Princeton: Not your average Ivy League dog

He may be cute and he may be very loving, but Princeton isn't exactly adjusting to his new home with flying colors. Unfortunately, the little dude is suffering from severe separation anxiety. It breaks my heart that he's so tortured, especially when we've done everything possible that professionals say to do.

This is what I've learned about separation anxiety (I copy and pasted this from an informational website and left in tact the parts that apply to our particular situation):


Dogs with separation anxiety exhibit behavior problems when they're left alone. Typically, they'll have a dramatic anxiety response within a short time (20–45 minutes) after their owners leave them. The most common of these behaviors are:
*Digging, chewing, and scratching at doors or windows in an attempt to escape and reunite with their owners.
*Howling, barking, and crying in an attempt to get their owner to return.


Why Do Dogs Suffer from Separation Anxiety?
*When a dog accustomed to constant human companionship is left alone for the first time.
*Following a long interval, such as a vacation, during which the owner and dog are constantly together.
*After a traumatic event (from the dog's point of view), such as a period of time spent at a shelter or boarding kennel.


How Do I Know If My Dog Has Separation Anxiety?
Because there are many reasons for the behaviors associated with separation anxiety, it's essential to correctly diagnose the reason for the behavior before proceeding with treatment. If most, or all, of the following statements are true about your dog, he may have a separation anxiety problem:
*The behavior occurs exclusively or primarily when he's left alone.
*He follows you from room to room whenever you're home.
*He displays effusive, frantic greeting behaviors.
*The behavior always occurs when he's left alone, whether for a short or long period of time.

What to Do If Your Dog Has Separation Anxiety
For a minor separation anxiety problem, the following techniques may be helpful by themselves. For more severe problems, these techniques should be used along with the desensitization process described in the next section.
*Keep arrivals and departures low-key. For example, when you arrive home, ignore your dog for the first few minutes, then calmly pet him. This may be hard for you to do, but it's important!
*Leave your dog with an article of clothing that smells like you—such as an old t-shirt that you've slept in recently.
*Establish a "safety cue"—a word or action that you use every time you leave that tells your dog you'll be back. Dogs usually learn to associate certain cues with short absences by their owners. For example, when you take out the garbage, your dog knows you come right back and doesn't become anxious. Therefore, it's helpful to associate a safety cue with your short-duration absences.
*Some examples of safety cues are a playing radio, a playing television, or a toy (one that doesn't have dangerous fillings and can't be torn into pieces). Use your safety cue during practice sessions with your dog. Be sure to avoid presenting your dog with the safety cue when you leave for a period of time longer than he can tolerate; if you do, the value of the safety cue will be lost. Leaving a radio on to provide company for your dog isn't particularly useful by itself, but a playing radio may work if you've used it consistently as a safety cue in your practice sessions. If your dog engages in destructive chewing as part of his separation distress, offering him a chewing item as a safety cue is a good idea. Very hard rubber toys that can be stuffed with treats and Nylabone®-like products are good choices.

Interim Solutions
Because the treatments described above can take a while, and because a dog with separation anxiety can do serious damage to himself and/or your home in the interim, consider these suggestions to help you and your dog cope in the short term:
*Consult your veterinarian about the possibility of drug therapy. A good anti-anxiety drug should not sedate your dog, but simply reduce his anxiety while you're gone. Such medication is a temporary measure and should be used in conjunction with behavior modification techniques.


Interesting stuff, but also very sad. It's exactly what Princeton is going through. He has improved SO much in the week he's been with us! He is now a great leash-walker, he's learned to sit on command, he's potty trained to go outside and we've had no in-house accidents (!!!!!!), he knows his name and we all adore each other. However, we just can't leave the house -- or the room, for that matter -- or he goes into a tizzy and turns into a totally different dog.

We aimed the video camera into his crate to see what happened when we left for 5 hours the other day and he was hysterical. It was kind of scary, actually, and I'm concerned more than anything that he might hurt himself. I'm sure anyone who walks by our houses thinks someone's being murdered inside... nope, it's just my damaged dog freaking out over our absence. It's so bad, I can't even go shower upstairs while he's roaming the downstairs area without him howling and wailing about our separation. It makes me sad and I don't know what else to do! We've done everything like put toys and chews into his crate to distract him and keep him happy, but the weirdo doesn't even LIKE toys or chews. I spent over $50 on treats and toys today at PETsMART and when I brought them home, he sniffed them for a second and then looked up at me like I was crazy. He's just not interested. Therefore, filling his crate with these so-called happy things don't do anything to help his S.A. Thanks goodness for the store's return policy!!

Leaving the TV on for him didn't seem to make a difference and we are very diligent about not making a fuss over our departures and arrivals so that he realizes it's totally okay to be alone. We even put a framed photo of us in front of his crate so he could look at us while we are gone. I know that's a stretch, but we're reachin' here!! Anything! We'll do anything! We just want our little boy to be HAPPY and HEALTHY.

We visited the vet on Saturday and he prescribed Princeton with antidepressants that should kick in in about two to three weeks. The medication is in the Prozac family so it's an appetite supressant... which means the skinny dog who already ate like a bird hasn't touched his doggy food in days. Even spiking it with chicken soup and cheese hasn't whet his appetite at all. Yes, it's true; I have a special-needs dog. If Princeton went to school, he would ride the short yellow bus there and back. Oy. I'm at a loss and B and I can only cross our fingers that the meds will do wonders to correct this chemical imbalance in his brain. We feel good knowing that we're doing everything we can as doggy parents, but it's very stressful and I wish he would just be a normal pup ALL the time! We're very committed to him, though, so we're not giving up anytime soon!

If any of you have dealt with dogs suffering from separation anxiety and have tips or success stories or even brutal truth, please share.