Like Us
Follow @dogster
Google +1 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Contact Us
Alaskan Klee Kai » Group Forum

Separation Anxiety

  
Oz

Gimme Gimme- Gimme a treat,- puhleeeze		 
 
Barked: Wed Jul 23, '08 10:31pm PST 
Our AKK hates to be left alone at home in his crate - we just leave him for an hour to eat dinner or run a quick errand. We have tried leaving the room for short periods and also giving him yummy treats to snack on while we leave - like peanut butter in a sterilized bone or chew sticks. The treats have kept him busy before for about 5-10 minutes, but then he usually starts barking and screaming for us not to leave. Any advice from other owners?
my page | msg me | gift me | become pals
Starbuck

765317		 
 
Barked: Fri Aug 15, '08 10:47am PST 
Starbuck is not a fan of being left alone either. I usually crate her a couple of days out of the week. I take her for a long walk in the morning (~ 1 hour) and then give her a kong with some peanut butter inside. In her crate I leave a couple of Nylabones and also hide little pieces of her food or treats under her bed and hidden in a blanket. Also - make sure you don't let your dog out of the crate when they are crying, always wait by the crate until they stop and then let them out. I've also heard that it is important to not make a big deal of letting your dog out of the crate. If they are excited and running around when you let them out, just ignore them until they calm down. Hope this helps! Let me know if you've found anything that works.
my page | msg me | gift me | become pals
Mica

Mikey will eat- anything		 
 
Barked: Tue Mar 10, '09 3:42pm PST 
HI!
I'm new here- to the forum. I've always had dogs. I recently got an AKK He arrived at the end of January, at approximately 10weeks old. He LOVES people- regulars and strangers alike, often going straight to the ears to lick them out of new people!
When I'm at home, he's a perfect angel. He lets me know when he needs out, has already learned sit, down, leave it, take it, come, drop it, although it did take almost 3 weeks to get through the stubborness and achieve a solid 'sit' at first. Currently he prefers playing with toys over treats.
The problems arise when I have to leave, as mentioned on this forum in an earlier post.
He SCREAMS for nearly 1/2 hour when I leave. When I return, the screaming continues. He also chooses to poop inside his crate when put in.... even if I'm gone for just 10 minutes, he'll make himself go! Upon returning home, I wait for silence then let him out of the crate, and he screams again! I'll also mention that he HATES car rides, and again makes himself poop in the car regardless of need! I have an AKK with attitude!... but he is really my little buddy.
The noise does not bother me except that I don't want it to affect HIM permanently.
As above, I'm asking for any suggestions for separation mild anxiety.
Also, he has started to show some dominant behaviours- mounting human legs, bark/growl to protect his food from other similar-sized neighbour dogs.
My additional question is this- for anyone else that has a male AKK and has had him neutered, did neutering change his disposition or behaviour at all?

Thanks for everything!

Starbuck

765317		 
 
Barked: Sun Mar 22, '09 6:10am PST 
Hi!
Glad to hear your little guy is so social!
Well, I am definitely not a dog expert the only dogs I've ever had are my two AKK (one is just over a year old, the other about 7 months, both are girls). My first AKK would scream for probably around 20 minutes when I first started leaving her alone in her crate. She slowly started to shorten the time of her screaming as time went on. Exercise before being crated also seemed to help. Do you crate your AKK for short amounts of time when you are home? That seemed to help for us as well. I always made sure she wasn't screaming when I let her out of her crate. It is pretty common for AKK to 'talk' to their owners when they come home.
I can't suggest anything for the pooping in crate problem you are having - I would ask a professional trainer. As for the car rides, is your AKK crated when he poops during car rides? One of my girls hated car rides when we first got her. She would drool like crazy and poop in her crate. I found that if she sat in someone's lap during the drive she was a lot calmer and we had no problems. It probably took her a month or two before she was fine with car rides in her crate, I also made sure to take her on a car ride at least once a week.
As for the dominant behaviors - again I would seek the help of a professional trainer. Is he taking a puppy class? That is something that is highly recommended for any AKK, they need lots of early socialization with other dogs, people and places from an early age. Even though my dogs could respond to basic obedience commands from an early age, I still took them to puppy class. One of my puppies had a habit of growling and barking at other dogs and puppy class taught her that other puppies and dogs were not a threat so she calmed down. You might want to look into doggie daycare as well - daycare gave them the opportunity to learn how to behave properly around other dogs and the people at the daycare we used also did some obedience training such as correcting (via a squirt bottle with water) dogs when they would show dominance behaviors such as mounting. I took them to daycare once a week for a while. Good luck!
my page | msg me | gift me | become pals
Lilith

I'm a trilingual- dog!		 
 
Barked: Mon May 11, '09 2:16pm PST 
I suggest covering the crate with a towel. Worked wonders for ours when she'd start screaming. smile
Synister

1029542		 
 
Barked: Thu Sep 3, '09 5:06pm PST 
Synister used to be crazy when I left for work. but I started to make my departing no big deal. I used to be a little bad and yell at him a bit to be quiet and found out my yelling is much like barking to a dog and it makes him even more worried and I just got frustrated. So I talked to my trainer that when I come home just be verry calm if he needs to go potty take him out but no hugs no nothing just leash pee then back in the kennel untill he calms down. It used to take about a hour and now he down to about five min before he calms down. I don't think he will never stop screaming when I'm come home but at least he knows now that his barking does not get him what he wants. I even make him laydown and stay in his crate with the door open before I let him out just so he knows that I am in charge of when he comes out not from his barking but by him doing what I ask. Good luck
my page | msg me | gift me | become pals