[K & G]

For those of you with beagles that suffer from SA, are you medicating him/her? Why, or why not? What, if anything, worked for you?

I had a thread on this awhile back, and at that time, Gage seemed to be getting better, but now he's worse. If anyone leaves the house, he barks, yelps, runs and salivates. He even gets upset if he's in the car with us, and one person gets out (even if he can still see the other person). We can even hear him crying in the house while we're in the driveway. He's happy to go somewhere with one person and leave others behind, or to be left behind outside by himself, but gets upset when left in a crate, or free in the house.

He's not loud enough to bother the neighbors, so that's not a problem, but I do wonder if he'd be better off with some medication. It would be a last resort though. I'd rather not do it, but it can't be good for him to get so upset.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Boy can I relate to this one. I've tried so many things with Jersey and really didn't have any luck. We did the herbal route (from both the pet shop and vets), the sedative route(acepromazine), the anti-anxiety route(clomipromine/clomicalm) and nothing ever really worked. I do know other dogs who have responded well to these same treatments though. Jersey too gets upset if one of us leaves. Actually, everything you said about Gage is exactly what Jersey does, minus the drool. If Mike goes to take the trash out or runs to the store, Jersey cries and whines...same if I leave. I can leave her at day care and at my aunt's house without any problems now. She used to cry then too, but she seems to have worked herself through it. I've been told another dog would help, but I don't want to make that commitment without being sure I won't just be making the situation worse.

Have you tried conter conditioning? Just leave and come right back in. Get ready for "work" and then sit down and watch TV. Pick up your keys and walk around with them. Wash dishes with your coat on...whatever you usually do that triggers Gage to know that you'll be leaving the house. Put him in a sit stay and work on increasing the distance you can walk away. Work up to another room, then close the door, then to the front door, then out and right back in...you get the idea...until you can leave without him getting upset. I did this with Jersey and we've worked up to about three minutes. I figure by the time I can leave her home alone, I'll be ready to retire. LOL!

So I really haven't offered any help, other than to say we had no luck with medications. But at least know you're not going through this alone!

 

[we3beagles]

Also, when you are ready to leave, just leave. No bye bye baby see you soon, just go. When you get home ignore them. Put your groceries away, hang up your coat and then give them a scratch behind the ears. That way they learn that coming and goings are of no consequence to them. Give your beagle a puzzle to figure out while you are away. Take a treat and put it in the middle of an old tea towel and knot it like crazy. Stuffed puzzle balls and tricky toys to get treats out of work as well.

 

[Pegasus]

OH how we know about this one.

Quick history...Snoopy is from the Anticruelty Society in Chicago...no chips, no tags, no background.

He is terrified of everything...when we cook, any noise, the heater and air conditioner....everything.

When we first got him we had a crate (everyone said that we needed to 'crate train') and he would howl and bark for hours...and my fiancee and I are both doctors and we have to work..

I had a week off..no progress at all...we did the leave for 1 min then 5min...ect...all bad out of the crate. Once we started crating him things go SO much better. Now there is no barking or howling...took about 4 weeks total.

I went to the vet, called a lot of people, we thought that we would have to give him back..

I used DAP...dog appeasing pheramones..it is a plug in to the outlet that you can get from the pet store. It doesnt work for about 3-5 days so I had to try medications recommended by the vet.It is called Comfort zone..

I also used Rescue Remedy from Whole Foods...it calmed him down to get him into the crate and it relaxes them. We now put him in the crate about 15 mins before we have to leave. We make sure he is sleeping or at least relaxed before we leave.

I hope this helps a bit..if you have any other
?s then just PM me

Manda and Snoops

 

[K & G]

Thanks for the replies. It is good to hear that we're not alone in this. As I'm sure you all know, these aren't just normal barks, but are panicky wailing type things that just rip your heart out. It's so hard to walk away and ignore it all.

We have tried counter conditioning but it's not doing too much good so far. I know the problem is on our end though. I'm sure he's reading our body language. Sometimes it's like he can sense that we're not really going. Usually when we ask him to get in his crate, he'll hop right in, but if we are planning to leave, he'll run in the opposite direction instead. If we try to lead him to the crate, he'll lock his back legs like little brakes. We'll keep working on keeping ourselves calm. The new dog idea is interesting. With my luck, I'd have two whining dogs instead of one though :hi:

Jen, I laughed at your comment about being ready to retire before Jersey's okay with you being gone for awhile. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif I know just how you feel.

We3beagles, that's whats confusing. We did that with Gage from the beginning. He was fine too, but at around a year old, something clicked and we've been dealing with SA ever since. I used to put him in his crate with a kong, but he wouldn't even touch it. I guess he just cries until he's exhausted.

Pegasus, so are you using both DAP and Rescue remedy now to keep Snoopy calm?

