Pining dog - any suggestions?

[chrysalis]

Hi all
We had 2 dogs, an 12 yo mini foxy and 10 yo jack russell terrier x maltese both female.
We purchased the foxy to be a mate to our JRT about 9 years ago as the JRT suffered terrible sep anxiety from us which manifested itself in all day barking when we were at work. Prior to that time we spent a lot of time at dog obedience school training the JRT and she is otherwise very good and easy to control. She is great with our 18 mo son.
Our foxy her mate has recently passed away.
Our JRT is now pining the loss of her mate and has started the barking again. She also appears to be in a depressed state. We are trying to do all we can to minimise her distress, extra exercise, inside with us all of the time, more play/ brain stimulating activities. As a coincidence I believe, our 18 mo has taken a real interest in her too and together they spend alot of time engaging in play which she has not always from us but which she enjoyed with her doggie mate.
The reality is however that we are not home 24/7 and there are times where we cannot entertain her to keep her mind busy.
We have decided against buying another dog for the time being.
I am hoping that in time her grief will subside and her behaviour will settle.
I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to help her grieve and make it through this difficult time?
TIA
Belinda.

[Rivlas]

This has just happened with our niece.
Today they are getting someone (I think a dog handler) in to work with the dog to help her get over the separation. They were told it should take 1 session of about 2 1/2 hours.
If its a success will let you know.

[christy]

It maybe that her separation anxiety has increased due to this. Its very hard, and you are doing all the right things.

Maybe get some good treats, like chicken wings or pigs ears and freeze them, everytime you leave the house give her a frozen treat that she has to work on to eat and keep her occupied for those first few minutes which is what triggers separation anxiety. Good luck!

[Rivlas]

How is your dog going.
I just heard from my niece who had a guy from Ausdogs come and work with her dog and she is really please with how things went.
Will be interesting to see how she is after a few weeks.

[krysalyss]

Hi there,
Anxiety can be tricky to treat and may require some medication so the dog can respond to behavioural therapy so you may want to talk to someone who can come out and work one on one with your dog (eg. veterinary behaviourist)
Google behavioural enrichment or environmental enrichment to see some good ideas for keeping your dog busy during the day. It is really commonplace for zoo animals but seems to get overlooked a bit for domestic pets.
Also if you feel she is starting to ramp up her anxiety as you start to leave the house you can change your leaving routine. For example dogs can learn whether you are going for a short time or a long time (eg. if you put on your joggers or take the washing basket out the back as compared to picking up your handbag and keys) and a change in their expectations of what is going to happen can help. You can also do some interval training where you basically give treats for being quiet (this works best with a clicker but you may need some help to get started with clicker training). Once the dog expects treats for being quiet you can build up to longer times, walking out the gate, walking around the block etc. So the dog learns the you being away is followed by you coming back and a reward. But it is also good like Christy said to give something like a bone when you leave to distract them as well.
Lastly if you think another dog would help but don't want to commit to getting a new pet you can consider fostering which provides a temporary home for a dog without the long-term responsibility. Your local rescue service like the RSPCA usually need people to foster animals.
I hope this helps.

[flyingk8]

bb77 how is your dog now? Coincidentally we have a 10yo golden ****erspaniel and she lost her lifelong mate 6mths ago. She suffers terribly from separation anxiety, even if I close the door when I'm in the bathroom. We have resorted to taking her everywhere with us in the car, but after 6months it's utterly exhausting!

I'm wondering whether you found any solutions?

[Netix]

Belinda, I have seen on better homes and gardens a couple of times how Dr Harry solves this. He gives the pining dog a soft toy companion to snuggle up with when you can't be there. The 'toy' has some little 'heart' inside it to mimic the beating of another dog's heart, which keeps them comforted. I'll try to look it up now to see if I can find out what its actually called.

In some cases, sedative may be prescribed.

I'm sorry to hear of everyone's little dog loss, and good luck.


Ok, they're called Snuggle Puppy, and you can get them from a site called snuggleme dot com dot au. They come in six different colours and have a heater in them too.