Howdy,

Looking for suggestions on what we can try for this situation.

We have a 2 year old Golden Retriever (Belle) that we've had for about a year. My wife and I both
worked fulltime for a while and she didn't have any problems with us being gone all day. Then I
worked from home for about 8 months so she got used to me being there. I am now working outside the
house fulltime again. My wife leaves the house after I do and when Belle sees her getting ready to
go, she used to come say goodbye and we'd give her some treats in a Kong to keep her busy for a few
minutes.

Now when my wife gets ready, Belle goes and lays down in a corner in another room. She is obviously
feeling very lonely or neglected or something. We try to play with her every evening and on
weekends but we have to go to work so there's not much we can do about that.

We have thought about getting another dog so they could keep each other company, but Belle is such a
People-Dog (couldn't care less about most other dogs) that we're not even sure that would have any
affect at all.

Anyone have any suggestions on anything we can try so we aren't treated to a very sad looking dog
every time we leave the house?

Thanks.

"Mr B" wrote in message
...
Howdy,

Looking for suggestions on what we can try for this situation.

We have a 2 year old Golden Retriever (Belle) that we've had for
about a year. My wife and I both
worked fulltime for a while and she didn't have any problems with us
being gone all day. Then I
worked from home for about 8 months so she got used to me being
there. I am now working outside the
house fulltime again. My wife leaves the house after I do and when
Belle sees her getting ready to
go, she used to come say goodbye and we'd give her some treats in a
Kong to keep her busy for a few
minutes.

Now when my wife gets ready, Belle goes and lays down in a corner in
another room. She is obviously
feeling very lonely or neglected or something. We try to play with
her every evening and on
weekends but we have to go to work so there's not much we can do
about that.

We have thought about getting another dog so they could keep each
other company, but Belle is such a
People-Dog (couldn't care less about most other dogs) that we're not
even sure that would have any
affect at all.

Anyone have any suggestions on anything we can try so we aren't
treated to a very sad looking dog
every time we leave the house?

"I'll Be Home Soon!: How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety" by
Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., available at Amazon.

David
www.geocities.com/sammiesdad/dogs.html

"Mr B" wrote in message
...
Howdy,

Looking for suggestions on what we can try for this situation.

We have a 2 year old Golden Retriever (Belle) that we've had for
about a year. My wife and I both
worked fulltime for a while and she didn't have any problems with us
being gone all day. Then I
worked from home for about 8 months so she got used to me being
there. I am now working outside the
house fulltime again. My wife leaves the house after I do and when
Belle sees her getting ready to
go, she used to come say goodbye and we'd give her some treats in a
Kong to keep her busy for a few
minutes.

Now when my wife gets ready, Belle goes and lays down in a corner in
another room. She is obviously
feeling very lonely or neglected or something. We try to play with
her every evening and on
weekends but we have to go to work so there's not much we can do
about that.

We have thought about getting another dog so they could keep each
other company, but Belle is such a
People-Dog (couldn't care less about most other dogs) that we're not
even sure that would have any
affect at all.

Anyone have any suggestions on anything we can try so we aren't
treated to a very sad looking dog
every time we leave the house?

"I'll Be Home Soon!: How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety" by
Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., available at Amazon.

David
www.geocities.com/sammiesdad/dogs.html

In article Mr B
writes:
Anyone have any suggestions on anything we can try so we aren't treated to a very sad looking dog
every time we leave the house?

You may have unwittingly produced this behavior by returning to your
dog when she looked particularly pathetic. In a sense, your
dog has assumed pathetic looking postures that have resulted in your
returning and providing reinforcement. If you are not careful,
you may also unwittingly shape up anxious behavior too.

The trick here is to simply walk out of the house and ignore
any of the dog's behavior when you are departing. Be particularly
careful to avoid engaging in any unnecessary departing behavior
such as saying "see you at 5" or "be a good girl."

Additionally, you might walk out and return at various times (1 min
later, 15 min later, 2 hr later, 6 hr later) so that your leaving
is not correlated with your extended absence.

--Marshall

http://www.uwm.edu/~dermer

"Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation,
and is thus a source of civilized delight." -- William Safire

In article Mr B
writes:
Anyone have any suggestions on anything we can try so we aren't treated to a very sad looking dog
every time we leave the house?

You may have unwittingly produced this behavior by returning to your
dog when she looked particularly pathetic. In a sense, your
dog has assumed pathetic looking postures that have resulted in your
returning and providing reinforcement. If you are not careful,
you may also unwittingly shape up anxious behavior too.

The trick here is to simply walk out of the house and ignore
any of the dog's behavior when you are departing. Be particularly
careful to avoid engaging in any unnecessary departing behavior
such as saying "see you at 5" or "be a good girl."

Additionally, you might walk out and return at various times (1 min
later, 15 min later, 2 hr later, 6 hr later) so that your leaving
is not correlated with your extended absence.

