severe separation anxiety

[CaseyGSD]

Help! Our GSD, Max, is almost 4 years old. We are his 3rd owner. His first 2 owners were Sheriff's Deputys and Max went through about 3/4 of training but was never put into commission. He's now a pet and a wonderful dog, but our problem is that he's overly attached to my husband. If hubby leaves Max for just a few minutes Max continually looks for hubby until he returns. If hubby leaves for a few hours, Max vomits and sits by the window looking for hubby. If hubby leaves for a day, Max gets depressed, doesn't interact with caretaker, and doesn't eat or go to the bathroom. My brother lives with us and Max ignores brother's commands when hubby isn't here (Max listens to me with no problems). We have a 2-week vacation scheduled for December and I'm truly worried that Max will grieve himself to death! Any suggestions?

[BowWowMeow]

I would buy the book, "I'll Be Home Soon." Your husband will need to very carefully follow the protocol to counter-condition Max to feel ok about him leaving.

It worked for Rafi but it took 7 weeks. For some dogs it can take longer or a little shorter. Just don't cut any corners when you're following it!

[Dooney's Mom]

A few ideas to try:

Hubby needs to put the dog on ignore for a while while you and the brother give the dog everything it needs- food, potty breaks, attention, and play.

Don't let hubby make a big deal of showing the dog affection when he comes in or before he leaves to go anywhere- if the dog can't behave himself, stick him outside or in a down until he can calm down.

but definatley get that book too- the above are things I have done with my girl and she has gotten ALOT better about it. I am sure some others with more knowledge will give you more educated answers, I'm just telling you what has worked for me

Good luck!

[BowWowMeow]

Just a comment about the "if the dog can't behave himself, stick him outside or in a down until he can calm down. " advice. If the dog truly has SA then it's not a simple training issue.

You must use counter-conditioning to fix this. If I had stuck Rafi outside and left him there when he had a high degree SA he would have had a very bad panic attack. He would not have been capable of following commands. And he wouldn't have been able to calm down until I came home (or back in the room with him).

The dog has to gradually learn that the person leaving does not mean they will never come back but the process must be gradual and go at a pace that works for the individual dog.

[CaseyGSD]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I just ordered the book and we're looking forward to trying the methods it suggests. My husband takes Max most everywhere he goes -- even to work -- so I suspect we may need to change that for a little while.