I have a 15 year old Maltese. My mom took care of her until about 6 years
ago then I took her. She's extremely attached to me. I can't even go
outside without her barking and sitting by the door. I've been here for a
year and tried all sorts of things to stop the barking but nothing woks.
That's where my problem is.

I will be moving soon to an apartment complex. I'm currently in a unit with
only one person below me. They are so loud that it doesn't matter if she
barks while I'm gone. However, I'm sure I'll get kicked out of another
complex where I'm snuggled in with a few other apartments.

No one in my family will take her. She doesn't like kids. I'm not sure
what to do. She won't understand if I try to place her with some one else.
It would probably be easier for her if she were a pup.

Any ideas what I should do here?

Thanks,
Brett

"Brett" wrote in message
.. .
I have a 15 year old Maltese. My mom took care of her until about 6 years
ago then I took her. She's extremely attached to me. I can't even go
outside without her barking and sitting by the door. I've been here for a
year and tried all sorts of things to stop the barking but nothing woks.
That's where my problem is.

I will be moving soon to an apartment complex. I'm currently in a unit
with
only one person below me. They are so loud that it doesn't matter if she
barks while I'm gone. However, I'm sure I'll get kicked out of another
complex where I'm snuggled in with a few other apartments.

No one in my family will take her. She doesn't like kids. I'm not sure
what to do. She won't understand if I try to place her with some one
else.
It would probably be easier for her if she were a pup.

Any ideas what I should do here?

It sounds like a symptom of separation anxiety. Its a fear response to
being left alone or abandoned whether by one particular person or just being
left alone in general. Its not a training issue by itself but one of the
mind. If rehoming her is your only alternative due to your upcoming move
then I'd suggest talking to your vet about anxiety medication immediately.
Its to be used in conjunction with behavior modification. If her only
symptom is the barking then it would be hard to modify that with training.
The medication will help take the edge off, won't drug her up, and over time
should assist her to be able to not get upset when you leave. Since
rehoming her at this age would be cruel (who are you seriously going to find
to take on a 15yo dog who is very attached to you?) and something must be
done soon, this is probably your best bet for a quick band-aid to the
problem.

--
Tara

"Tara O." wrote in message
...
"Brett" wrote in message
.. .
I have a 15 year old Maltese. My mom took care of her until about 6
years
ago then I took her. She's extremely attached to me. I can't even go
outside without her barking and sitting by the door. I've been here for
a
year and tried all sorts of things to stop the barking but nothing woks.
That's where my problem is.

I will be moving soon to an apartment complex. I'm currently in a unit
with
only one person below me. They are so loud that it doesn't matter if
she
barks while I'm gone. However, I'm sure I'll get kicked out of another
complex where I'm snuggled in with a few other apartments.

No one in my family will take her. She doesn't like kids. I'm not sure
what to do. She won't understand if I try to place her with some one
else.
It would probably be easier for her if she were a pup.

Any ideas what I should do here?

It sounds like a symptom of separation anxiety. Its a fear response to
being left alone or abandoned whether by one particular person or just
being
left alone in general. Its not a training issue by itself but one of the
mind. If rehoming her is your only alternative due to your upcoming move
then I'd suggest talking to your vet about anxiety medication immediately.
Its to be used in conjunction with behavior modification. If her only
symptom is the barking then it would be hard to modify that with training.
The medication will help take the edge off, won't drug her up, and over
time
should assist her to be able to not get upset when you leave. Since
rehoming her at this age would be cruel (who are you seriously going to
find
to take on a 15yo dog who is very attached to you?) and something must be
done soon, this is probably your best bet for a quick band-aid to the
problem.

--
Tara

The medication is an excellent suggestion. No one has ever mentioned this
to me. Another problem is that I will be working full time. Right now I'm
in school and in and out of the apartment through out the day but mostly
here. Once I begin working, she will be by herself for 8+ hours at a time.
How do I handle letting her needing to go outside for obvious reasons?

