Seperation Anxiety

Training and behavior topics, guidelines, and tips for Chow Chows.

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garypayton
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Seperation Anxiety

Post by garypayton »

Hi,

I have female Chow that's about 9 months, we had her since she was 5 weeks old. Once we adopted her, we left her in the house and only let her outside to potty. Eventually, we started to let her go outside. At 9 months, and almost 50 lbs now, and we want her to sleep outside and basically have the backyard to herself.

The problem is she will always stay by the glass door waiting for us to let her in. She's sit there looking at us. I placed a lot of her toys and treats out there, but she does not want anything to do with them unless i am out there with her.

It's very strange, once I am out there she will run around, eat and then walk to our backyard. When we go to work, and come back she will be by that door just sitting there. We're not sure if she sits there all day waiting for us, but I am tempted to install a camera to find out. Any ideas to make her feel more comfortable outside without us?

Thanks,

Gary
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Jeff&Peks
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Post by Jeff&Peks »

I may be reading your post wrong but If your saying you basically just want your Chow to stay out in the backyard all the time it doesn't work that way with a Chow, leaving her in the yard while you are gone is OK but left in the yard all the time while you are home especially after being allowed in the house while it was a puppy is going to be hard, your Chow wants to be in the house with you i'm not saying she is going to cling to you and follow you all around but she wants to be part of the family.
I installed a door for my Chow to come and go as she pleases, we also leave the door open all the time for her to come in and out, she spends more time in the house with us then in the yard.

Waiting by the door for you to let her in or waiting for you to come outside is not strange and also not what you would call Separation anxiety in my opinion and in most states locking a dog in the backyard all the time is called animal cruelty and is also illegal.
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Zhuyos mom
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Post by Zhuyos mom »

Why are you choosing to isolate your chow from the house? Did he/she do something wrong to no longer be welcomed inside? I'm sure you are aware of the higher degree of liability you'll encounter if you leave your chow outside 24/7. If you don't want your chow, at the most, you should find a new home for it... at the least, let it sleep inside your garage at night. Just so you know, you're opening yourself up to a chow that will have behavioral problems, as you are trying to isolate him/her from the lifestyle he/she was accustomed to. He/she will rely on her own instincts to get what she/he wants, when she/he wants. Think long and hard on this one. In this day and age, this is borderline cruelty.
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Post by Guest »

Hi,

Sorry I should have made it more clear. My intention of leaving our chow outside was because we are planning to get two and our house is too small for two chows, that's why I wanted to leave her or them outside once the new addition arrives. My concern is that our baby is so use to being inside, and wanted to know if there is any way to make the transition easier for her being outside. She's a great chow, and we love her but feel that our larger backyard will allow them to run around and exercise.

Thanks,
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Judy Fox
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Post by Judy Fox »

Excuse me, but I am thinking - if your house is too small for two Chows - the remedy is simple - don't get two. :?
Anyway, who says your house is too small for two Chows. :roll:
My husband and I live in a relatively small bungalow, i.e. two bedrooms, L shaped sitting/dining room, kitchen, bathroom and hall. We have a medium sized back garden but we would never, ever leave our two chows out in the garden by themselves. :(
They love us, talk to us, are part of our family. To banish them to the garden when they were allowed the freedom of the house as chowlings does not border on cruelty - it is cruel! :x
I think you need to take a good look at what you want - some 'critters' in the back yard or a beautiful and feeling chow chow in your life.
Indeed, I suggest you get a life!
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Nick Bellenbaum
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Post by Nick Bellenbaum »

Speaking of seperation anxiety. I currently live in a one bedroom about 3 hours from my wife (we're both military, but stationed apart). My wife has a 4 bedroom house with a fenced yard.

Whenever Baxter comes to visit he has the most awful seperation anxiety. I will leave for work and he will scratch at the carpet next to the door and has ruined a 3x5 section of it. Any ideas on how to prevent this? I've tried covering the carpet with a runner, but he just pulled it out and continued to scratch.

It's hard to discipline about it, since i can never catch him in the act. I've tried leaving the apartment and waiting for him to start, but he never does. Awfully irritating, but he gets to go to the dog park when i get home :).

Nick & Baxter.
Nick, Amy & Baxter
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Zhuyos mom
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Post by Zhuyos mom »

Nick Bellenbaum wrote:... he will scratch at the carpet next to the door and has ruined a 3x5 section of it. Any ideas on how to prevent this? I've tried covering the carpet with a runner, but he just pulled it out and continued to scratch.



