing, knew I'd be back soon, and didn't make a peep. He's definitely still a work in progress, but I don't feel hopeless or out of control most of the time now. Once you get over that initial shock of the dog not being what you expected, the rehabilitation/training process is really rewarding. There is incredible support on this forum for when it gets hard.

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Tiller- (Skansen's- Ira in the M

I DO Exist...To- Drive You Batty

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 6:52pm PST


	I don't think you have to find a solo fostered dog. I foster a lot, and a good rescue will be able to tell you solid information. What you need to do is dot all your i's and cross all your t's. What you can and cannot cope with. I am very into the match, and there's nothing in a foster situation I can't assure. SA is really hard to assess in a shelter dog, but in fostering does tend to present. Your schedule is rough because it is erratic. That's why I said you need adaptable. My Giant Schnauzer doesn't have SA, but he gets pretty offended when my schedule flips. All you really need is a good rescue and a few key points that are "musts" to present. Don't be shaken to a lack of confidence by this. It's not complicated or too large an expectation.....it's just getting hooked in with a good rescue

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Josie

1284059

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 7:37pm PST


	Thank you Tiller. Wish you were more local The reason I mentioned finding a lone foster was in case the SA doesn't surface when other dogs are around. In the 10 days we have had her she has only gone potty in the house on one day, and it was a Saturday when my schedule had changed a little and I forgot to walk her one hour after feeding her like I had been. She went potty inside 4 times that day! (Never before and not since.) Taught me a lesson!

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Shiver Me- Timbers- "Charlie"

My Little Dog, a- heartbeat at my- feet.<3

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 8:41pm PST


	In many cases, SA will still be present, regardless of other dogs being around. Dogs being around may or may not help dependent on the individual dog and the severity of the SA. I have found with true SA(not just boredom), that most dogs STILL react badly to their owners leaving, even if other dogs are present. Many of my fosters and rescues were not helped by other dogs being around - perhaps because I crate my pets separately or keep them separated when I am not home for safety sake(and many, many fosters will do the exact same thing, particularly when they're getting to know a foster). My foster dog Beau would bark and bark nonstop the entire time I was gone. Regardless of being in the same home as two other dogs. You could quite literally, hear him from the downstairs room, across the street from the house. My dog, Charlie, took a LONG time to overcome his SA, even while living in multi-dog homes(we rarely lived in a home with no other dogs). And I've known many others to be the same way. A foster should be able to tell you what issues or quirks a dog will have, that's in their care, particularly if it's been with them for more than a few weeks. Look at foster dogs whose fosters have had them longer and know them better. Definitely look at fosters though, as this will help you to weed out which dogs are a fit and which ones are not. Tiller, as always, has some great advice. If Josie is not the dog for you, be fair to yourself and her, and let her find a home that is. It doesn't mean you're not ready for a dog. It simply means you aren't able to take on a dog with issues. Make a list of what you CANNOT work with(Separation anxiety, prey drive, dog aggression, resource guarding, highly energetic requiring a lot of physical and mental stimulation, etc). Have you considered an older dog or a senior dog? A puppy or adolescent doesn't sound like they would do well with your sporadic schedule(that's NOT to say a younger dog would not work - it would just depend on the dog). Be clear about your schedule, and what you can provide for a dog too. Even ask the rescue if they have suggestions on particular dogs - good rescues will want to find the right fit just as much for you, as for the dog to ensure a forever home for their rescues. Also, please note, many fosters may have multiple dogs in the home, but that doesn't necessarily mean all their fosters are overly social dogs who want to play constantly with other dogs either. Many would be happier in homes where they can be the number one and get a majority of the attention instead.