--Marshall

http://www.uwm.edu/~dermer

"Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation,
and is thus a source of civilized delight." -- William Safire

Your Belle sounds content to me. Our dog, Bella, does the same thing.
She seems to be settling in for a nice snooze while you are gone. I
wouldn't worry too much unless she starts getting distructive and showing
real signs of anxiety when you are away.

Good luck,

Lisa







In article , Mr B
wrote:

Howdy,

Looking for suggestions on what we can try for this situation.

We have a 2 year old Golden Retriever (Belle) that we've had for about a
year. My wife and I both
worked fulltime for a while and she didn't have any problems with us
being gone all day. Then I
worked from home for about 8 months so she got used to me being there.
I am now working outside the
house fulltime again. My wife leaves the house after I do and when
Belle sees her getting ready to
go, she used to come say goodbye and we'd give her some treats in a Kong
to keep her busy for a few
minutes.

Now when my wife gets ready, Belle goes and lays down in a corner in
another room. She is obviously
feeling very lonely or neglected or something. We try to play with her
every evening and on
weekends but we have to go to work so there's not much we can do about that.

We have thought about getting another dog so they could keep each other
company, but Belle is such a
People-Dog (couldn't care less about most other dogs) that we're not
even sure that would have any
affect at all.

Anyone have any suggestions on anything we can try so we aren't treated
to a very sad looking dog
every time we leave the house?

Thanks.

Your Belle sounds content to me. Our dog, Bella, does the same thing.
She seems to be settling in for a nice snooze while you are gone. I
wouldn't worry too much unless she starts getting distructive and showing
real signs of anxiety when you are away.

Good luck,

Lisa







In article , Mr B
wrote:

Howdy,

Looking for suggestions on what we can try for this situation.

We have a 2 year old Golden Retriever (Belle) that we've had for about a
year. My wife and I both
worked fulltime for a while and she didn't have any problems with us
being gone all day. Then I
worked from home for about 8 months so she got used to me being there.
I am now working outside the
house fulltime again. My wife leaves the house after I do and when
Belle sees her getting ready to
go, she used to come say goodbye and we'd give her some treats in a Kong
to keep her busy for a few
minutes.

Now when my wife gets ready, Belle goes and lays down in a corner in
another room. She is obviously
feeling very lonely or neglected or something. We try to play with her
every evening and on
weekends but we have to go to work so there's not much we can do about that.

We have thought about getting another dog so they could keep each other
company, but Belle is such a
People-Dog (couldn't care less about most other dogs) that we're not
even sure that would have any
affect at all.

Anyone have any suggestions on anything we can try so we aren't treated
to a very sad looking dog
every time we leave the house?

Thanks.

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 03:21:46 GMT, Mr B wrote:

Howdy,

Looking for suggestions on what we can try for this situation.

We have a 2 year old Golden Retriever (Belle) that we've had for about a year. My wife and I both
worked fulltime for a while and she didn't have any problems with us being gone all day. Then I
worked from home for about 8 months so she got used to me being there. I am now working outside the
house fulltime again. My wife leaves the house after I do and when Belle sees her getting ready to
go, she used to come say goodbye and we'd give her some treats in a Kong to keep her busy for a few
minutes.

Now when my wife gets ready, Belle goes and lays down in a corner in another room. She is obviously
feeling very lonely or neglected or something. We try to play with her every evening and on
weekends but we have to go to work so there's not much we can do about that.

We have thought about getting another dog so they could keep each other company, but Belle is such a
People-Dog (couldn't care less about most other dogs) that we're not even sure that would have any
affect at all.

Anyone have any suggestions on anything we can try so we aren't treated to a very sad looking dog
every time we leave the house?

Thanks.

I agree with the other postings above.
Going and sitting in another room and ignoring you is just her way of
letting you know she doesn't want you to go away.

I was working from home for 4.5yrs and Tia my BC was always around.
I'd take breaks every now and then and play with her for a while then
get back to work.

3 months ago I started woking away again and Tia is without me for
9hrs a day.
She's fine until I put my coat on in the morning then she sits at the
bottom of the stairs with 'that look' in her eyes.
Any time I ask her for a kiss she runs over and I get one, but once
I've got my coat on in the morning there's no chance.
Obviously she misses me, but that's life. I would love to be able to
spend every day being around her, but I can't if I want to keep a roof
over our heads.
When I get home she's fine and I get lots of kisses and tail wagging.

I always leave the radio on when I'm not around so she's got some
company.
I'm also fortunate that I have wonderful neighbours who pop in a
couple of times a day to make a fuss of her.
Like Belle, Tia is also a people-dog. Anything with 2 legs is good,
anything with 4 legs is either to be ignored (other dogs) or chased
(e.g. cats, squirrels etc).

As the other posting suggests, get ready for work, go out and come
back in a few minutes, then go out and come back a little
later/earlier/later etc.
Dogs have no real sense of 'time' as we understand it, and so long as
she get's used to the idea that once you've gone you do come back,
that will help settle her - she won't really know if it's 5 minutes or
5 hours - so long as you show her that when you leave for work you do
return later.

