You Make The Diagnosis: Dog Destroyed Carpet In Owners Absence
This case is about my own dog, a young German Shepard mix that I rescued last spring. Buddy is a timid boy. He is afraid of men, especially if they are dressed in a suite and tie with a brief case in hand. When I am home, Buddy follows me from room to room. He never leaves my side.
A few days before Christmas, I left Buddy in his crate for a few hours while I finished Christmas shopping. When I returned, Buddy greeted me at the door. He had broken out of his crate and ripped-up the carpeting in front of the bedroom doors. He tore a nail in the process. Blood from a torn nail and saliva were visible in his crate, the doors and what was left of the carpeting. Take a look at the photo and answer the following questions: Name the condition Buddy suffers from? What caused it?
Diagnosis: Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety is common in animals who are adopted from shelters or rescued from abusive situations. The animal panics whenever it is separated from human family members. They love their people so much, they do not want to lose them. Buddy exhibited three of the four common signs of this problem; He whined and howled when I left the house without him, he drooled excessively and he destroyed anything that stood in the way of him following me. Some dogs may also urinate and defecate. I wish I had been more cognizant of the warning signs at an earlier stage.
To treat Buddy, I replaced his plastic crate with a larger, wire one. I placed it in a new room and started a new departure/entry routine. I also started him on clomipramine to calm him down while we work through behavior modification techniques. Lastly, I increased his exercise. In the last two weeks, Buddy has made remarkable progress. He no longer whines or howls when I leave. I hope to taper him off of the clomipramine in a few months.
That's separation anxiety all right. I had a rescued Shihtzu that destroyed my house and defecated everywhere when I left for work. He had been given to me as a puppy by a neighbor who didn't have time for him. She worked two jobs and was never home so she kept him in the bathroom. When he got to my house, I was home recovering from surgery so he had me and my other dog 24x7 for two months. When I went back to work, he couldn't take it - even with Midgie there to keep him company. I didn't have the physical strength at the time to deal with it so I adopted him out. He went to a couple with another Shihtzu who owned their own business so he was always with them. He never again had that problem. He's 12 or 13 now.
I've heard practicing leaving your dog for short periods of time and then gradually increasing the time is also effective at curing separation anxiety.
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My dog also experienced separation anxiety as a puppy. We were able to get past it fairly quickly. However, he has begun to show symptoms to a certain extent in the last year or so (he is now 13 and 1/2 years old). Mostly he just freaks out whenever he is crated, howling and tearing up his bedding, biting the cage doors, etc. We stopped crating him and he does not freak out now. He has been crated all of his life so I don't understand why he is doing this now. He doesn't get into anything anymore when he is not crated, so I guess is doesn't matter.
Love this blog...it is very interesting.
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Based on the description you provided, I am concerned that your dog is developing Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS). As dogs age, their brain function changes. Some forget their basic commands and need to be retrained. Others display aggressive behaviors. The most common sign I see in practice is anxiety-related behaviors, including separation anxiety. I would recommend a consult with your veterinarian and routine blood work to screen for common geriatric problems. My own dog developed CDS when she turned 11. Initially, I could manager her anxiety with behavior modification techniques. Eventually, she required drug therapy to keep her emotions under control.
Thanks for the kind words. I started this blog to help people help their pets. Your comment has given me an idea for my next post. I will do a more in depth look at CDS. Thanks for writing!
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I recently adopted a dog with separation anxiety. It was heartbreaking - he was my first dog and I didn't know it when I got him. I decided to take him back after 2 weeks to find a home where someone could be with him more since I work full time & live alone. He is in a great new home with owners that take him to work and 3 other dogs but I miss him so very much. I was a first time dog owner...wish I'd known more about it and tried to work through it with him. He was a great dog and I thought I was doing the right thing...now I regret it. I hope he is doing ok.
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I am happy your dog found a good home. Since you sound like an animal lover at heart, I want to encourage you to try again. As you probably know, there are many wonderful animals that need a home. Talk to the staff at your local shelter. Tell them about your personality and lifestyle and then ask them to recommend a pet. I am sure they will be able to recommend several well-behaved dogs for you to choose from. Once you have a dog, establish a relationship with your veterinarian. Do not hesitate to call them with questions and/or concerns. And remember, you may always write me with additional questions. Nothing makes me happier than to help an animal find a loving home.
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Separation anxiety is such a sad thing in dogs. I never really know what to say when people ask me about it (I have two dogs). From now on I will redirect them to your blog, and tell them to see their vet.
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Dr. Nelson, I have the same exact thing happening to my recently adopted little boy, a maltese/poodle mix (~1 yr old). My girlfriend and I rescued this charming little boy last Thursday and we already love him to pieces. He unfortunately is exhibiting significant separation anxiety. We had left him alone a couple of times before for a couple of hours and he barked for ~20 minutes before settling down. Today, for the first time, we both left him alone for 4 hours to go to work, and in the meantime he managed to escape from the kitchen where we had confined him with a slide out door and came home to find about a 6 foot length of carpet lifted up. We are very saddened, because we love our Bruno (we cannot have children, so we decided to adopt a dog) very much and just want to have him to be ok with being alone... Please please please help!!!
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Thank you for adopting little Bruno. Unfortunately, separation anxiety is common in newly adopted dogs. It makes sense if you think about it from their perspective. In their mind, their first family abandoned them so now they are worried that their new family will do the same. He loves you so much that he doesn't want to ever leave your side.
From what you have described, I am afraid that Bruno will need a combination of therapies to control his behavior and relieve his fears. You should contact your veterinarian who can taylor a treatment plan just for him. In general, I would recommend establishing a 'safe' area for Bruno to stay when you leave. A crate works well for this. At the same time I would start making him work for love, no more demanding attention when he wants it. He might need an anti-anxiety medication in the beginning to control his fear and let the other behavior modification techniques work. In case you missed it, I go into much more detail in the blog post "Treatment of Separation Anxiety" dated February 10, 2009.
Hang in there. With patience, you can help Bruno show his love to you without destroying the carpet.
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