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Have an appointment with a behaviorist


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Good luck with the appointment. I agree, this sounds like severe separation anxiety -- in fact, Buster just sounds like an anxious dog, in general. Age-related cognitive changes may also be playing a role. Your behaviorist will be able to tell you more but he sounds like a candidate for medication if there ever was one. You say he did not do well on Prozac, but there are a variety of meds you can try as each dog (or person, for that matter) is different and will benefit from different drugs.

 

In the meantime, is it possible to just bring Buster with you when you go places and leave him in the car? You say he's OK in there, and although it seems strange it's very common for dogs with SA to be OK in exactly that context. Solo was like that when he had severe SA, so whenever the weather allowed (i.e., when it wasn't dangerously hot outside) I would take him with me. He could not handle being alone for three minutes at home, but hours in the car, he had no problems with. It's not something I can explain easily. But, the problem is that SA becomes a vicious cycle -- every time the dog is left alone longer than he can handle, he has the panic reaction, thus reinforcing the association between being alone and panic, which makes him worse the next time -- and even if you are diligent about behavior modification, you can end up undoing everything you've done by leaving the dog alone too long the next time. With a combo of meds (to enable the dog to better handle being left alone) and lots of behavior mod, coupled with bringing him with you every time you are going to be gone too long ("too long" varying by dog and treatment program), you CAN handle this.

 

Solo learned to be totally alone for several hours at a time after a few months of meds and behavior mod, and then getting a second dog pretty much solved the problem entirely. He can still revert under duress -- it has been a very very long time since that happened, but I know it could happen again -- but everyday absences are not a problem for him. Good luck, and let us know what the behaviorist says.

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If I ever could get a chance to do something over it would have been to take Buster along when we had Bubba put to sleep (he had a tumor that completely blocked his lower intestine - he was 11 and came from a line of Golden's that didn't live much past 8). Each time I drove up and Bubba didn't get out of the car, Buster would start a horrible mournful howl, and of course I would start to cry. This went on for months. When we went places in the car he was reluctant to get out and would rush right back in. We were left with the impression that he was afraid we were going to leave him behind like we did the other dog in his mind. A few months after that he started with trashing the garage while we were gone, tearing at the walls, ripped down the curtains. I spent a huge amount of time with him, walking him every night, taking him to the barn on the weekends, we took him with us everywhere we could. This has progressed beyond anything we thought possible. I has been 3 years since Bubba crossed over, but for some reason the past couple of months have seen a sharp increase in his destructive behavior.

 

A thought has occured to me as I type this, in November I got layed off from my job, Dec 23 was to be my last day, they eliminated my position and I had to bid for another position. I didn't find out until late December that I had another position, so I was under a lot of stress. A couple weeks before I found out I got a new positition, my husband found out the place he has worked for the past 24 years had been sold. He will find out the end of March if he still has a job. We didn't get crazy, but it was obvious that for awhile, no one was driving the bus, if you know what I mean, it was difficult to concentrate and although we tried to be normal, this probably contributed to Buster's sharp increase in his level of destruction.

 

So far we have been leaving Buster out in the yard when we go to work, he is really glad to see me, barking and wagging, rather than his usual bolt out of the garage into the yard. He is making no attempt to get out of the yard, I am just concerned that it is so cold outside, it has been in the teens. We have an outbuilding with a dog door, I guess I need to find a place to put the deck furniture so he has more room to get out of the weather.

 

Note to Liz: - I still have a lot of their furniture they may want to use again some day, they couldn't understand why I replaced their dining room set since there was nothing wrong with it :rolleyes: ... only his Mom's puppy mill sickly miniature poodles were allowed into the house.

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Good luck with this and mojo from me and Vala for your vet behaviorist appointment. I agree it's the best thing you can do. Separation anxiety is so sad. Poor Buster!

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Wow - what a difficult situation all around for your whole family.

 

My thoughts are that you have had several good suggestions - another dog possibly; a different medication; keeping him in the yard where, in spite of the cold, he seems more content; finding someone who would enjoy a daytime dog buddy and would keep him while you are at work.

 

Very best wishes at solving your problems with Buster - you all are suffering and a solution will lower stress levels all around!

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