Some of it may be enclosed spaces. Some of it may be separation anxiety. Some of it may be new surroundings.
Quite a lot of it may actually be that she was spoiled by her previous owners. This has got to be a little like babysitting the kids from Nanny 911 - you get to deal with little hellions because mum and dad never set boundaries and rules at best and had a complete lack of discipline at worse. I went out of the room - she started howling/barking after five minutes. After about half an hour, I came back in, ignored her, went to sit in another corner of the room where she would be able to see me but not reach me. She continued to howl/bark. Again, I ignored her. When she was quiet, I went over to give her affection. She jumps up and demands it, pawing, scratching. This is a behavior I am also ignoring. When she'd get down, I'd give her attention. When I withdrew my attention, she'd jump up and start pawing again. Again, this was ignored until she got down. Than she was rewarded. Thankfully she's not a stupid dog, and she does 'pick up' relatively quickly. Granted, some habits are definitely going to be harder to deal with and/or fix than others. The 'I don't like being alone so get your bipedal bottom over here and pay attention to me' is probably the most difficult. And the least fun. But...what can you do? I should probably mention that she's on an indoor version of an outdoor tie until her x-pen and/or crate arrives because she can't be trusted to free range through the house. She knocks over barricades, and as it's a relatively large house dog proofed for larger dogs but not smaller ones, I need to be able to control her range of motion. Also means I'm less anxious and she's better behaved. She has not had any accidents in the house since I've re-arranged our settings. She is using piddle pads again. Unfortunately, because of the cough, she's not getting nearly enough exercise, and there are definitely pent-up energy issues. Still, things are a lot better now than they were a couple of days ago. And we're working on the 'spoiled brat' issues gradually with more of my work being completed out of her sight range. Not very convenient. Down right inconvenient actually. But the nuisance howling is not an option. And she needs to learn that 1. she can (and will) be on her own and I do come back and 2. bloody howling won't get her what she wants even if it is an ear splitting pain in the backside. --- In [email protected], "freddyscribbles" <freddyscribbles@...> wrote: > > As most of you are aware, one the primary struggles with Pia was the constant > howling and scratching any time she was put in the hallway or bathroom. This > was written off as a very bad case of separation anxiety. And a very large > potential problem as this is supposed to be a notoriously difficult behavior > to correct. > > However, I am not entirely convinced that she is a high-level separation > anxiety case after about a week and a half of getting used to one another and > trying different things to see what would work best for us at this point. > > I believe that most of the behavior was triggered by a combination of > post-kennel insecurity and the new environment, being unable to see me (sight > specific) and a strong dislike for enclosed spaces. Separation anxiety may > still be a factor, but I don't think, at this point, that it was a major > point - I suspect that it's a relatively minor issue on the whole to be > honest. Granted I've not left her on her own for prolonged periods of time > in the more open space - thankfully I have plenty of food and understanding > friends and very few errands to run in the interim. I have gone out for 20 or > so minutes, and I usually stay around the house, so I'd have heard any > howling. There is sometimes a little barking, but it's minimal. If this > absence was extended, it's impossible to determine how she would react > because I wouldn't be here. Anyway, the hallway had no windows. The bathroom > window was too high for her to see out of - ergo, they were enclosed spaces. > Very large enclosed spaces, but enclosed spaces all the same. > > Here is the thing with sight specific. When she first got here, she had to > keep me in her line of sight at all times. When a friend came over, almost > without fail, he could tell where I was unless I was in another room, because > her head would swivel to find me. When she was sleeping, she wouldn't curl up > but keep her head turned towards me. When I was still keeping her in the > bathroom, I would sometimes work on reward based correction (thank you > Peggy!). I was very, very close by. But she couldn't see me. The howling > persisted even though she knew I was within ten inches of her. I can now move > around the house with relative ease. Before, she'd get up and check to see > where I'd gone. Then she'd look up to see where I'd gone. Now, she mostly > ignores where I've gone, or perks her ears forward because moving about is > noisy and goes back to sleep. > > I have also gotten to the point, after only a couple of nights, that I can > more or less settle her in her bag, and leave the room for a few minutes to > brush my teeth, let the other dog in, check the house is secured for the > night, etc. I tend to throw a few pieces of kibble in her bag when she first > goes in, and that's helped tremendously. However, she still tends to fuss > some. A little whimpering, a few barks, minimal scratching. But nothing > terrible like the bathroom serenades. But...again, it's a closed space. > > Based on what I've read, this doesn't seem like separation anxiety. Or at > least not a severe case. I've tried to avoid doing things that might > exasperate SA. Hopefully I'm doing them correctly. When I do have to go out > to run a quick errand or do more time consuming work with the horses, no fuss > is made. I just...go. No ceremony. No goodbye. No 'preparation' - eg. > gathering keys, purse. That's all taken care of well before I leave, and it's > left in the kitchen where she can't see so that I can grab and go without her > associating the two. In other words, I'm ready to go before I actually go. > The radio is turned on well before I leave, and the 'diversion toy' (which > she gets if I'm going off property for more than 20 minutes) is provided 5-10 > minutes before I actually leave the property. Therefore, there isn't a set > 'going away now' routine. I also leave through a door that she can't see - > the living room door - the one in her off limits room. > > When I come back, no fuss is made. I'm simply back and usually resume work. > The same goes for when I move around the house. The general feeling is - this > is my house, I can move around as I like. I do not have to tell you where I > am going. Also, that is the natural progression of things - I'd go > absolutely mental if I was always wondering where the dog was when I was in > another room; actually, I was going mental for that very reason - if I leave, > will the dog start screaming, etc. Not good. But as I said, things are much > better than when they started and this little foster, while not the greatest > joy in my life, has been quite pleasant to be with the past few days. And of > course, whenever I go away, I always come back. Our routine isn't interrupted > by my absences. She still gets cuddles. She still gets play time. She also > seems to be less inclined to be constantly petted. Over the last couple of > days, there's been a lot less begging for attention which I think has > something to do with our routine - this is when we play, this is when you get > affection, this is when I'm working, this is when you must keep yourself > entertained. > > But the question is - does this sound like separation anxiety? I've read > about dogs underfoot, dogs unable to be out of visual contact, dogs that > can't be left alone at all, that start getting worked up at the slightest > hint you might be going out. And then, they tend to be very destructive when > you are out. She was always just very vocal. And she did eventually settle > down. Again, I've been unable to test her with a prolonged absence. I predict > that she'll be fine. At least I hope so. It'll be difficult to tell short of > getting an audio recorder. > ------------------------------------ We are now on Facebook! Join today! http://www.facebook.com/groups/chihuahuasclubYahoo! 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