dogs and drugs

my odie seems to have separation anxiety. he's literally eating my house when he's left alone.

i'm toying with the idea of visiting the vet to see about medication.

thoughts?

Re: dogs and drugs

If it's that bad, I would definitely talk to the vet.
Have you tried crating him? Confining him to a crate may be a better idea. But, if he's going to tear himself or the crate up you may have to go the meds route.

Re: dogs and drugs

I've heard of people giving human benadryl to alleviate behavioral problems. To me, it's a band-aid on a bigger problem that should be given more attention, care and training before resorting to drugs.

Just as with people, I think we've become to dependent on drugs to fix things that we used to spend time and energy on. I can't get behind that unless every other resource is exhausted.

That said, Brinkley shows mild separation anxiety - drooling and whining mostly. We don't crate him when we leave anymore, and he's been doing well. But we also started very slowly, 5 or 10 minute trips away from him, to get him used to being alone. If he whines in our presence, we don't baby him and essentially confirm that it's ok to do it.

Problem-solving toys are also a good way to keep a dog occupied while you're not at home. Training them to chew healthy things like Kongs or Nylabones when you are there could alleviate inappropriate chewing when you're not.

And of course - exercise, exercise, exercise. A dog that's tired is less apt to expend energy crying for you and more apt to nap while you're gone.

My thoughts on separation anxiety is that a lot of times, it's a symptom of another problem. Sure, our pets love us and want to be around us, but I think we put more stock in it being an emotional problem rather than physical or mental.

Good luck solving your issues, I hope you can find a good solution. :)

Re: dogs and drugs

I would suggest crating and possibly hiring a dogwalker, friend, family member, local student, neighbor or someone to walk your dog midday. I know that might not be possible but if there is some way you can arrange it, I think it would help a lot. Plus a really long walk/run before you leave in the morning.

Re: dogs and drugs

Message edited 11/23/2011 4:58:19 PM.