Hi there, Our family dog has recently (within the last 3 weeks) started to have severe separation anxiety. She is a 4 year old GSP. She has always been a bit of a nervous/antsy dog, but we had always been able to leave her for 7-9 hours daily in the basement where she would lie on the couch and sleep. She has NEVER destroyed anything in our home. Since Christmas, she has begun to grow more anxious when we leave the house - crying, scratching at the door to the garage, barking. But still no damage. Within the last 2-3 weeks, she has gotten worse. First, she started knocking things off shelves, breaking glass items, peeing all over the place, and scratching at the doors. She ripped a toenail off. She was seen by the vet and they did various blood work ($300 worth) and a urine dip. Everything came out fine and she was diagnosed with separation anxiety. She was started on Prozac. Since starting Prozac, she seems to have worsened. A few days ago, she broke through the door to the basement and into a storage room in the basement. We tried to go back to the crate (she had previously been crate trained as a puppy and travels well in the car in the crate). She scratched so aggressively that it looked like a blood bath when we came home with blood splattered all over the carpet. She now has several bleeding toenails. We contacted the vet and were given Xanax. Fortunately, my mother has been sick for the last few days so she has been home with the dog, who is 100% fine when we are home with her. She definitely has side effects of the Prozac (lethargic, decreased appetite, doesn't want to play or be with us). We have yet to use the Xanax as my mom has been home with her. My questions are basically has anyone else ever dealt with this abrupt onset of separation anxiety? Any recommendations? My parents are considering having a behavioral specialist come to the house to do some kind of behavioral modification, but I was wondering if anyone has any specific techniques that they've used successfully. The situation is incredibly stressful and it kills us to know that she is hurting herself. Also of note, she does not do well at doggie daycare. She has been there a few times overnight and we were told she was fretful the entire time. It's also too expensive to do on a daily basis. She also is not a huge fan of other dogs. She is not aggressive/mean, but she prefers the attention and will insert herself between us and other dogs. Any recommendation would be appreciated!! Thank you. Caitlin
Has anything changed - food, routine, exercise amount etc? Is she the same if she is left in another part of the house? Has the weather changed dramatically? Has furniture or anything else been moved in the room she is left. The unusual part of your description is the sudden onset. Normally, I'd say medical but it sounds as though you have had her thoroughly checked out. If you can't pinpoint the trigger, then the behavioural specialist is the way to go but make sure they know and have worked with the breed previously and with this type of problem
You say that "She was seen by the vet and they did various blood work ($300 worth) and a urine dip. Everything came out fine and she was diagnosed with separation anxiety." I do not think that $300 would be sufficient for a full blood work-up or that "various blood work" would be enough for just a diagnosis of separation anxiety. Apart from the fact that something like separation anxiety does not, as @Chris B said, usually come on suddenly, it would take more than "various blood work" for such a diagnosis. A complete and full blood work-up, which would cost a lot more than $300 might give a more correct diagnosis, not just the blanket description of separation anxiety, which cannot show up from just "various blood work".
You won't like my input but I think that 7 - 9 hours is far too long to leave a high energy breed like a GSP home alone. How much exercise does she get before being left? What do you with her between coming home from work and going to bed? This is a breed which thrives on work and freedom, and calming her with SSRI's is just papering over the cracks rather than getting to the root of the problem. It doesn't make any difference when the SA started, it is here now and needs to be retrained. It is possible for a high energy breed to be happy living the life a pet dog, but that is by substituting exercise, attention, and company for a genetically designed life of working on the moors - and as you have seen that your girl has responded to the company of your mother. I would be inclined to step up both her exercise and mental stimulation levels - training classes would be a big help here. I would spend my days off work by retraining her to spend time alone, leaving her for varying periods of time while I do other jobs. Leave her without making a fuss, and have a TV or radio playing on a speech channel, (some disagree with this and say classical music). Prepare some long lasting chews and toys, like Kongs with frozen stuffed centres. My own breed, Beagles, have very similar problems, and for exactly the same reasons. They are pretty dogs, which were bred to work in the field as the member of a pack, but have become very popular as pets. Unfortunately, many of them end up in rescue because they can either become noisy or destructive when left home alone for long periods. The situation can be retrained, but there are no instant cures.
