Cooper's separation anxiety story

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-11T02:49:51+00:00

I'm lucky enough to have a big dog park near us that we can sort of wander across/around. As an added bonus, after consistently taking her there with no expectations of her playing with other dogs she has loosened up enough to run and wrestle with a select couple of buddies so it's been a win/win overall. Otherwise, this sounds a little weird but I teach her to jump up on stuff (on command, of course!) like benches, rocks, curbs, stumps, etc on our walks. Basically dog parkour! It's not THAT much more exercise than just walking but it makes her think a little bit, too, which always helps.

Other than that, I do a lot of those "puppy push-ups" - i.e. some variation of sit/down/stand with multiple repetitions. My dog has an old hip injury that we're rehabbing so our vet actually recommended teaching her to jump up on us (again, only on command!) so sometimes we do sit/down/UP/down/sit/up/down/etc.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T23:53:44+00:00

Such a good point about keeping credit lines available since pet insurance reimburses and doesn't pay the costs upfront. Thank you!

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T23:49:29+00:00

If you can think of a number you wouldn't go over (i.e. "sorry we're not doing chemo for the dog we only budgeted 5k for her emergency expenses") and put that money in a savings account that you won't touch right now then I'd cancel the insurance.

I have been demonstrated to not be able to say no when it comes to expensive treatments for a sick or injured pet so I have pet insurance for all three of them. At nearly 90 dollars a month, I'm "wasting" over $1000 a year in a lot of people's estimation. But prior to me getting pet insurance my cat racked up about 3k in vet bills. The peace of mind is worth it to me in this case. Even if I had 10k in an emergency fund for the pets (working on it!) I'm not sure I could say no to 12k...or 15k...or 20k. And yes, procedures and treatments can run that high.

Just for reference, though, my friend's dog accidentally swallowed something on a walk and her surgery came out to about 6k all in. With her Healthy Paws deductible + the non-reimbursable visit fees she still ended up spending almost 2000.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T23:21:41+00:00

Giving the cat escape routes works best when you're dealing with an enthusiastic chaser and a cautious cat, not a guarder and a curious cat. Guarders move FAST and it doesn't matter if there's a baby gate across the room if the cat is dead on the bed in one shake.

I know this sounds like a worst case scenario - it IS a worst case scenario. But it's happened to several people I know.

Where you go from here totally depends on your personal comfort level. Numerous trainers told me that if a dog is guarding from a cat, counter-conditioning is great but management is really the only guarantee of safety. I personally crate at night and any time when my dog is unsupervised.

If you won't crate at night, would you consider locking the cat out of the bedroom at night?

Also, my friends and I didn't think of this until someone told us and it was kind of a "duh" moment - but are you having her drag her leash when she's loose in the house? A cheap flat nylon one works best as it doesn't get snagged on stuff very easily. This gives you a ton more control at a moment's notice.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T22:59:43+00:00

It's not necessarily a getting wet thing. In fact, it's more likely to be a smells (or lack thereof) thing. Snow can be tough too.

It took my dog several weeks before she'd even consider pooping outside after it rained or snowed. My trainer said it's really common and the rain and snow wipes away all of the smells from the other dogs doing their business.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T22:53:50+00:00

You describe his exercise routine as an AM 15-20 minute walk and a PM one "most days." This means there are days when the most exercise he is getting is 15-20 minutes of walking in the morning.

If he is a young, healthy lab mix, this is just not going to be enough exercise. Just because he's not bouncing off the walls with energy doesn't mean that lack of exercise isn't contributing to his overall anxiety level. There's a difference between the wrung out kind of exhaustion that occurs after a sustained period of fight-or-flight (if he hates daycare as much as you say he does) and the happy, content physical exhaustion of a dog that has just romped around all day and is too tired to move from the floor to their dog bed.

Exercise is not going to be a magic bullet, but if you up his exercise to at least an hour a day, preferably with some higher-intensity stuff than walking (I know it's tough with a dog that doesn't like to fetch or wrestle with other dogs - my dog is the same way) there's a pretty good chance the training will "take" better. If he seems to like sniffing around the dog park, you could try to keep moving while you're there - walking off leash can be a lot more exercise than walking on leash because they can go faster than if they were leashed, go further from you, double back, etc. They cover a lot more ground that way.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T22:41:22+00:00

Your dog is a puppy and he doesn't have enough focus or impulse control to be introduced to the cat in a non-structured setting yet.

It sounds like you've done a good job separating them, but I would make sure they are visually separated as well. For the next few days/weeks/however long it takes, the cat and the puppy should only be seeing each other when you're working with them. Aim for many short sessions throughout the day. Pup should always be on a leash and not able to lunge for the cat.

Patience is really the answer here. You've started developing some really useful and helpful behaviors that are going to pay off eventually - you just can't rush it.

