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#1
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SA question
Since it appears to have come up in another thread, I figured I'd bring
up something that is causing me a little concern. A dog park friend asked me yesterday if we could watch her dog while she's on vacation for about a week and a half. Dog in question is a 128 lb. female Dane named Pan who is quite the Queen Bitch, but defers to Khan. A few months back, while Khan was busy playing with another dog, she attempted to hump him, which is a big No-No in his book, and when he told her off, she backed off completely. First time she ever attempted anything like that with him, BTW. In the ensuing months, she kept trying to get Khan to play, and he would give her the cold shoulder. They appear to have kissed and made up, and are back to playing with each other. Back to Pan. As a puppy, she had terrible SA, and would pant, drool, attempt to chew her way out of the crate or destroy whatever barrier is hanging in front of the window if her mom went out of sight for more than 5 minutes. They worked on it for a looong time, and she seems to have gotten over it. Mom was working standard 8 hour days, and all was well. Then, mom got laid off, and was home all the time. She now has a job that lets her work from home, and this of course means that Pan hasn't been home alone in a very long time, well over 6 months, IIRC. Question is whether she will be able to handle being home without a human (or for that matter being separated from mom) for any length of time. She'll have Khan for company, and my schedule is flexible enough that I can be home a few days a week, but I am worried about her. She is very much a mommy's girl, and if her mom leaves her at the dog park to go get something from the car, she'll just stand by the gate, awaiting her return. No tantrums or histrionics, but she will receive mom like she hasn't seen her in years. What can we do to ease the transition? Other than this one thing, I have absolutely no qualms about taking her in. She is well mannered, minds when she is told, low in terms of energy requirement, isn't too in-your-face/velcro, is terrific off-leash, and is generally low maintenance. Suja |
#2
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"Suja" wrote in message
... Other than this one thing, I have absolutely no qualms about taking her in. She is well mannered, minds when she is told, low in terms of energy requirement, isn't too in-your-face/velcro, is terrific off-leash, and is generally low maintenance. You may need a crate for her just as a back-up. SA can return once a pattern is broken. Since the owner started staying home to work and this has been going on for a while, its possible that the SA will return..in her home should she start working outside the home again. In the case of you watching her at your house, I doubt the SA would come back like a storm or anything but the change of environment and not seeing "mom" will be confusing to her which could be a gateway for some form of anxiety to return. Nothing at all could happen as she may be just fine but I'd have a back-up plan just in case. -- Tara |
#3
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On Wed, 30 Jul 2003, Suja wrote:
She is very much a mommy's girl, and if her mom leaves her at the dog park to go get something from the car, she'll just stand by the gate, awaiting her return. No tantrums or histrionics, but she will receive mom like she hasn't seen her in years. What can we do to ease the transition? harriet is weirded out about being left with other people in strange places. she's absolutely not interested in interacting with strangers if i'm not around. while she's waiting for me to return, she acts stressed--no barking or destructiveness, but constantly watches for me while pacing and occasionally whining. for this reason, when i've absolutely had to leave her when i'm out of town, i leave her at home and have a neighbor come visit her. it's *much* less stressful for her than being away from me *and* her own territory. i'm sure that, left with someone she liked, she'd acclimate and her stress level would diminish, but i've been too chicken to chance it. Other than this one thing, I have absolutely no qualms about taking her in. She is well mannered, minds when she is told, low in terms of energy requirement, isn't too in-your-face/velcro, is terrific off-leash, and is generally low maintenance. can you do a dry run? i would suggest having her over for an overnight stay, or maybe even for a weekend. that way you can leave her for a few minutes, come back and check, and if all is well, leave for a little longer, etc. -- shelly (foul wench) and elliott and harriet http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette |
#4
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Tara O. wrote:
You may need a crate for her just as a back-up. She doesn't do well in a crate. She would hurt herself attempting to get out, and has knocked the crate over on its side. SA can return once a pattern is broken. Since the owner started staying home to work and this has been going on for a while, its possible that the SA will return..in her home should she start working outside the home again. I really wish we could do a trial run this weekend. Too bad I have exams next week. In the case of you watching her at your house, I doubt the SA would come back like a storm or anything but the change of environment and not seeing "mom" will be confusing to her which could be a gateway for some form of anxiety to return. Nothing at all could happen as she may be just fine but I'd have a back-up plan just in case. Back up plans so far - Rescue remedy (which works well for her), or other people with whom she may be more comfortable. The problem is that no one else will take her for the whole 10 days or so, and I think that it would be worse for her to be bounced around. I really wish her BF were more responsible, but mom is pretty sure that the boyfriend would forget to do really important stuff, like feeding and taking her out. She's young, but doesn't look or act it, but the BF certainly sounds like he's very young. Suja |
