[Kari_Ari]

We adopted Ari (10 months old) two weeks ago and he has been a very good boy. He's learned a lot!

The positive things about Ari are: he's friendly with other humans and all animals alike. He loves EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. He doesn't seem to have a mean bone in his body. He's very outgoing / social and just loves to be loved. He's confident (for the most part) and nothing really seems to scare him. He's curious about everything! He's completely potty-trained and knows several commands now.

The negatives: Ari seems to have separation anxiety and a fear of going outside in the backyard alone.

For starters... the separation anxiety. My husband and I both work different shifts. I work a 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. shift while my hubby works a 3 - 11:30 p.m. shift. So Ari is typically only alone for 3 1/2 - 4 hours a day (5x a week) tops.

When we first brought Ari home, this didn't seem to be a problem with him. Ari has "his area" (as we call it) where he sleeps at night and eats. There is a half door (or a country door as we call it) so he can remain back there while we're out. The space is large enough for him to walk around, play, stretch out, etc... and he seems to love being back there. (We tried crate training, but he wasn't keen on that). Each night when he knows it's his "bed-time", he goes back to his "area" and lays down. We shut the half door, and he's 100% fine. Never hear a peep out of him.

However, when Ari knows that we are leaving the house (to run to the store or to work) and he goes back in his area, he freaks out when we shut the door. He whines, cries, barks, jumps up and down, and just recently, managed to jump completely over the half door! I was surprised to find him roaming the house when I got home! (Though he was a good boy and didn't do anything too "bad".

When I come home from work each day, I don't make a big fuss over him. Most of the time I ignore him for a few minutes (I go through the mail, put my shoes away, etc...) and then I take him out to potty (still without fussing over him). I'm just not sure what to do about his separation anxiety when we're leaving the house.

I would leave him out in the house alone, but I'm just nervous that because he's still a "pup" - he may tear something up or potty in the house. (Though I know he's potty trained, I just don't want to take chances).

Any thoughts on what we can do to lessen the anxiety he feels about being left alone for 3-4 hours a day? (I already walk him everyday, once in the morning and twice in the evening). I know doodles love to be around people all the time...

Secondly - I'm not 100% sure how his previous home-life was, but from what I could tell when we adopted him, he was chained up outside a lot. So right now, Ari refuses to go outside alone. When I ask him if he wants to go outside and "go potty" he gets excited, ears perk up, wagging tail, etc... but when I open the door, he refuses to go outside. He just stands there and wags his tail. I've tried throwing treats out there, toys, etc... and he will not go unless I physically step out of the door with him and then when I try to get back inside, he tries to bolt back inside the house.

However, once he's in the yard by himself, he is perfectly fine! Like a normal dog! It's just getting him out of the door that's the hard part. And I never leave him outside alone long, most of the time I watch him from the back window and make sure that he's doing his business, then I let him back in once he's done checking out the yard. I'd say about half of the time, I do go out there with him. Once he potties, we play fetch for about 15 - 20 minutes and then go back in the house.

So other than the separation anxiety and not going out of the back door by himself, he's the perfect "little guy" for my husband and I! I just don't know what to do about this.

Any suggestions out there? And I'm so sorry that this is SO long - I just wanted to describe in full what was going on so you would get the big picture. Thank you if you've managed to read this far!

TIA!
- Kari & Ari
_________________
"If dogs could talk it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one."

Ari-Doodle
Born on: June 19, 2007
Given his fur-ever home on: April 16, 2008

[SadieFern]

My first suggestion would be that he needs to associate your leaving with something good...like a frozen Kong treat that'll keep him busy for a while.

My second suggestion would be to give him either 3 mg. of human Melatonin to calm him or try another natural pet calming remedy. If you google "pet calming medication" or something like that, you'll find a ton of safe ways to help him out until he gets past this stage.

A friend of mine swears by Doc Ackerman's products and he makes one for anxiety.


