My beagle has severe separation anxiety. I cannot leave him alone without him howling nonstop for hours. It causes me stress because I feel like I spend as much time as can with him, but I have a life and have to be away from him sometimes for work and school. I am reluctant to get another dog as many people say because I don’t want to risk doubling my problems. What are some good ways to help cure him of separation anxiety, or at leas keep him from howling so frantically?
you can’t cure it, but you can help control it. make sure before you leave you take him outside on a strenous walk. get a crate and get him accustomed to it. once he’s comfortable it will give him a place he knows is safe and you’ll return. make the crate a safe and fun place to be. put things he finds comforting in it, as long as he won’t eat them. and don’t leave him in the crate for long periods. you’re best to put him in the crate in a room where you can dissapear from. don’t make a sound while he’s howling. once he stops even for a second return. do not make a big deal out of it. act like it’s the most normal thing in the world for you to be doing. keep doing this for longer periods until you get the desired reaction from the dog. consistancy goes a long way. make this a several times a day thing at first. start small and work up to longer periods. do not make a big deal out of leaving. just place him in the crate and leave. because it’s no big deal. hopefully soon he’ll settle down and be on a routine with things and know what to expect. and you are right, adding another dog is going to double your problem. the new dog will learn this is what you do when the owner leaves.
Anorexia Advisor; Help for Young Girls
Advice on Anorexia
I had the same problem with my dog, she would howl like she had been hurt, I tried everything my vet suggested with no luck, so I got a puppy & because my pup was active my elder dog got destracted by the pup, & little by little the seperation anxiety dissapeared
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Have you tried putting him in a crate while you’re gone? If you put a blanket over it it’s more like a "den". You could also try leaving the tv on. A&E & History are some good channels because they have alot of shows with mellow-voiced narrators.
This worked well for my dog until he outgrew the crate. After that he tore everything up & we finally broke down & got another dog. We were hesitant to get another dog, but we have less problems with 2 dogs than we did with just the 1.
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Leave some clothes you wore by his bed. The small might reinsure him. Leave TV on. Sound might help. Or get another puppy?
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you can’t cure it, but you can help control it. make sure before you leave you take him outside on a strenous walk. get a crate and get him accustomed to it. once he’s comfortable it will give him a place he knows is safe and you’ll return. make the crate a safe and fun place to be. put things he finds comforting in it, as long as he won’t eat them. and don’t leave him in the crate for long periods. you’re best to put him in the crate in a room where you can dissapear from. don’t make a sound while he’s howling. once he stops even for a second return. do not make a big deal out of it. act like it’s the most normal thing in the world for you to be doing. keep doing this for longer periods until you get the desired reaction from the dog. consistancy goes a long way. make this a several times a day thing at first. start small and work up to longer periods. do not make a big deal out of leaving. just place him in the crate and leave. because it’s no big deal. hopefully soon he’ll settle down and be on a routine with things and know what to expect. and you are right, adding another dog is going to double your problem. the new dog will learn this is what you do when the owner leaves.
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get a crate or maybe a superyard (thats made for toddlers, i got it and my pup loves it) play with your dog in that area for maybe 15 minutes a day or even whenever u play with him try to keep it in the crate or superyard. this will get him use to being in there. then when your home and dont have anywhere to go to. put your dog in the crate/superyard and go into another room for a half an hour. gradually over time leave for a longer amount of time. make sure when u come back to your dog u play with him so he will know that you will always come back to him.
i highly suggest the superyard bc your dog will have room to play so he can entertain himself rather then sitting in a crate with nothing to do.
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i did this with my pup whos 6 months old now and she only whines for a few seconds and stops