Separation anxiety

[kingsdaughter89]

Hi all - could use some advice/thoughts on managing what I think is separation anxiety.

We have a 17 week old mini dachshund, and it has been a struggle! Potty training is a disaster, especially b/c I have my teen daughter watching him while I am working, and she's not as diligent about watching him and taking him out. But the biggest challenge is that he gets very distressed when left alone. When we first got him, we would put him in his x-pen when the kids would leave for school and I was working (home office, but I'm a therapist and can't be interrupting clients' sessions for puppy every 5 minutes), he would lose his mind. Eventually (after a week maybe) we realized that someone would need to be with him, b/c the popular wisdom of "just let him bark, he'll figure it out" seemed to be making him worse. Now he is like a velcro dog who gets v. anxious if you go to the door. It's manageable right now, b/c kids are home and there is always someone around who can watch him. However, that will change in September. As it is, I can't leave the house (or do laundry, go to washroom, etc.) without bringing him with me, or having someone to watch him.

I am currently reading Malena DeMartini's book on separation anxiety to hopefully begin to introduce short separations, and trying to figure out if there is a difference b/w "demand barking" and separation anxiety, or if it even matters? And also if the fact that he's still a little guy will make this easier or harder?

Are there any reddit communities specific to managing separation anxiety in dogs?!

Any separation anxiety wins that anybody wants to share?

Also, I love this puppy. He is sweet, sassy, does very little nipping or barking (except when he's scared), and sleeps in his crate all night.

If you got this far - thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Vecro dog mom.

 

[wholehalfmom]

@kingsdaughter89 I’m sorry — that sounds very difficult. Out of curiosity, have you actually tried leaving him home completely alone? My puppy loses his mind if I leave the room, but he actually does just fine if I put him in his crate and go out. (And I’ve come across more than a few people here who have the same issue.) It seems like some kind of puppy FOMO rather than true separation anxiety.

 

[kingsdaughter89]

@wholehalfmom Yes, this is a good point. There are 5 of us, and due to mismatched schedules, he's rarely home alone in the house, even though no one might be available to actually be physically with him. Unfortunately that won't change (and I will need to be able to work from home relatively undisturbed myself). I'm not sure how to deal with it. I'm currently thinking about putting a crate next to my desk and trying to see if he will settle/sleep there during sessions (I have a noise cancellation app, so the client won't hear him - but I will!). But that is maybe just delaying the problem.