 

[Murphys Dad]

Jersey does this God awful howl/scream thing that sounds like she's being tortured. It's horrible. Keller, I smiled when I read how Gage knows when you're really leaving and pretend leaving. Jersey has me pegged on that too. It seems that Jersey and Gage have very similar cases. Jersey had these issues as a puppy, grew out of them for about 6 months and then regressed back a little after she turned one. We haven't been able to get her back to being OK with us leaving. I used to be able to put her in her crate with food and treats and she was fine. Now, she runs and hides under the bed when she knows it's time to go in it. Not even a treat stuffed Kong will keep her happy. She'll sleep in it and just go relax in it with no problems, but if she knows she'll be locked up there's no way she's going in there. So for now, I rely on family and doggie day care!

 

[conniew]

you know, when the beags see us putting peanutbutter in a Kong, they can't wait for us to leave!!! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

and that is the only time they get peanutbutter...
maybe if you give Gage a super-special treat???
though I 'm sure you've tried that....

 

[K & G]

Yes, we did try that. Unfortunately, like Jersey, he doesn't even care about food if someone's leaving.

 

[Pegasus]

We only use comfort zone in the outlet now. And we can tell when it is out b/c Snoopy will start acting more scarred of things and noises.

We used the rescue remedy(and there is another herbal medicine you can get at petsmart) when he would have such bad seperation anxiety that he would bark and howl for hours. We only needed it for about 1-2 months, now we never use it.

Hope this helps

Amanda

 

[we3beagles]

So it is more of a reaction to your leaving than actually being put in his crate? Maybe try making your leaving of no consequence to the pup by picking up your keys at random times of the day and putting on your jacket several times so he begins to see that these things become of little or no consequence to him. Does he like his crate at other times? Does he sleep in it or is it just for when you go away?

 

[angelaH]

We know this problem as well. Dave and I have made the mistake of not leaving our two alone in the house since he retired. If one of us goes out, shopping etc, the dogs are restless, especially Snoopy, and whine. Yet they are brilliant if left in their crate in the car, whilst we go into a restaurant, or shop.
When we first got Snoopy and Susi, we left them locked in the lounge with a RADIO ON. This worked fine at night, but when we left during the day Snoopy wrecked the lounge. Then we tried leaving the lounge door open so they could run around the ground floor (we have a gate on our stairs) and it seemed to work. It meant making sure there was nothing they could hurt themselves on. We are going to start doing this again, as in summer one cant leave them in a car.
Good luck with your attempts if I think of anything else I'll let you know

 

[Bradleysmom]

Hi! My beagle, Bradley also suffers from separation anxiety, as well as being paralyzed,(like Murphy) which has compounded the problem. We have tried clomacalm and valium along with conditioning, and it really didn't help much, although he hasn't eaten the moldings and door frame lately .(I hope I'm not jinxing myself!)He is currently taking prozac, and I just ordered the pheremone plug-in. I am willing to try anything. What compounds the problem is that he has no bowel or bladder function so if he becomes excited and barks....lets just say its not a pretty site to come home to after an attempt to have dinner out, so it's hard to bring ourselves to try. I will let you know if it works!!Good Luck!

 

[K & G]

Sorry everyone, for some reason I didn't notice that this had been revived.

Quote:Originally posted by we3beagles:
So it is more of a reaction to your leaving than actually being put in his crate? Maybe try making your leaving of no consequence to the pup by picking up your keys at random times of the day and putting on your jacket several times so he begins to see that these things become of little or no consequence to him. Does he like his crate at other times? Does he sleep in it or is it just for when you go away?

He sleeps in his crate at night, and if he gets treats that will be too messy for the rug, he gets them there. He'll also climb in on his own during the day if he's tired. Every night, we'll tell him it's time for him to go to his crate, and he'll get in without a fuss.

Since this thread, I've been trying a lot of the tips shared here. No progress yet, but I know it will take time.

Thanks Pegasus. I'll see if we can find the rescue remedy at the local store.

Doghouse, that's interesting that they responded well to having the run of the house. We don't let Gage have the whole house by himself yet, and leave him in a crate, or in one room. Perhaps he'd be better if he could wander a bit. Definitely something to consider. It's a little disheartening to know that they still suffer even though they have each other though.

Merry, that sounds very tough. Please do let me know how the prozac and plug-in work out. I'll keep my fingers crossed for all of you.

 

[cheerio]

I do know of several way to cure the problem:
1- training. This takes time and dedication but it does work.
2- Rescue remedy. This is best in the milder case although it also can work in more sever cases so it is a good thing to try. If you decide to try it, allow about 4 weeks before defciding that it dsoes not work.
3- DAP. In the home, you can get the vaporizer. Otherwise, the collar is best, although I still have not been able to find it in North America. If you chose this and cannot locate one, please feel free to talk to me I regularly bring some back from Europe.
4- There is a product called "Home Alone". Although I have never used it, I was told that it is effective. You may want to try it. Just as Rescue Remedy, it is a natural product.

My favorite of all time is still the DAP product, couples with training.

 

[jmd1021]

A response to the previous reply....

I am new to owning a beagle and was curious how to train my puppy to not have SA?