Thanks,
Brett

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 09:41:38 -0500, "Brett"
wrote:



The medication is an excellent suggestion. No one has ever mentioned this
to me. Another problem is that I will be working full time. Right now I'm
in school and in and out of the apartment through out the day but mostly
here. Once I begin working, she will be by herself for 8+ hours at a time.
How do I handle letting her needing to go outside for obvious reasons?

Thanks,
Brett



How long can she go without an accident? I know my chloe can
certainly go all day while we are at work. She goes potty in the
mornigns when I'm getting ready for work - about 6:30am. I do let
her out before I leave at 7:30 - but usually she doens' thave to go
then. We then get home about 4:30 - 5pm and let her out right away
to go. She doesn't always go right away either. SHe does have
access to water during the day - in her crate, but she usually doesn't
drink it.

So, my question to you would be - how long can she go now without
having an accident? Your options then would be 1. arrange to come
home for lunch to walk the dog (I know people who do this). 2.
arrange for someone else to stop by and walk the dog. 3. doggie
daycare or 4. confining the dog to an area of the house (say the
kitchen) that has washable floors and get some potty pads or something
and teach the dog housetraining to go potty on the pads.

As for the seperation anxiety - the meds are a good idea. But have
you also considered the worn t-shirt idea too? Wear an old shirt for
a while to get your scent on it. When you leave, present the dog
with the tshirt.

The other thing I do with Chloe (although she doesn't appear to suffer
sep. anx). is to hide treats around the house. I started doing this
after she ate a couple shoes of mine when we started leaving her out
of the crate for short trips.

I hide treats around the house and then also hide some treats in her
treat balls and hide those. That way she stays entertained for a
little while when home alone.

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 09:00:05 -0500, "Brett"
wrote:

I have a 15 year old Maltese. My mom took care of her until about 6 years
ago then I took her. She's extremely attached to me. I can't even go
outside without her barking and sitting by the door. I've been here for a
year and tried all sorts of things to stop the barking but nothing woks.
That's where my problem is.

I will be moving soon to an apartment complex. I'm currently in a unit with
only one person below me. They are so loud that it doesn't matter if she
barks while I'm gone. However, I'm sure I'll get kicked out of another
complex where I'm snuggled in with a few other apartments.

No one in my family will take her. She doesn't like kids. I'm not sure
what to do. She won't understand if I try to place her with some one else.
It would probably be easier for her if she were a pup.

Any ideas what I should do here?

Thanks,
Brett



I'm not a trainer, but fixing separation anxiety can be done, it will
just take some time. There is tons of info on the web about it, and
maybe your vet can give you the techniques you can use. This is
something which can be changed.

"dancertm" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 09:00:05 -0500, "Brett"
wrote:

I have a 15 year old Maltese. My mom took care of her until about 6
years
ago then I took her. She's extremely attached to me. I can't even go
outside without her barking and sitting by the door. I've been here for a
year and tried all sorts of things to stop the barking but nothing woks.
That's where my problem is.

I will be moving soon to an apartment complex. I'm currently in a unit
with
only one person below me. They are so loud that it doesn't matter if she
barks while I'm gone. However, I'm sure I'll get kicked out of another
complex where I'm snuggled in with a few other apartments.

No one in my family will take her. She doesn't like kids. I'm not sure
what to do. She won't understand if I try to place her with some one
else.
It would probably be easier for her if she were a pup.

Any ideas what I should do here?

Thanks,
Brett



I'm not a trainer, but fixing separation anxiety can be done, it will
just take some time. There is tons of info on the web about it, and
maybe your vet can give you the techniques you can use. This is
something which can be changed.
No - it isn't.

"Chloe's Mom" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 09:41:38 -0500, "Brett"
wrote:



The medication is an excellent suggestion. No one has ever mentioned
this
to me. Another problem is that I will be working full time. Right now
I'm
in school and in and out of the apartment through out the day but mostly
here. Once I begin working, she will be by herself for 8+ hours at a
time.
How do I handle letting her needing to go outside for obvious reasons?