ETA here's the product my friend uses for when they put on air shows over her house every year. She said her lab just chills while the planes are flying while usually he's be freaking! It doesn't put them to sleep, just helps them chill:
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Doc-Ackermans-Herbal-Nerve-Anxiety-Formula/153016.aspx
_________________
~Julie~ Mom to three kids and two furbabies!
Sadie is a labradoodle, born 10/07, Jonas is a cockapoo born 6/08.

[Benny2k1]

Hi - this is something i can help with as our seperation anxiety was a MAJOR Problem, but dont worry it can be solved!!!

Can i ask what went wrong with the crate training?

try slowly introducing the "triggers" of when you leave the house e.g putting coat on etc. you need to keep doing this, then leave the house for 2 mins or so then come back, so ari understands that you aint abanoning her, another thing is to do your leaving triggers randomly so ari does not associate it with you leaving the house.

when yo do leave its good to give the dog distractions, such as kong, a marrowbone, maybe hide some treats.

when we leave the house we leave molly with her kong, by the time she has had this she will not have noticed we have even left!!!

The key that we were taught is to do lots of "false exits" so eventually your dog is soo used to you leaving they wont really care!

as for the going outside, i can not help really, only thing i can suggest is both you and your husband go out with your dog and make it as positive experiance as you can, playing, rewarding etc.

[deepnite10]

sorta like crate training..5 to 10 mins at a time till it turn s to a couple hrs then the whole day..we started giving him a treat as we left the house and then another when we got back..

it s seem s its the first 15 mins that are the hardest..we got over this by leaving him a big beef bone..he d chew on that for an hr. and by that time
he would have forgotten about us being gone..

[Kari_Ari]

Thank you all SO MUCH for your very helpful replies! You have no idea how much I truly appreciate them!

Today after work I am going to go out and buy a Kong toy for Ari. This may help with his anxiety when we leave. And thanks so much for the link to the herbal nerve & anxiety formula! If this problem persists, I am going to purchase this and see if it helps some.

I believe in time he will grow out of this stage, but it will take time. As I said before, I don't know exactly how his previous home-life was, but we suspect that he was tied out in their backyard a lot.

As far as the crate training went, he was petrified of it. We kept it into our family room where we spend most of our time with Ari. We made it inviting for him, never made him go into it, etc... I would hide treats in there and even throw treats in where he could see me do it and he wouldn't go near it. Luckily when I adopted Ari, the woman had his paperwork from the breeder where she bought him. I found the breeder's website and the breeder then told me that I was Ari's third owner (she tries to keep updates on all of her litters) and that his previous owners had problems crating him in the past. So I'm not sure if the previous owners used the crate as a punishment for him, but I know that he does not want anything to do with it, and I don't want to cause him any more stress/anxiety by forcing him into it (which I would never do).

Today, my husband is going to see if Ari does okay by himself alone in the house without being confined to his area. Typically, if he's left out in the house and we leave for a few minutes, he doesn't have the anxiety. I think he just wants to be out and about in the house. So if Ari does okay alone in the house (without chewing up anything or getting into anything lol) then we will lengthen the amount of time that he is alone in the house without being confined to his area. I hope he does okay. (There's not much for him to get into) - I just hope he chews his rawhide sticks and not the carpet or anything! lol. (Which he's never done...yet) lol.

Anyway - thanks so much again for the helpful advice! I know we'll get through this with Ari. It'll just take some time!

- Kari
_________________
"If dogs could talk it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one."

Ari-Doodle
Born on: June 19, 2007
Given his fur-ever home on: April 16, 2008

[hmz819]

Maya was exactly like Ari. She hated being crated or gated into an area. As soon as I gave her free reign of the house she was fine. All quiet when I left and all quiet when I came home. She has been left alone in the house now since she was 7 mos old. Except for one incident of a little chewing of my brand new area rug nothing has been touched.
_________________
Heather, Morgan, Maya, and Sadie
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion-Unknown

[MaxandMe]

Kari.......others have given you good advice
I admire you and your family hanging in there to resolve these
issues as i know it must be hard at times.

while i may not offer up any advice at this time as i am
still thinking......I can say you came to right place for
advice, a shoulder to lean on and possibly a good laugh down the line
_________________
Annmarie, Max,& Peanut
Forum BLOG ARTICLE LINK http://blog.labradoodle-dogs.net/

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Anatole France

[Kari_Ari]

hmz819 - thank you so much for your reply! It is reassuring to hear your experience is similar to mine!

