Neurotic Staffie!

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

Saskia Quinn — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 23:51:04 GMT

Nicky, some brill advice there from Jenny T, let us know how you get on, fingers crossed!!!

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

nicky shoult — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:00:04 GMT

Thank you so much guys for all the advice- shall try a combination of these.

BF absolutely loves Moby but because he is just renting a room from one of his friends who has dogs that doesnt like other dogs cant take him with me- otherwise would be fine!

Shall keep you informed.

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

Jenny T — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:11:29 GMT

Hi Nicky, Got your PM and replied. Thought I would also post reply here for others to see.

Caro- thanks for the vote of confidence, you made me smile.

Hi Nicky,

Got your message. It certainly sounds like your dog is having dificulty coping with you going out at night. It looks to me like you have a few ways of dealing with this-

Reduce the bond between you and the dog, so he is not so dependant on you personally. You could try and transfere his attentions more onto your mother. So she would take over his feeding and some of his walks etc. the idea being that he could then cope with you going out by being with her.

Habituate the dog to you being out at night. So start of with a shorter period out, say 1/2 hour MOST NIGHTS and build up from there. When you return don't make a particular fuss of the dog, just greet briefly and send away to his bed. Don't completely ignore the dog (a major punishment), but keep attention to a minimum between you and the dog throughout the night. This way if you are in or out, there is not much diference to the dog re the attention he gets from you.

Distract the dog completely while you are out so he can't sit there getting upset waiting for you. Would your mother maybe be able to do some training with him, or a grooming/massage session or even better go out to an agility class?

Create a safe den for the dog to hide away in while you are out. A good size cage/crate would be good. Get him used to it for a couple of weeks before you use it for this purpose. So feed him in there, encourage him to sleep in there etc etc. Fill it with your old clothes (unwashed) and cover with a towel to make it nice and dark. When you go out, put him in there. He may be able to cope in his safe den until you return. Obviously if you are out all night someone will have to let him out to toilet and have a walk around.

Would any of these work for you? You could even try a combination of the above. Good luck, let me know how you get on.

Jenny T

Additional- if you stay out all night, at your boyfriend's could the dog go with you ("love me, love my dog" )!

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

nicky shoult — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:00:39 GMT

Many thanks.

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

Caro Laithwaite VN — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:41:58 GMT

As l said Jenny T is the resident behaviourist that has saved a lot of folks a lot of problems with her advice she is l think COAP trained but may be APBT and F**king good.

(up the top of the page under Community) Go to Find Colleagues >> search by Member Name Put in Jenny T >> view profile >>Start conversation

When she replys you will see at the top of the page a box saying something like
*New conversation view now across the top of the page click on it and then on the conversation.

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

nicky shoult — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:59:22 GMT

Sorry im quite new to this - who is Jenny T?? And how do i send her a pm?

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

Caro Laithwaite VN — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:24:16 GMT

At which point you stick up a post screaming for help from Jenny T as she is resident behaviourist or send her a PM

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

Claire Cameron — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:50:45 GMT

to add to SaskiaVN's post, I personally am a fan of DAP collar or diffusers, my dog suffered seperation anxiety and I noticed an improvement when using DAP. I'm sure Clomicalm is still around, I heard Sarah Heath talking about it at a recent lecture.

good luck keep us posted

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

Saskia Quinn — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:38:29 GMT

This is clearly a case of seperation anxiety. MissVetNurse has given some good advice there so there isnt really much I can add, however, there used to be a drug used years ago called Clomicalm - specifically for seperation anxiety My clients reported quite positively about it though I havent heard about it in a few years so don't know if it is around anymore. Try doing a google search on it. How about something simple like a buster cube? When I am out of the house I leave the radio on for the dogs who are in the garage and the tv on for Rosie, who stays in the kitchen. Rosie would suffer from seperation anxiety if I am away for a long period i.e. when I was in hospital having my children, she practically wrecked the house though I was lucky as when I returned, she appeared normal again. How about consulting a canine behaviourist? Anything is worth a try and GOOD LUCK

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

nicky shoult — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:31:02 GMT

Yep done all of that, and he's fine. He's no problem when im at work all day - although my mum has noticed that recently he will sit and look out the window for about an hour before im due home.

There are always toys down when i go out, and there is always someone at home in the evening.

It seems to be the evening when things are bad, day time absolutely fine.

Re: Neurotic Staffie!

Claire Cameron — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:27:21 GMT

Have you tried leaving him in a room when you leave the room at home?

personally I'd get ready to leave so he gets used to this and not necessarily get left alone.

then begin to leave the house, slowly increasing the length of time you are you. Leave toys, interactive material to keep him occupied whilst you are away.

to "desensitise" him to you leaving and associating this with something pleasant or rewarding?