Settling in-problems
 . He barks, a lot. We are working on that. I thought that Simon would be top dog, the bossy one, turns out we may be wrong. Every time we let them in the yard together Garfunkel beats the sh%* out of Simon. We are working on that. The cat was left alone for the first few days, now he is no longer off limits. We are working on that. We found out that Garfunkel has seperation issues, I walk out the door, he goes nuts, Randy walks out the door, he goes nuts, Simon walks out the door...you get the idea. We are working on that. I've taken him for a walk, he pulls, hard...yep, working on that. He is a fun affectionate dog but we have a LOT to work on. The good thing is that no potty in the house for a few days, although after hearing the plow out on the street the other day he was scared to go outside for a few hours. Simon helped him with that. We are starting basic in the beginning of Feb. for both dogs so that should help. I could use some help on the separation issues right now because we both work and when Randy leaves in the morning(he leaves last) I hear that Garfunkel is miserable, barking, crying and howling.(He is crated) |
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| I don't have lots of practice with seperation anxiety (thank goodness, I have been lucky) but a few suggestions.
Leave and return without making a big deal out of it. No drawnout goodbyes, or big fanfare when you get home. Be super calm and low key. Routines can help. A special high value (to the dog) toy that they only get when you are gone can help. Of course it has to be a safe one, as you are gone. We use stuffed kongs. They only get them when we leave, or if I have to sleep and the crated ones are... well.. crated! They get picked up as soon as we get home/ get up. They are very prized - they are one of the few things that they will fight over if out during shared time. I know others have more issues with their own dogs and can give you more suggestions to try. It sounds like you have a good plan and start to getting them all worked out! |
| Hi, Pam.
What Dawn said. He tried the barking tantrums at my house. I ignored him. He got over it. Though come to think of it because I have more dogs than you  he was probably never really alone, alone.
I'm kind of surprised by the pulling. You're doing the right thing by hauling his not so little behind off to class. He's fun to work with, but he's busy, like Simon, and needs a job. Don't give in to feeling at all sorry for him based on his past. He did not have a horrendous life, just a lack of attention, which he now seems to feel is his royal due. Nip that in the bud. I think the humping may just be ingrained in him. I had bitches come into season days after he arrived, so played the segregation game and only let him hang out with my neutered male and my spayed bitch - he still tried to hump both of them, and I kind of attributed the girls in season and his intact status to his annoying behavior. Belle wasn't having it, and Che did try to tell me it was a dominance play -- he put him flat in his back a number of times with my permission. Not that this bothered Bear/Garfunkel in the least - he is very pushy. Don't give an inch. How are the sore paws doing? Kristine |
| Couldn't agree more with Kristine and Dawn. The only other thing I would add is to leave him for 10 minutes, return without any fuss. Then leave for 20 minutes, return without any fuss, etc. you get the point.
I never had separation issues with my boys but we did move a lot so we had to show them that this is our new home and even though we leave you here, we will return. So, in a week they can be left for 8-12 hours. The most important thing is though just what Kristine said Quote: Don't give in to feeling at all sorry for him based on his past.
Because they are pack animals they have to figure out what to do to fit into the pack. This includes humping, barking, snapping, etc. It sounds that you are doing great so I don't worry about a thing! Just keep up the good work!  |
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