I'm hoping that when Ari is left in the house alone, he will be a good boy! The other day when he "jumped" the half door and got out of his area, he was fine. The only thing he found was a stuffed animal that belonged to my niece. (Needless to say... it's now Ari's stuffed animal!) lol.

I'll update once he spends his hour "alone" in the house.

Thanks again! And I just wanted to say that Maya is beautiful!!! Lover her coloring!

- Kari
_________________
"If dogs could talk it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one."

Ari-Doodle
Born on: June 19, 2007
Given his fur-ever home on: April 16, 2008

[Kari_Ari]

MaxandMe - Thank you so much for your kind words! My husband and I refuse to give up on Ari. He's such a loving part of our family and I know he will over-come this.

You're right - I have gotten great advice thus far and this has been a wonderful place so far with nothing but kind (doodle-loving) folks!

Thanks again!
- Kari
_________________
"If dogs could talk it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one."

Ari-Doodle
Born on: June 19, 2007
Given his fur-ever home on: April 16, 2008

[Kari_Ari]

Well - I just got a call from the hubby!

He left Ari in the house (free to roam) this morning. He left at 8:30 a.m. and just got home at 11:15 a.m. (Hubby left him longer than I thought he would) but...

It was a success!!!

Ari was perfect, he didn't potty in the house (I really didn't think he would anyway) but most importantly he didn't destroy/chew up anything! (That was my main concern!)

I am so happy about this! I don't have any children - but I feel like such a proud "mom" right now!
_________________
"If dogs could talk it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one."

Ari-Doodle
Born on: June 19, 2007
Given his fur-ever home on: April 16, 2008

[sdrudge]

That is GREAT to hear. I am glad he did so well. Cacao doesn't go into her cage except on Sundays, and when and if she gets into trouble.
_________________
Samantha, Cacao and Beau

[hmz819]

That's great! That's how I started with Maya. I would leave her for an hour and just keep increasing the time I left her alone. I also make sure all temptations (like paper and food) is out of sight. She is now up to a full 8 hours with no problems. I say as long as he behaves leave him out if ti makes him feel better.

And thanks for the comments about Maya. I love her too!
_________________
Heather, Morgan, Maya, and Sadie
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion-Unknown

[blueteal]

Awesome Ari...............good boy
So happy that is working out for you.............
You have every reason to be proud.
We first started leaving Denver at 11 months old and with
nine cats in the house I was a bit nervous as to what mess
i would find but nothing not then and not now..................

CONGRATS ARI
_________________
Sue & Denver
http://blueteal.net/denver.htm
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
- Josh Billings

[deepnite10]

though i had Toby crate trained in 3 days..it was nt easy...he would nt go in without alot of coaxing..

i had the crate ready for him when he came home..the door was open, blankets to lay on, and toys..and even with treats he would nt go in without me putting his front paws across the opening and push his butt in..
then give him a few treats and each time saying *good Toby*

i did this on and off half the night..*i loss alot of sleep that first night*..he would wine and bark but eventually i just would nt answer his complaining and he d stop..it helped that i put a blanket over the crate and when it was time to sleep id put it over the front as well..i kept him in the crate in the evening s and much of the day until he was potty trained..

the main thing was to let him know that each time i left the room that i would return..

[dgeggis]

I was pretty lucky in that my crate was exactly the same as the one the breeder used to keep all the puppies in together.

I just left the door open and Remy would go in to nap and then come back out when he needed to. His nightime crate took one night for him to "figure" out that he needed to sleep there. I used it on the first night and although he whined and cried almost every hour. I was diligent to get up and take him out. So I don't think he thinks that he's "locked" in forever.

I also had a stuffed teddy bear that came with mom's scent on it, so although it wasn't warm it smelled like mom was near.

Getting through those first few weeks/months can be hard.
_________________
Diane