Thanks,
Brett



How long can she go without an accident? I know my chloe can
certainly go all day while we are at work. She goes potty in the
mornigns when I'm getting ready for work - about 6:30am. I do let
her out before I leave at 7:30 - but usually she doens' thave to go
then. We then get home about 4:30 - 5pm and let her out right away
to go. She doesn't always go right away either. SHe does have
access to water during the day - in her crate, but she usually doesn't
drink it.

So, my question to you would be - how long can she go now without
having an accident?

I don't know. Without leaving her inside all day - how do I go about
finding this out?
alone.

"Brett" wrote in message
. ..

The medication is an excellent suggestion. No one has ever mentioned this
to me. Another problem is that I will be working full time. Right now
I'm
in school and in and out of the apartment through out the day but mostly
here. Once I begin working, she will be by herself for 8+ hours at a
time.
How do I handle letting her needing to go outside for obvious reasons?

If you won't be able to come home at lunchtime then you can hire a
dog-walker to come in once a day. I think the going rate is $10/visit.
That's if she needs it. Alot of adult dogs can hold it that long since they
mostly just sleep while you're gone. If she shows that she cannot hold it
all day, and you cannot come home at lunch or hire a dog-walker, then you
can consider baby-gating her in the kitchen with newspapers on the floor.
Its not ideal but truthfully, at her age, it would be very difficult to
rehome her and given how attached to you she is, rehoming her could be
detrimental to her mindset. Good luck and be sure to consult your vet about
medication to assist with her separation anxiety. The specific medication I
have in mind is Clomicalm (or its generic version) so if you'd like, you can
study up on the web prior to talking to your vet.

--
Tara

In article ,
"Brett" wrote:

I have a 15 year old Maltese. My mom took care of her until about 6 years
ago then I took her. She's extremely attached to me. I can't even go
outside without her barking and sitting by the door. I've been here for a
year and tried all sorts of things to stop the barking but nothing woks.
That's where my problem is.

I will be moving soon to an apartment complex. I'm currently in a unit with
only one person below me. They are so loud that it doesn't matter if she
barks while I'm gone. However, I'm sure I'll get kicked out of another
complex where I'm snuggled in with a few other apartments.

No one in my family will take her. She doesn't like kids. I'm not sure
what to do. She won't understand if I try to place her with some one else.
It would probably be easier for her if she were a pup.

Hi Brett,

Is this the same Maltese you were asking about last year with SA? Sounds
as if she's grown close to you.

Have you already decided on your moving options? If you know that your
dog is a loud one, why have you moved to another building where this
will become a problem?

Also, moving again, and putting her into new surroundings, might not
help the problem.

What will your schedule be when you leave? Is there someone who can come
and be with her for some of your absence? How does she do in a crate?

I'd continue to explore the other options given here. There might not be
much that can be done for a 15 year old Maltese who has grown so
attached. I'm not sure where you are going with your last paragraph. Are
you trying to find someone else to take her?

Best,
Chad

--
Looking for a pet? Adopt one! ** http://www.petfinder.com
Info for a healthy, happy dog? * http://www.dog-play.com

Wilson Jack (tm), rhymes with smack, not with grapefruit....

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 10:55:29 -0500, "Brett"
wrote:


So, my question to you would be - how long can she go now without
having an accident?

I don't know. Without leaving her inside all day - how do I go about
finding this out?
alone.



Can you try it now? before you move? make arrangements to be gone 1
day for say, 6 to 7hrs or so and see what happens. If that works,
make arrangements to be gone for about 9hrs (presumably how long
you'll be gone when working full time - maybe up to 10hrs or more
depending on job, commute, etc).

I know my work day is 8:30am to 5:30pm. in the mornings I've got to
drop my son off at school, plus I have a 1/2 hr commute to work. So
my schedule is 7:30am to 6pm. Thankfully my fiance gets my son
after work and generally he's home between 4:30 - 5pm. So that means
Chloe is alone from 7:30 - 5pm. That's almost 10hrs without
accidents. of course - most the time she's crated during those
outings. (she's not crated on the weekends and on short outings).

But with your dog, at 15, if she's not used to being crated - she
probably wouldn't take to it very well.