[GeoGeo]

Our dog has separation anxiety when I leave the house. She is starting to scratch the paint off the door. Any suggestions to keep her from destroying the door and/or breaking her of this habit? We are not home to correct her when she does it. She has a fit if you put her in a dog crate and leave her alone. I saw some cheap looking plastic that comes rolled up that you can put on the door, but the reviews were not that great. Anyone have this problem and find a happy solution?

[kaydee]

Our cocker spaniel had the same issue..ruined the door casing as well as the floor. We eventually put him in a crate when we left the house. He didn't like it but we knew he couldn't harm himself. The only other suggestion I may have is to talk to your vet and see about a mild medication. Just my opinion but I don't think this is a situation where you can break her of it. It's anxiety and she in panic mode. I do wish you luck.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by kaydee

Our cocker spaniel had the same issue..ruined the door casing as well as the floor. We eventually put him in a crate when we left the house. He didn't like it but we knew he couldn't harm himself. The only other suggestion I may have is to talk to your vet and see about a mild medication. Just my opinion but I don't think this is a situation where you can break her of it. It's anxiety and she in panic mode. I do wish you luck.

Our cocker spaniel Amber had this quite bad too. She would fall into the pool if someone forgot to close the safety gate as well. She was blind from cataracts too.

This was in Palm Harbor. We ended up having to put her down because of much of a problem her blindness and separation anxiety became.

The vet thought it was time after years of treatment for the cataracts.

[JSR22]

Originally Posted by GeoGeo

Our dog has separation anxiety when I leave the house. She is starting to scratch the paint off the door. Any suggestions to keep her from destroying the door and/or breaking her of this habit? We are not home to correct her when she does it. She has a fit if you put her in a dog crate and leave her alone. I saw some cheap looking plastic that comes rolled up that you can put on the door, but the reviews were not that great. Anyone have this problem and find a happy solution?

We had a dog that would not crate. He did not like to be in a small space. What worked was an x-pen. Larger space and no roof. He was completely happy in the pen.

[Trayderjoe]

Originally Posted by kaydee

Our cocker spaniel had the same issue..ruined the door casing as well as the floor. We eventually put him in a crate when we left the house. He didn't like it but we knew he couldn't harm himself. The only other suggestion I may have is to talk to your vet and see about a mild medication. Just my opinion but I don't think this is a situation where you can break her of it. It's anxiety and she in panic mode. I do wish you luck.

Originally Posted by JSR22

We had a dog that would not crate. He did not like to be in a small space. What worked was an x-pen. Larger space and no roof. He was completely happy in the pen.

Actually there are two separate, but unfortunately inter-related issues that you need to address. JSR22 had a good suggestion about an open top pen as long as your dog won't jump over it. Your dog might be more amenable to it. Should you go the crate route, get one bigger than you really need so the dog has a bit more room than just standing up and turning around. We trained our dogs by putting them in a crate with an old blanket draped over it to make it seem more like a cave. We also stuffed "Kong" toys with treats (sometimes freezing them for variety) and left a radio on. When leaving for work, I would just tell them "crate" and they would run to their crates and get their rewards. We also left the crate doors open all of the time and would find the dogs sleeping in the crate when they felt like napping.

One trainer we spoke with that helps the rescue group I volunteer with suggested a method that will take some time and commitment. He recommended leaving the dog for short periods of time with the radio on. For example, leave for 15 minutes-maybe take a walk, get the newspaper, etc. This process takes a while as the dog needs to understand that he/she is not being abandoned and that you will be right back. Over time you extend your "away" periods so that the dog begins to relate your going away with coming back. Also, do NOT make a big "fuss" when you leave or come back. The dog may become very exuberant and you don't want to "reward" the behavior by making the fuss. A "good boy" (or girl) should suffice. After getting home and settling in for a little bit, maybe reward your dog by taking him/her for a walk or a ride, this way the dog will hopefully associate your leaving as a natural occurrence and not that he/she is being abandoned. Unfortunately this is a "stick to your guns" type of behavior training because it may not appear to be working, but you might find that after you have built up the time away a little, when you leave and come back quicker than the current time goal, you might begin to see a behavior change.

The short of it is that confining your dog to a controlled area may be your only "win" if you can't change the separation anxiety (and either the open top pen suggested by JSR22 or a larger crate might be the best way). You may want to put down a washable pillow, or an old blanket that you can switch out within the pen/crate in case the dog drools from the anxiety. I would not recommend trying to put up plastic on the door as your dog could turn to other things due to his/her fear.

Good luck and hopefully it will work out positively for you and your little friend.

[jnieman]

Originally Posted by GeoGeo

Our dog has separation anxiety when I leave the house. She is starting to scratch the paint off the door. Any suggestions to keep her from destroying the door and/or breaking her of this habit? We are not home to correct her when she does it. She has a fit if you put her in a dog crate and leave her alone. I saw some cheap looking plastic that comes rolled up that you can put on the door, but the reviews were not that great. Anyone have this problem and find a happy solution?

Actually there are products made just for this problem. I did a search on Amazon for you and came up with quite a few.

Amazon.com: door protector
.

[GeoGeo]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions.

Probably going to try the x-pen and the rescue remedy to start with. Already have a huge crate that is for large dogs. Already don't make a big deal when we leave or when we come back. Thinking about setting up a nanny cam to see just how she acts when we are gone and then try some different things and see how she acts then. I may have to put a puppy gate up so that she can't get to the door to scratch it. Hoping she doesn't continue to scratch the door jam.

Has anyone used one of those Kongs filled with peanut butter? My husband was concerned that it would get on other things and also draw ants.

Again, thanks everyone for taking the time to make the great suggestions.

[BK001]

We have identical problem with our anxiety-ridden Yorkie. He scratched so badly that the door has grooves in it Last week we installed a metal kick plate. It actually does not look bad and we will see if it does the job. Good luck.

[JSR22]

Originally Posted by GeoGeo

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions.

Probably going to try the x-pen and the rescue remedy to start with. Already have a huge crate that is for large dogs. Already don't make a big deal when we leave or when we come back. Thinking about setting up a nanny cam to see just how she acts when we are gone and then try some different things and see how she acts then. I may have to put a puppy gate up so that she can't get to the door to scratch it. Hoping she doesn't continue to scratch the door jam.

Has anyone used one of those Kongs filled with peanut butter? My husband was concerned that it would get on other things and also draw ants.

Again, thanks everyone for taking the time to make the great suggestions.

I have used stuffed Kongs many times. After stuffing them I freeze them and there is not any mess.