#5
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shelly wrote:
harriet is weirded out about being left with other people in strange places. she's absolutely not interested in interacting with strangers if i'm not around. while she's waiting for me to return, she acts stressed--no barking or destructiveness, but constantly watches for me while pacing and occasionally whining. This is what I'm afraid of. That she'll sit by the door, waiting for mom to come back, having absolutely no fun for a long period of time. She has known Khan and I since she was about 7 months old, but she has never been to our home, and I worry that she'll freak out when she's left with acquaintences in a new home. for this reason, when i've absolutely had to leave her when i'm out of town, i leave her at home and have a neighbor come visit her. it's *much* less stressful for her than being away from me *and* her own territory. i'm sure that, left with someone she liked, she'd acclimate and her stress level would diminish, but i've been too chicken to chance it. I wish she could stay at home. Her BF (whose home it is) has agreed to care for the 2 cats and 2 ferrets while she is away, but doesn't want to take care of the dog for more than a couple of days. I don't know what's worse, being some place new and scary with people who care, or some place familiar with minimal human interaction. can you do a dry run? i would suggest having her over for an overnight stay, or maybe even for a weekend. that way you can leave her for a few minutes, come back and check, and if all is well, leave for a little longer, etc. This will have to get done at some point. I don't want her mom to feel like I'm freaking out or doing this under duress, because I am not. I just haven't dealt with a dog that has SA, and her well being is the primary consideration. Maybe one afternoon, I can pick her up from home, bring her over, see how she acts for a few hours and drop her back home with mom. If she is unusually freaked out, mom might just have to take her on the vacation. Suja |
#6
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She doesn't do well in a crate. She would hurt herself attempting to
get out, and has knocked the crate over on its side. The crate is not an option here. Crates can often make SA worse. Does this dog like food? If so, you can try babygating a room off and giving her a stuffed Kong toy whenever you leave. Start off with short time increments don't go out of sight at first. Gradually lengthen the time and see what happens. The dog only gets this special treat whenever you leave the house. Heres a link to Kong, I used to pass the printed out recipes to my classes and got toss of postive feedback from the users. http://www.kongcompany.com/how2use.html Dogstar716 Come see Gunnars Life: http://hometown.aol.com/dogstar716/index.html |
#7
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"Suja" wrote in message ... I wish she could stay at home. Her BF (whose home it is) has agreed to care for the 2 cats and 2 ferrets while she is away, but doesn't want to take care of the dog for more than a couple of days. I don't know what's worse, being some place new and scary with people who care, or some place familiar with minimal human interaction. I think this girl needs a new boyfriend. How much trouble is it to take care of a dog that you already live with, while the primary caregiver is away? If he loves her, he should also love her dog enough to want to make the experience as painless for the dog as possible. JMO. Robin |
#8
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The crate is not an option here. Crates can often make SA worse.
This hasn't been my experience. I didn't say crates ALWAYS make it worse, but often they can. If a dog is consistently freaking out in a crate (heavy drooling, bloody mouth from trying to chew out, actually chewing out, moving the crate by rocking, etc.) you should try an alterntae method of confinement, regardles of whether or not you think it's true SA. Often times larger confinement areas are more comfortable for a dog. Not to mention this dog just might have confinement anxiety all by itself. Perhaps a larger area and a stuffed Kong will be all it takes. Never know unless you try Dogstar716 Come see Gunnars Life: http://hometown.aol.com/dogstar716/index.html |
#9
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DogStar716 wrote:
Does this dog like food? I'm not sure. She's a little picky about her kibble, but I'm not sure if she'd be quite as picky about 'something yummy'. If so, you can try babygating a room off and giving her a stuffed Kong toy whenever you leave. Start off with short time increments don't go out of sight at first. Gradually lengthen the time and see what happens. The dog only gets this special treat whenever you leave the house. Will do. Khan doesn't like his Kong, and it is just sitting around gathering dust. Good thing I don't have to worry whether Khan'll attempt to take it away from her or whether she'll food guard. Mom tells me that the most likely response is going to be howling. For a few hours. Followed by being extra whiney for the first couple of days. If her bark is any indication, the howling is going to be a lot of fun. Suja |
#10
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Robin wrote:
I think this girl needs a new boyfriend. How much trouble is it to take care of a dog that you already live with, while the primary caregiver is away? If he loves her, he should also love her dog enough to want to make the experience as painless for the dog as possible. JMO. Not that I'm disagreeing, but she got the dog on the condition that it was going to be HER dog. The cats are his. The ferrets are theirs. He loves the dog, pets her, but doesn't do anything else with her. Suja |
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