When I leave in the morning I always leave on a high (as far as Tia is
concerned) I speak to her cheerfully, mess around with her and say in
a positive and cheeful voice 'see you in a little while' then just
leave.
If you sound sad and concerned when you speak with her before leaving,
there's a good chance she'll pick up on that.

Try to leave a radio on when you're not there if possible.

I don't leave treats when I'm not around as from a dogs point-of-view
they get food only from the pack-leader (me).

I think you've only got a problem if Belle starts becomming
destructive - thats a sign of anxiety and there are many ways to
overcome that if it becomes a problem.

She's just missing you when you're not around - unfortunate, but a
fact of life and I don't think there's anything to really get worried
about.

Good luck
Pete

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 03:21:46 GMT, Mr B wrote:

Howdy,

Looking for suggestions on what we can try for this situation.

We have a 2 year old Golden Retriever (Belle) that we've had for about a year. My wife and I both
worked fulltime for a while and she didn't have any problems with us being gone all day. Then I
worked from home for about 8 months so she got used to me being there. I am now working outside the
house fulltime again. My wife leaves the house after I do and when Belle sees her getting ready to
go, she used to come say goodbye and we'd give her some treats in a Kong to keep her busy for a few
minutes.

Now when my wife gets ready, Belle goes and lays down in a corner in another room. She is obviously
feeling very lonely or neglected or something. We try to play with her every evening and on
weekends but we have to go to work so there's not much we can do about that.

We have thought about getting another dog so they could keep each other company, but Belle is such a
People-Dog (couldn't care less about most other dogs) that we're not even sure that would have any
affect at all.

Anyone have any suggestions on anything we can try so we aren't treated to a very sad looking dog
every time we leave the house?

Thanks.

I agree with the other postings above.
Going and sitting in another room and ignoring you is just her way of
letting you know she doesn't want you to go away.

I was working from home for 4.5yrs and Tia my BC was always around.
I'd take breaks every now and then and play with her for a while then
get back to work.

3 months ago I started woking away again and Tia is without me for
9hrs a day.
She's fine until I put my coat on in the morning then she sits at the
bottom of the stairs with 'that look' in her eyes.
Any time I ask her for a kiss she runs over and I get one, but once
I've got my coat on in the morning there's no chance.
Obviously she misses me, but that's life. I would love to be able to
spend every day being around her, but I can't if I want to keep a roof
over our heads.
When I get home she's fine and I get lots of kisses and tail wagging.

I always leave the radio on when I'm not around so she's got some
company.
I'm also fortunate that I have wonderful neighbours who pop in a
couple of times a day to make a fuss of her.
Like Belle, Tia is also a people-dog. Anything with 2 legs is good,
anything with 4 legs is either to be ignored (other dogs) or chased
(e.g. cats, squirrels etc).

As the other posting suggests, get ready for work, go out and come
back in a few minutes, then go out and come back a little
later/earlier/later etc.
Dogs have no real sense of 'time' as we understand it, and so long as
she get's used to the idea that once you've gone you do come back,
that will help settle her - she won't really know if it's 5 minutes or
5 hours - so long as you show her that when you leave for work you do
return later.

When I leave in the morning I always leave on a high (as far as Tia is
concerned) I speak to her cheerfully, mess around with her and say in
a positive and cheeful voice 'see you in a little while' then just
leave.
If you sound sad and concerned when you speak with her before leaving,
there's a good chance she'll pick up on that.

Try to leave a radio on when you're not there if possible.

I don't leave treats when I'm not around as from a dogs point-of-view
they get food only from the pack-leader (me).

I think you've only got a problem if Belle starts becomming
destructive - thats a sign of anxiety and there are many ways to
overcome that if it becomes a problem.

She's just missing you when you're not around - unfortunate, but a
fact of life and I don't think there's anything to really get worried
about.

Good luck
Pete

Hi ,
A good walk in the morning and at night time will help to settle her
down (if you don't already do this ). You could arrange a dog walker
to walk her at lunch time . Maybe she finds it boring being on her own
for a long time . It could be a lot worse though , some dogs can be
destructive when left.
Alison

"Mr B" wrote in message
...
Howdy,

Looking for suggestions on what we can try for this situation.

We have a 2 year old Golden Retriever (Belle) that we've had for
about a year. My wife and I both
worked fulltime for a while and she didn't have any problems with us
being gone all day. Then I
worked from home for about 8 months so she got used to me being
there. I am now working outside the
house fulltime again. My wife leaves the house after I do and when
Belle sees her getting ready to
go, she used to come say goodbye and we'd give her some treats in a
Kong to keep her busy for a few
minutes.

Now when my wife gets ready, Belle goes and lays down in a corner in
another room. She is obviously
feeling very lonely or neglected or something. We try to play with
her every evening and on
weekends but we have to go to work so there's not much we can do
about that.

We have thought about getting another dog so they could keep each
other company, but Belle is such a
People-Dog (couldn't care less about most other dogs) that we're not
even sure that would have any
affect at all.

Anyone have any suggestions on anything we can try so we aren't
treated to a very sad looking dog
every time we leave the house?

Thanks.