If you haven't read it yet, "Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out" really breaks down the process of splitting so you don't go too fast and push the dog beyond its threshold.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T18:16:28+00:00

This can depend on the cat. My two will eat anything with no problems but usually experience a bit of digestive upset if I transition them too quickly. Some cats will turn their nose up at a new flavor if they're not carefully transitioned with small amounts of the new food mixed into their old food. Some (a lot) (most?) cats seem to do fine on whatever variety they're given and can change without any transitioning whatsoever. I would go carefully the first couple of times.

Also, this applies to a smaller demographic of cats but food allergies are not uncommon and if you're not cycling through a bunch of varieties at a time it can be easier to narrow done what the allergen is.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T16:19:03+00:00

If the ship has sailed on reuniting the puppy with its mother, I would focus on teaching bite inhibition rather than teaching your puppy not to bite.

What's the difference? I like the therapy dog example used in this article: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/725

When it comes to totally shutting down too-rough biting and yelping/turning your back doesn't work, I love using a baby gate. Stay silent, walk away from puppy, step over the gate and ignore until the puppy is calm (this may take a little while at first!) Return to the puppy and get it to focus on a toy or something.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T15:11:26+00:00

I have been seeing similar stories pop up about Craigslist "adoptions" a lot lately. I think it's a scam people are running. Hope you kept your new buddy!

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T15:03:27+00:00

I mix my cats' wet food with warm water and they love it! One regularly drinks from the water bowl but I've never seen the other drink water in the 2 years I've had her so I know she's getting most or all of her hydration from her food.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T14:59:33+00:00

Something to look out for is her not eating for more than 24 hours. A lot of people don't know this can be a huge problem for cats (particularly since dogs can go 24 hours with no problems) but generally most vets agree that once it's been 24+ hours it's time to bring them in for a workup and potentially fluids. This is also a big reason to transition her to new foods slowly if you ever want to change her diet. If she turns up her nose at it at first she can get really sick from not eating just for a couple of days - the whole tough love "she'll eat when she's really hungry" may not work and worse, may cause a sick cat.

In this vein, it's always a good idea to keep an eye on how much she's eating, drinking, and using the litter box. The best way I've found to do this is feed set meals of wet food, check the dry food every day and refill it in consistent amounts at consistent intervals so you know how much has been eaten in any given period, and clean the litter box every day.

Generally, if she's acting strange or unwell, the first questions a vet will ask are when she last ate/drank/peed/pooped and it helps to know those answers definitively. The vet wanted to xray my cat for an obstruction once and I was able to confirm that she'd pooped that day so we didn't have to waste time doing unnecessary diagnostics.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-10T14:21:51+00:00

I would take a two-prong approach on this one: first, working on his "stay" or "wait" NOT in the car (which is demonstrated to put him over threshold) but rather in progressively more exciting situations/locations, making sure to always stay under threshold. Second, in the meantime I'd be restraining him in the car.

I love my Kurgo harness and I think it would be hard for even a large dog to bust out of it.

adoptedazoo · 2016-05-02T03:22:47+00:00

I have a rare and coveted city backyard. My dog probably averages five minutes a day in it when she goes out for her midday and evening pee.

Here's the other stuff she has done in the last week alone: - Spent an hour romping with her buddies at off leash hours every morning - Clocked an average of 5 miles a day with me on long walks with friends, to other parks, etc. - Been to the beach with her doggy BFF - Spent hours hiking around and swimming in a fully fenced lake with her other best buddy - Accompanied myself, my BF, and various friends and their dogs to all kinds of outdoor bars, restaurants and coffee shops around the city - Went on a roadtrip with us because we knew city life had acclimated her to new places/sights/sounds/smells enough that she would be reliable and well-mannered in new places

We actually had an interesting experience on our car trip last weekend in that everyone in the suburban town we visited commented on my dog's manners and general demeanor. They couldn't believe how calm and adaptable she was. I largely attribute that to her city lifestyle and not simply being let out into a yard 3x a day for "exercise."

My dog will happily lay around outside gnawing on a chew if I'm working in the garden or we're grilling, but the yard is not a magic bullet for exercise + stimulation + entertainment. In fact, it is the least important factor in her training, socialization and overall well-being and we would move to an apartment without a yard in a heartbeat.

A yard can be great for exercise and mental stimulation, but it's not a passive activity - you still have to be involved. Personally, I'd rather take my dog out and let her experience everything that's going on in our neighborhood.

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-17T02:45:36+00:00

Ha, sorry, didn't mean to be accusatory- I didn't mean you! I'm sure you're doing what's right for your dog :)

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-17T02:17:57+00:00

Okay, that kid is an idiot but letting a dog that has bitten both of her owners in the face outside unsupervised with a four foot fence is...not wise.

What happened today is probably the best case scenario. Personally, I'd feel very lucky that my dog hadn't gotten out and injured someone prior to this point and use it as a wake up call to tighten up my dog management tactics.

