How do you deal with separation anxiety with dogs?

[TaySan]

My parents are gone for vacation for a week and it's killing my three chihuahuas. They go nuts and cry when my parents and especially my father is out of the house. They like me well enough, but i'm no substitute :( Last night all 3 were crying and howling so i slept on the couch with them.

I hate to hear them cry, but i also want to to do other stuff too so whats the best way of dealing with this?

 

[Mandos]

Get them bonded to other people is the biggest one. Another is not letting them sleep with you and making sure they are properly crate trained. I've been working on that with my Great Dane puppy but it helps that the people I'm going to have house sit have another puppy he can play with so that helps

 

[SnakeXs]

How old are they?

SA isn't something that "happens" when they disappear, it's a learned behavior by, in short, being coddled and not given proper boundaries.

 

[TaySan]

How old are they?

SA isn't something that "happens" when they disappear, it's a learned behavior by, in short, being coddled and not given proper boundaries.

Click to shrink...

About a year old each. My dad is a house body almost 24/7 so there used to him being around all the time. : P

 

[Tapiozona]

Nothing you can really do right now. Training dogs to deal with seperation anxiety takes time. We had to train the anxiety out of our Border Colllie and it took months. It took a mixture of..

• Kennel/Crate training and building a 'safe' place for them
• Having multiple people train them. When they're attached to one person (your dad), they become too dependent on them
• Leaving for short intervals at a time and rewarding them when they don't cry

Your best bet is to work with them while your parents are gone. Try to train them with lots of positive reinforcement. Doesn't matter what you're training (sit, stay, re-enact Vader vs Luke light saber fight) though something easy is probably best.

 

[SnakeXs]

Plenty of time to address it, but it will take work and some rough spots if your parents are willing.

As for you during this week? Two options. Live your life, come and go without making a big deal of it, and let them whine if they don't get the abundance of attention they want. Or, live to appease the emotions of the pack, make it through the week cuddling with some pups and tip your hat and go when the time comes.

If they, and you, are seriously interested in addressing it let me know.