Hey Nick -

It really is annoying. Zhu did that at my parents'. But it wasn't because of seperation anxiety. It was because the mail had arrived (along with the mail handler). What we ended up doing was removing a patch of carpet and replacing it with a tile landing. If we didn't, we were afraid more damage to the carpet would have happened. Is there a way your "landlord" will let you do any fixes? I did try different behavior things to stop him from scratching at the carpet. One thing worked, which was placing the shake can a foot from the door. But life was easier when we tiled the area.

Good luck!
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Post by Guest »

Nick - Crate training is your best bet. I had to crate train my Chow when he was about 9 months old and developed similar behavior. He went thru it beautifully. Now I just keep his crate up b/c its his fav sleeping place during the day.

OP-
My chow was given to me by an ex-bf as a V-day gift while we were still together. B/c I lived in an apt. where you couldn't have dogs, he kept him at his house. What I didn't know was he kept him largely outside. Here's what I learned:
-Leaving a Chow outside destroys the dog's original personality and creates a ton of behavioral problems. It took years to get Bear over these issues he developed from largely being left alone outside a majority of the time. Aggression, aloofness, etc. are all things that are intesified by being left outside. You are right when you think your dog is prob. sitting by the door all day when you are not there. Its wondering where the heck its owner is and what it can do to be brought back into the family. Getting another isn't going to solve that issue either. It doubles it.

-Safety: You have no control over who and what has access to your dog(s) when they are outside and you are gone/sleeping. It doesn't matter what kind of fencing you have. People are sick. And if your dog(s) become nuisance barkers, the danger for them to be poisoned becomes that much greater.

It may seem harsh, but you either want the companionship that your dog has to offer or you don't. They are not objects like cars that you just use when you need them, provide the minimal maintenance on them, and then park them & forget about them when you don't need them. They require interaction. They are PACK animals, not yard ornaments. Please read the following links on outside dogs:
http://www.arescuemom.org/OutsideDogs.html
http://www.greatdanecluboflasvegas.org/ ... _dogs.html
http://www.unchainyourdog.org/

Why get another dog if this is how your first one is going to live?

And on a personal level the space thing irks the heck out of me. I have a 50lb Chow, a 70lb Siberian Husky (70 HYPER pounds!) and 2 cats. We lived in a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1 kitchen (sm.) and 1 living room apt. Less than 600 sq. ft. for 3 years. We were fine. Two chows should be no problem in most any environment.
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Judy Fox
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Post by Judy Fox »

Exactly what I think and have said.

I have just read the post again and the pup arrived at 5 weeks - for crying out loud - she should not have even left her mother at that age - it is illegal in the UK and I suspect over The Pond too.

She was only a baby and probably is trying to work out what she did wrong.

:cry:
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Post by Guest »

Legal age of sale in the US is 8 weeks. Reputable breeders don't typically release until 10 - 12 weeks. Backyards breeders (BYB's) are another kettle of fish entirely. They also don't screen potential buyers or provide solid breed info (obviously).
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Post by Elaina »

Gary,
You want your Chowling to live in your backyard 24/7? Put yourself in your Chowling's place. At 5 weeks old, the poor little thing was traumatized by being removed from her birth mom and sent to live somewhere else. This removal was too early even by low BRB standards. Her infant thought was, "What did I do wrong to deserve this?" Now she's been banished to the yard after living in a house for many months. "What wrong did I commit this time?" Do you understand that in her mind, she has committed two serious errors in her short life, but she is unsure of exactly what error she committed. Dogs and Chows are not "dumb animals". They are intelligent and maintain a group (pack) mentality. The reason she sits by the door -- "When I'm forgiven for my mistake, they will open the door and take me back!". This is sooooo sad. :cry:

I, too, live in a small house. Very small living room, dining room, kitchen, bath, family room and 2 bedrooms (Total square footage is 1000). Before we became parents of our Chows, Max-A-Million (57pounds) and Mahayana (44 pounds), we were the parents of 2 Siberian Huskys, the smaller was 70 pounds. We also have a large acquarium and a couple of cats. We have never had a problem with our dogs/Chows/pets in a small house. If you think your home or apartment is too small, don't get another Chow. Wait until you move to a larger place. :?

Your post seemed to indicate that the yard is to be used for your Chow's exercise. Living within a fenced yard is not exercise. Your Chow/Chowling should have daily walks or some form of exercise that will get her juices flowing. This will help keep her healthy and mentally fit. Look over your options one more time. If you don't have the room or the time to spend with 1 Chow, you will not have the room or the time with 2 Chows. Your Chow(s) should be part of your family, not the jewels that you take from the vault only when you're counting your wealth. :!:

Peace and Blessings
Elaina, Max-A-Million, and Mayahana
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