As an add on to @CaroleC she may benefit from some extra exercise diractly before being left. Also leave her some treat giving toys, the type that dispenses the treats slowly once she has worked out how to get to them, along with a few chewable toys ( dogs find chewing a relaxing and calming activity, in the correct setting ) If a dog has been fed, watered, tired and entertained mentally ( ie the toys ) then it should be a good start to leave her If she is “ pent up “ before you leave that could be part of the problem Let’s hope you can conquer this with everyone’s help as if must be very stressful for you & your pooch Please keep us updated, I feel it’s always a shame when lots of advice is given and the the person with the problem just disappear, we are left not knowing if we helped or not Once again, good luck Caitlin
Nothing has changed. She has been on the same food for years. The weather has been fluctuating between cold and warm but nothing too dramatic. No change in furniture. My mom has been leaving her for periods of time throughout the day the last few days and is leaving her upstairs to have free range of the house. They purchased a camera to watch her and talk to her while they are gone and so far she’s been okay. The longest she has been left is ~2 hours, but they’re keeping their fingers crossed. She seems to just lay by the front door or look outside, so we’re thinking maybe it keeps her busy to be able to look out the windows versus being in the basement. But she had been fine in the basement for 4 years. As far as additional vet work-up… My parents trust their vet. They have been our vet for my entire lifetime and are old family friends. She is 100% normal when we are with her. For instance, during a weekend when we’re home the entire time she’s fine. It seems that separation anxiety fits the description of her symptoms well and the blood work ruled out any obvious metabolic problems – thyroid issues, Cushing’s, etc. She has also always been a nervous dog. She just had never destroyed anything prior to this. She has been fine for 4 years staying alone that long. It is most often 7 hours as my mother works 7 hours days, however, there are instances when it may be longer. She gets a morning walk which is about 20 minutes. She occasionally gets another walk at night, but she honestly hates to be on the leash or take walks - she just wants to run. We have a larger yard and my dad typically spends at least an hour with her throwing the ball and letting her run. More if she still seems excitable. He typically does this until she tells us she is done (takes both balls and lays down). She is also hunted extensively on the weekends. If nothing is in season, my dad takes her for hours at a time in fields near our house where she still works. She goes for longer runs every single weekend because we are aware that GSPs are high energy breeds that need to work. Unfortunately, her exercise is limited right now because of the damage to her toenails. My dad has just started taking her for short walks again. We have tried kongs filled with peanut butter, bones (which usually keep her busy for several hours), and other stimulating toys. We have been trying the approach of leaving her even for short periods of time and not making a fuss this week. My mom is going to work today so it will be the first big test. She has done well throughout the last two days when we left in short bursts. She also seems more herself, which I’m assuming is the Prozac side effects wearing off. This makes us happy because we hate to see her acting not herself. Thank you for the input everyone! We also have a few names of trainers in the area and we’re going to go that route if allowing her upstairs doesn’t seem to help before simply sedating her with the Xanax on top of the Prozac.
Thank you for taking the time to give us the lovely update She does sound as if she loves her runs and that’s probably your answer She also sounds as if she is a well loved girl, let’s hope you get back to be a happy unit again soon Philippa
I'm glad things situation may be looking a little brighter Caitlin, and I hope this continues as your family life returns to a normal routine. As I mentioned earlier, the radio was a lifesaver when my girl had SA. It's great that you are able to have the two-way camera contact. Best wishes.
It does sound much better - one thing struck me though. You said: She obviously likes to look outside - what did she do/could she see when she was in the basement?
