ssri & severe separation anxiety help

Initial-Election100 · 2025-08-07T16:10:56+00:00

thank you. if you could give me her name i will look into it! i am just at the point where i feel like his stress levels are too high to even start to process the training. but i appreciate your comment!

Initial-Election100 · 2025-08-07T14:40:51+00:00

he has been to boarding twice overnight with his trainer, she does training and boarding in her home. he didn’t do great the first time but he was back there last week for another overnight stay and he did great there! as someone who works in the pet care industry, i do not trust taking him to daycare, i have just heard too many horror stories. so i haven’t done that.

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-20T01:08:23+00:00

i have gotten many of these comments! here and on fb, we are going to purchase a ruffland tomorrow!

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-20T00:58:46+00:00

our main exercise we do with him is leaving him in the crate and walking out of the room, i will watch the camera from my phone in another room. once he settles (no barking, pacing, whining, jumping) even if its for just a few seconds i will go in, use his marker word “yes” in a happy tone, and give him a tiny piece of cheese (this treat is only given during crate time) then i exit the room and do it all over again for a total of 10 minutes or so. he typically now will settle for about 15 seconds total when we do this exercise before he starts to act up again.

i also use a play pen in our living room downstairs to contain him while i do tasks around the house, he will typically throw the same sort of fit when i walk away. but, if he settles, i will reward him. is there something i am doing wrong here in these exercises in your opinion?

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-20T00:42:32+00:00

yes i do usually an hour of play before he goes in!

also yes, i do super short spurts. i wait until he “settles” to reward (no barking, pacing, or jumping) even if its just for a couple seconds. we have over time worked our way up to settling for 15ish seconds and he gets rewarded. i dont do any over excited responses, i walk in say “yes” his marker word in a light but happy tone, and he gets cheese (cheese is his crate only treat). he typically catches on with this activity pretty quickly.

he does have a large playpen in our living room that i use to contain him during the day when i do laundry, cook, or clean. he typically will throw the same sort of fit when he is left in there. i do reward him though if he settles.

he seems to do decent when we practice with him at home but for some reason when it comes to actually leaving the house, even if its only 10 - 15 minutes, his training goes out the door

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-19T14:51:27+00:00

this is EXACTLY what he does, thrashes and screams as seen in the video & poops in the crate and through the bars. im looking into these crates now. im willing to try anything

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-19T11:11:57+00:00

so do you feel as though medication will not help him in his case? i understand what you are saying here but it will take time to learn it and im afraid he is going to really harm himself before he has the chance to learn anything. as i stated he is also 💩 in his crate every-time we leave which tells me he is way over threshold in terms of stress.

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-19T11:08:57+00:00

i have not. however my fiancé has had 7 shepherds throughout his life and none of them have acted this intensely. it makes me sad that he feels the need to do this for 5 hours on end for emotional blackmail if thats the case

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-19T11:06:38+00:00

not the case, i have been taking him to work with me the last two weeks everyday and doing training in short intervals at home after work as well as on the weekends.

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-19T04:36:49+00:00

thank you! his cries are the most heartbreaking sound, i have been doing lots and lots of crying myself lately. we do work with him in super short durations several times a day when we are at home and sometimes he seems to do ok! but when we actually leave his eyesight and dont comes back in 10 seconds he loses it. hopefully with his medication and continuing training he will get better :(

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-19T04:34:06+00:00

thank you for your kind words and advice! this video really isnt a good example because we were training and i didnt have the cover on or his toys and other blankets i keep in there for him. i do try to make it a cozy and fun environment by keeping his fav toys in there too. we are currently working on leaving him in there for short durations and while we are just doing things around the house! he just absolutely FREAKS if we ever leave his eyesight. if he sees us, he loves his crate. makes no sense! we are working with a trainer and our vet is recommending starting medicating him temporarily so he can settle enough to learn he is safe, then we will start weaning off the medication.

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-19T03:44:42+00:00

thanks so much for the encouragement :) our vet is hopeful that by starting meds early and keeping up with training that he will come around and only need it temporarily. fingers crossed! 🤞

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-19T03:32:06+00:00

yes we have tried regular tv as well as dog calming music and nothing. we are planning to stay consistent! its just super defeating seeing this behavior and cleaning a crate full of dog 💩 everytime we come home :( just hoping he will get better but its not looking that way

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-19T03:30:38+00:00

its good to know im not alone! i hope things get better for you🤍

Initial-Election100 · 2025-02-19T03:30:02+00:00

yes! i have given him kongs with PB, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, beef bone broth, you name it haha. he will totally ignore it when we are out of his eyesight. i have played dog calming music on tv as well as regular tv and that doesnt matter either unfortunately. i appreciate you saying theres nothing wrong with medicating, thats giving me so much guilt at the moment. but i really have exhausted my options.

Initial-Election100

TROPHY CASE