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We were adopted by our 5 1/2 yr. old pyr (6 yr. next
month) last August. We already have an Australian Cattle Dog who just
turned 11 yr.. old, who gets on well with older dogs, but has no patience for
pups (hence the nickname "Grumpy Old Man"---doesn't nip, just
vocal).
Anyway, our rescue pyr, TJ, had been in the shelter for 2
months when we found him. He had been surrendered by the breeder along
with his buddy, a Border Collie. Needless to say, the Border Collie was
adopted right away, while TJ waited for my sons and I. When we first
brought him home, he and Tucker got along very well (and still do!), so I
never even thought about separation anxiety! The first time I left the
house for about 30 minutes, I was stunned when I returned: several large
potted plants were overturned, he had obviously been pacing back and forth in
front of the windows. There were giant scratches on the door to the garage
and the front door, and copious amounts of drool everywhere!!!!!!! I felt
so horrified that this sweet, gentle dog had suffered so much!! He was
beside himself and couldn't even settle down for a good 20 minutes after I got
home and sat gently calling him he was so worked-up.
Consequently, I tried the leave for a few seconds, then
increase the time approach to no avail. I considered trying Rescue Remedy
(Bach flower spray stuff), but wanted to just try some TLC first. I
planned all of my errands either early in the morning or late in the evening and
took both dogs in my SUV with me wherever I went, inconvenient, but time well
spent. After doing this for a couple of weeks, I started with the gradual
increase in the time I left the dogs home alone and gave them just the
downstairs area to roam in (moving all the plants!). It worked! I
don't know if it was the time the dogs spent together or just TJ understanding
that we were his for good, or both............whatever it was, there have
been no more problems since.
Deb
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