Advice needed

[EWOK]

I am looking for advice about our Labradoodle. She is about a 1 1/2 to 2 years old and we have had her for about 2 months now. She is a wonderful dog who gets on with the kids and cats. She has developed a strong bond to my husband but when he goes out and she is left with me she keeps whinning at looking for him at the window, I keep comforting her and assuring her that he will be back but the major problem is when we all go out she constantly barks (we have been told by our neighbours) from the minute we leave to when we come back. Please could we get any advice because we worry abour leaving her as she gets so upset and I do not want our neighbours driven mad with the barking. :(

[Ash]

she is obviously very attached to ur partner.... why not try leaving something with his scent on it.... or when u go out leave the radio on

[brandy]

ohh poor thing!
sounds like she is suffering from major sepertaion anixety!
we have a dodle as well, and im considering surgery to get her removed from my side *G*
labradoodles so really well with another dog in the house usually, and if there are two of them then less likley to attach so heavily to one person. (now not saying that still wont happen)
another thing to do... take a teddy (on of the big ones) P@H do em.. and take one of OH shirts that hes been wearing and put it on teddy.. if you can do it get OH to sleep with said teddy all snuggly a night or two first! *g* and take photos for posterity of course! then give to said doodle, that way she will have something to cuddle up to with her fav. persons scent!
doodles in general do not like to be left alone, and will pine when they are...
a really good website for doodle owners is www.labradoodle.org.uk
hope this helps!
brandy and bubble

[EWOK]

We leave her in our bedroom when we go out in the hope there is enough sent of her favourit owner to make her feel safe. We did leave her down stairs at first but she just lay with her head through the cat flap barking we were informed by our neighbour and so we locked the cat flap the next time but she just charged at it and bust it open our neighbour heard the crash. Since then we put her in our bedroom so she won't hurt herself. We have even thought of rehoming her with someone who could have her with them all the time but I think she would pine after my husband.

[dragonfly]

as with any dog with seperation anxiety you have to build it up gradually until you can leave them happily by themselves for extended amounts of time.

start off by leaving her for 5 minutes in a room by herself, with a kong toy stuffed with something she likes (pate, ham, cheese), get her engrossed in that then after 5 mins go back in and make a fuss of her. Do this regularily throughout the day(s) building up the amount of time you leave her for. Its not going to work overnight, it is gradual

Do you know her background, was she left for long periods of time by herself during the day, when you leave she is fearing that you will never come back again and thats why she's barking - does she whine when you leave even though your OH still there?? If its only when OH goes then OH will have to start off leaving her for 5 mins etc

Doodles are highly intelligent dogs and are quick learners but training has to be consistent (like with any dog).

if you want any help, PM me, not saying I have the answers but having 2 doodles I do know their ways ;)

[brandy]

also, wanted to say if you want to socialze her with other doods i am more than happy to meet up with you with bubbles, and let them run and play.

[dragonfly]

here's advice I have taken from another website, same principals as I was suggesting but more indepth and seems to fit with your circumstances.

BTW how much exercise is your dood getting?? they are very energetic dogs and need a LOT of exercise - at least 2 x 45 mins walks a day as a minimum when fully grown

What Can You Do To Help Your Dog Overcome Separation Anxiety?

The treatment administered to your dogs separation anxiety problem depends on its severity. You will find lots of theories and suggestions regarding the correct way to treat separation anxiety - I'll just inform you of what's worked for me.

The 4 Step Program I Used To Fix My Dalmation's Separation Anxiety Problem

My dalmation Harrison developed Separation Anxiety seemingly for no reason when he was about 7 years old. He would start digging and crying as soon as I left the house, even if my other family members were home. My Veterinarian suggested this training process, it achieved the desired result but took plenty of time and patience.

Aside from the 4 step program listed below, I continued to practice the general day to day duties of responsible dog ownership. By this I mean things like providing a safe and comfortable bed, plenty of exercise and obedience training.

Harry would start to get anxious (his whole body would shake) at the very first sign of me leaving the house. This typically would be putting my shoe's on or turning off the TV or heater. It became a real problem for Harry, myself and the rest of my family, this is how we eventually solved it:
Step 1

Since Harry was always by my side when I was home I had to slowly teach him that he didn't always need to be close to me. I started out by ignoring his attention seeking behavior (jumping up, barking etc.) and then did some solid practice of his down stay. Little by little we extended the time and distance we spent apart, until he was happy to be alone for up to 30 minutes. Of course, we still spent lots of fun time together.
Step 2

The next step was to get him used to being outside when I was inside. Again we started off with very small periods apart and gradually lengthened the time over a couple of weeks. If you try this Separation Anxiety treatment make sure that you don't just leave your dog outside to get all worked up and stressed. The trick is to start out leaving your dog out for a few seconds, then going out and reuniting before he shows any signs of Separation Anxiety. Give your dog a treat or dog toy to keep his mind off missing you. Only initiate contact with your dog when he is calm and quiet.
Step 3

The next step in fixing Harry's Separation Anxiety problem was to eliminate the distress caused by me getting ready to leave the house for work. What I did was write a list of all the triggers that started Harry's anxiety. I then set about desensitizing him to these triggers. I'd put my shoe's on, and not go anywhere. Put my coat on, then sit down to read the paper. Pick up my car keys and just carry them around with me, jangling along as I went about my business. After a while (about 3 weeks) Harry barely offered a sideways glance at my shenanigans.
Step 4

When Harry was completely calm in situations that would have unsettled him in the past, I left the house. At first I just stepped outside, shut the door and came back inside within 20 seconds - before he made a sound. Again this was a slow process, similar to step 2. I extended the time outside the front door and then graduated to starting the car, then driving around the block before I came back inside. You can provide a tasty treat to your dog on your way out the door, something that he can work on for a while. Harry's favorite was a frozen Kong stuffed full of peanut butter and a few liver treats, this eventually kept him occupied for hours. Remember that when you return home, don't make a huge fuss. Come inside, get changed, pour yourself a nice hot coffee, then greet your calm dog.

This process did prove effective for me and my anxious dalmation. All up the 4 steps took about 5 weeks to work through and fix Harry's Separation Anxiety problem. My Vet suggested that I supplement this training with some medication. I didn't go down that path, but it would have been my next step if required.

Whichever method you choose to treat dog separation anxiety, be sure to stick with it and don't expect any immediate results.

[elamik@tiscali.co.uk]

Hi , dont know if this will help, but we had the same problem with two pointers we had some years back. We had moved into a new house and the dogs were in an outside kennel when we were out. The neighbours complained the dogs were constantly barking when left alone,we spent a couple of weeks tricking the boys into thinking qwe had left them, and hid in the car, whenever they started to bark one of us would return to the kennel and with a fairly severe voice say NO NOISE then give a wee spray of water from a childs water pistol. It worked a treat.
Elayne.