Bad Separation Anxiety

S

sheltiegirl91

Forums Regular
So I know that Sheltie's tend to have separation anxiety and will tear thing up and get into things but does anyone know how to stop that? Max has some real bad separation anxiety. Me and my boyfriend go to school in the mornings so Max and our cat Charlie are home alone for 4 hours tops, and every time we come home from school there is something ripped up or broken. Monday it was Michael's sunglasses, yesterday it was a plastic bag and today a whole magazine and my glasses...luckily I have contacts. Even if we leave him alone for 15 min, he still manages to get into things. We have tried putting things where he cannot get them but I think Charlie gets things for him. We use to spank him and tell him no but he is such a timid dog we stopped and just started pointing at what he does and telling him no. We have no clue what to do. We bought him things to chew on and he chews on them but Max seems to like to rip up our other things. Max also takes my clothes and brings them downstairs to his bed, but never Michael's things. We want to try and stop this before I get a job, because then he will be left alone for longer hours. I have never had this much trouble with a dog in my life. Like I have said before, this is my first Sheltie and I'm in need of some help. Any takers? :o
 
Your boy is a pup right? If he is, I don't think it's seperation anxiety, it's being a puppy. If I were in your situation, I would crate him while you are gone. Don't worry, it's not mean. I crate my girls all the time. They love their crates. This way, everything will be in tact when you get home. Just my thought.
 
I agree with Shaun.

Crating Max will solved many problems. It will keep him safe, will stop him from distroying your things and peace of mind.:winkgrin:
 
I would crate Max till he knows how to behave. Don't spank him,,,,they really don't know why you are doing that and since they can be sensitive it is not a good thing to do.
 
yup you have to crate him until he can be trusted. My puppy is 5 months old and I definitely wouldn't let her have freedom of the whole house. Even when I'm home, I follow her like a hawk.
 
Yep crating is to me the only sensible solution.Even if he were a pup that di not misbehave,a crate is the safest place,for your peace of mind,and to keep him from getting hurt.

So long as you know he has did his business & has been fed,crating is the way to go.
 
Agreed, crate him.

Mine is 3 years old and we still crate him when we go out; though in an X-pen. He LOVES it. He'll go and lay down in it on his own even when we are home. It's like his "room" in our house.
 
Sadie couldn't be left alone in the house till she was well over a year old or she'd chew on things. She's now two and we've only started giving her the run of the house successfully two months ago.

My parent's sheltie Milo had terrible separation anxiety. If they left him alone for even 15 minutes they'd come home to a destroyed house. They've only stopped crating him when they're not home in the last year. He's now 8 years old. His anxiety is still there when I babysit him, he can't stand being away from home. He gets very depressed and

Crating is the way to go, whether he's just being a bad puppy or is having anxiety. Don't feel bad crating him, they often like their crate and feel safe when they're inside it. Both Sadie and Ginny love their crates.
 
I agree with all the previous posters. Crating is definitely the best thing to do.

Also, I wanted to say that if your dog chews something up while you're gone and you come home to find it, even pointing at the object and saying "no" firmly doesn't teach the dog anything. Research has found that dogs have very little recall for what they've done. That's why when you are potty training a dog you shouldn't yell at them after they've finished, because they don't understand. They just think you're yelling/scolding for no reason. Unless you catch them in the act, they don't put 2 and 2 together.

And it may also be that your dog is bored. I wouldn't characterize my dog as having separation anxiety, but if I leave paper out while I'm gone, he will chew it up.
 
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