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Kloppers

1229827

Barked: Wed Feb 6, '13 5:04am PST


	My dog Christmas was a nightmare when we adopted her. She was 9 months old when we adopted her from the local animal shelter. We had went looking for a dog for my then 2 yr old daughter for a Christmas present. She was calm and quite in her cage, we looked at and tested a lot of dogs ( not all at this shelter) she was the last dog we looked at..I am ashamed to say but I did not even see her my husband pointed her out. Well she eneded up being perfect for us, so a few days later we brought her home. Holy cow I was not prepared for what happened next. A little background, Xmas lived on the streets for a couple months with a pack of dogs, they eventually caught most of them. She spent every second she had trying to get out of the house. She bolted, dug, scratched the walls...she wanted out and right then. We crated her at night and she was so calm and quite, until we left the house and she destroyed anything and everything she could get into the crate. We had to zip tie multiple areas on each side to keep her in the crate. After 2 months of this I was feeling defeated( I am not a trainer but have taken some education classes and mentored with some local trainers). I was wishing the shelter had a trial adoption as I probably would have not adopted her, the previous Saint Rescue I worked with did this. We worked on training several hours a day, I am a SAHM, she was tethered to someone at all times. We did extensive boundary training due to the bolting and just worked her alot and did a lot of leash training. Xmas needed time to learn how to bond with us, and she took her sweet time...but now she is so amazing. She also has some SA but since I am a SAHM I never leave the house for long, and if we are going to be gone longer on occasion she goes to daycare or the pet sitter comes. Xmas is 4 now and I am amazed how such a pain in the butt turned into such an incredible dog, she no longer has to be crated and still does not like being around them. She has some small issues, like she gets scared easily and doesn't seem to get over it. She is scared of wet grass in th backyard only, and does not like the dark. If something happens, loud boom, she will hide in my room for a few days and then all goes normal again. I worked before I had kids and I was there for more than 12 hrs a day, so I know if I had adopted Xmas and been working there is no way it would of worked out. So while I agree 2 wks is not really enough, I also agree that she might not be the right dog for you. I wouldn't limit yourself to single fostered dogs, my previous foster dog lived here and we have 4 dogs, he loved it here and loved playing but now is in a single dog home with a single man and he is in heaven. My little dogs tolerate other dogs but they would be perfectly happy if it was just me and them. All my dogs would be happy in a single dog home if I provided the bigger two time with other dogs to play, they prefer the dog park because they can tell me when they are ready to go.

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MIKA&KAI

Akita Pals- Always.

Barked: Wed Feb 6, '13 5:40am PST


	I am sure even from afar Tiller will be an excellent source of advice and assistance. Knowing what you now do,you should follow your heart and your head and do what you know is best for Josie. Do not take it as a failure but as a lesson learned. You now know what you can and can not cope with and as Tiller said,simply need to make clear what that is to the rescue. Not all of us can do project dogs,there was a time in my life when it wouldn't have been a problem for me,now my circumstances have changed and I couldn't deal with it either at this point. As Charlie pointed out as well,SA does not always go away in the presence of other dogs,Mika had it and still suffered from it for over a year after Kai arrived,she gradually got better after that. to you on finding the dog that is right for you,that you can give a happy forever home.

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Josie

1284059

Barked: Wed Feb 6, '13 1:37pm PST


	I'm on the fence between returning her and trying meds. She is such an angel inside when we are here (apart from occasionally chasing the cats when she "forgets" that I don't want her to). She is not high-strung or high energy or destructive. I do know that adding another dog doesn't always take care of the problem. The thundershirt (for now) keeps her from urinating in the crate. This is such a hard decision.

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Tyler

Whippy- The- Whipador

Barked: Wed Feb 6, '13 3:31pm PST


	I personally wouldn't try meds purely because you don't know whether it's a truly ingrained behaviour issue, or just a temporary reaction to the upheaval in her life. But to determine that you would need to have more time than 2 weeks which puts you back in that difficult situation of not being sure you're the right home for her. My Tyler has SA and it is a tie. In most areas it doesn't really crop up because i don't work and i'm with him 24/7, but on the occasions he does have to be left, even staying with family members who he knows extremely well, he'll pace and cry for me. He's gotten a little better the past year or two but he can never be left alone entirely because he then howls too! I can only imagine how difficult it would be if i worked or had to leave him more often. Also having another dog with him has no calming effect on him at all. He could be in a room with 10 dogs and still be distressed because i'm not there.

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Lenny

Lenny -The- Wrecking Ball

Barked: Wed Feb 6, '13 3:36pm PST


	I don't have any advice as far as trying meds or what not. I don't have any personal experience so can't comment one way or the other... but I just wanted to ask if you've reached out to the rescue about her behavior and asked their opinion on the match and if they have any suggestions? Like Tiller, there are some people in rescue who have a lot of experience with both the people and the dogs and can really help you through this process (I say some because I've also met a lot of inexperienced people and a lot of not so nice people too). I'd be curious to see what the rescue she came from suggests as far what they can do to help or what they recommend.

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