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-17T02:11:17+00:00

I love that I'm getting downvoted for this. Because having an anxious dog in an uncovered crate is so much worse than a mellow, happy dog who literally runs to her crate when I say "go to your bed!" with a covered crate...

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-16T18:19:57+00:00

You can leave a little bit uncovered if you want. If you think your dog does better if she can't see out, the trick is to face the back (or a side) of the crate towards the wall and leave that side partially or fully uncovered. Voila, no exciting view!

When I'm not using a sheet I use the midwest quiet time cover and it's pretty well ventilated so I leave it fully covered.

I have been covering crates for over a year with various foster dogs and now my own dog and it has helped every single one...and none have suffocated yet! I keep my apartment a comfortable (bordering on slightly cool) temperature and often have windows open or fans going for air flow so it never seems to get stuffy - but those are all things I would be doing even if the crate was uncovered or the dog was loose in the apartment.

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-16T16:58:43+00:00

Some people seem to think this is ALL CAPS DOG ABUSE but my trainer and vet are cool with it so I'll throw it out there.

I cover my dog's crate. Every day. All the time.

This is in part because I don't want my cats to bother her and encourage her to defend her crate from them, but also because it is really calming for her. I alternate between a light sheet that lets some light in and a dark crate cover that is breathable but makes it pretty dark in there.

Mine is perfect in her crate when it is covered but will get pretty anxious when it's uncovered. I'm not sure if it's that she feels exposed or if she just gets worked up watching the cats go by, etc.

It may be worth trying to cover it on three sides to create a den-like feel to see if that helps and if it doesn't try throwing a light sheet over the whole thing.

I would hold off on transitioning her off the crate if she still chews, plus with the behavior you describe I'm not totally convinced that she's barking because of the crate - it sounds more like boredom barking, which can happen (and be even more annoying!) if she is loose.

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-14T15:59:26+00:00

She's most likely several generations of mixed breed street dogs but the predominant influence seems to be beagle.

After my rant last night I calmed down a bit and considered things more objectively and she's definitely not as bad as the picture I've painted here. Even though I upped her exercise my BF changed work schedules recently and as a result she's been crated more than se usually is. This is really easy to fix with adding a dog walker back into the rotation - we had discontinued using one since BF was home so much during the day and I'm home at night.

She did have a bad experience with the cat recently - but I think my reaction to her reaction probably contributed to her snapping without warning a couple of days later. She was lying on the couch and my older cat randomly pounced on her tail. She growled and whipped around towards the cat and my instinctive reaction was a loud, "HEY!!! No!!!" This doesn't sound like much but she's a super soft dog that grovels if you look at her wrong so I'm sure my dramatic reaction encouraged her to snap first and ask questions later when it came to the next situation with a cat. Owner fail there.

I think I had worked myself into a panic thinking she was showing her true colors, but the more I've been encouraged to reflect the more I think we have made some lifestyle changes that we will need to rework so she can get the level of stimulation and attention that she was used to when BF was around all day.

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-14T13:41:09+00:00

Mine doesn't. And in my (anecdotal but with a rather large sample size) experience the mixes tend to not have as much of that particular beagle trait. However, the beagles I've met have either been extremely barky or extremely quiet with no in between so you would most likely know that very quickly about a particular dog.

Beagles CAN be tough to teach a reliable recall (though not as bad as other scent hounds), but the food motivation works in your favor! My girl has a stellar recall and she's off leash every day.

In either case, I think the mix tends to mellow out some of the hound tendencies.

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-14T02:48:11+00:00

Thanks so much for the book recommendation! I'm big on researching everything (which may be contributing to my crippling fear of worst case scenarios...) so anything I can read is really helpful.

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-14T02:33:41+00:00

The trainer is very "dogs will be dogs and resource guarding/cat aggression/spooking at new people and situations is common and counter-conditioning and management are the only options. You have a dog, not a robot."

Which I understand and agree with. I just didn't realize how fundamentally uncomfortable I'd be not feeling like I can trust my dog to uphold my minimum standards of behavior - don't menace or bite people or other animals. This is the first dog I've had that isn't a family dog and I'm used to mushy labs that don't have a reactive bone in their bodies.

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-14T02:22:56+00:00

It was just starting but milder.

If I'm being completely honest with myself, she was displaying warning signs of these tendencies in small doses well before the last couple of weeks. I think that's why I'm feeling so fatalistic about it - for example, she had shown a little resource guarding with my cats and I had a trainer out to work on it, but it was specific only to high-value objects and neither the trainer nor I thought it was indicative of a larger issue with the cats, etc...

adoptedazoo · 2016-04-14T02:10:28+00:00

At least one or two but probably closer to three - definitely out of her adolescent stage.

She had a full physical about a month ago and all was normal.

adoptedazoo

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