I have a 2 year old Jack Russell. He was crate trained as a puppy (I thought). He would cry when I put him in the crate to go to bed or leave the house, but finally got over it and could be put in at any time without any fuss. I did this by just ignoring his cries and would get him out when he calmed down completely. Now my wife and I have moved out of our old house and are staying at my in-laws 'til our new house is done. At the in-laws, he has now reverted back to crying in his crate when left alone and when left outside he will stand at the backdoor and cry. I peeked in at him while he was having one of his fits in the crate and he was shaking and pawing at the crate. Another important part of this is that when I first got him I didn't know about leerburg. I didn't follow Ed's steps for groundwork exactly, but I always had the dog with me or he was supervised, just not on a leash. Since the move I always have him on a leash at the in-law's except in the backyard when we're playing. I have also started taking him to work since the new house is farther away and have him on a leash or crated there too. He doesn't have a problem with the crate at work or in the car, probably because I'm still visible to him. Is all this change too much for him right now? Am I creating this separation anxiety by having him with me all day? I could probably leave him at home while I'm gone to work, but it would be for about 9 hours and I haven't left him for that long before. I know we got through this before, but I didn't know if there were anymore steps I needed to take since I was going back and kinda redoing the groundwork by having him on a leash at all times.

Sounds like a little bit of separation anxiety likely induced by being in an unfamiliar place...he might not be sure that you are coming back. My "nervy" GSD is fine at home, but when we travel she can show signs of sep. anxiety when I leave her...never know what's going on in their minds lol.

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.....my wife and I have moved out of our old house and are staying at my in-laws 'til our new house is done. At the in-laws, he has now reverted back to crying in his crate when left alone and when left outside he will stand at the backdoor and cry.......Since the move I always have him on a leash at the in-law's except in the backyard when we're playing. I have also started taking him to work since the new house is farther away and have him on a leash or crated there too. He doesn't have a problem with the crate at work or in the car, probably because I'm still visible to him. ...... Am I creating this separation anxiety by having him with me all day? I could probably leave him at home while I'm gone to work, but it would be for about 9 hours and I haven't left him for that long before.......

I don't think you are exacerbating the S.A. by having him with you at work. I think it would be a lot to suddenly leave him in a new place alone for 9 house.

I think it sounds fine, and that he will get used to the change better if he's not too frightened about losing you as well as his home.

Because of the big change, you probably have to go through the crate-whining, etc., again, but not for as long as you had to when he was a pup.

I'd be calm and matter-of-fact, not coddle him, and continue as you are.

Plenty of time to work out any new little quirks, IMO, when you are in your permanent new home.

JMO! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Thank ya'll for the advice. I'm probably not myself right now either with the stress of moving and that probably doesn't help him either.

I had almost the exact same situation with my Corgi when he was a pup. When I brought him to work with me I gave him a marrow bone to chew on. Of course, Corgis are usually really food driven...hope it helps you!

Has anyone ever tried this before? http://petcomfortzone.com/czdogs.htm I feel kinda dumb even asking about something like this cause it is probably just a gimmick. We are improving, but I'm still not against trying something new if it helps. I've relaxed too btw.

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Has anyone ever tried this before? http://petcomfortzone.com/czdogs.htm I feel kinda dumb even asking about something like this cause it is probably just a gimmick. We are improving, but I'm still not against trying something new if it helps. I've relaxed too btw.

Hi, Michael,

Why dumb? We know that there are sedatives, some OTC and most RX, that certainly work.

Hylands Calms Forte (a homeopathic remedy) and this one (said to use pheromones) are representative of two of the major types. I have not heard any positive anecdotal stories about them, but then I know very few people who've tried them so far.

If I wanted to try something like this, then this one (or another pheromone-containing one) would probably be the type I would try, not having encountered a lot of convincing literature on the homeopathic remedies.

http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/behavior/a/dogbehaviorprob.htm

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4923

are two sources for overviews on D.A.P., or dog-appeasement pheromones.

I doubt that there would be any dramatic effect, but if it's inexpensive, I also doubt that there is any downside.

Bolstering the dog's confidence, keeping up with daily training, and sticking to a reliable schedule: I believe these are going to go furthest in minimizing his anxiety about the big changes in his life. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> You mentioned that you are calmer now; that will probably be huge, traveling right down the leash.

JMO!

We tried the DAP and it didn't work, but our dog had an extreme case of separation anxiety.

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We tried the DAP and it didn't work, but our dog had an extreme case of separation anxiety.

Did you find that routine, confidence-building training, and calmness helped most?

No crying for 3 whole days! Hope I didn't just jinx myself. I did go ahead and get the D.A.P., but don't know if it helped because I did a few other things. I take a shower at night so I put my towel right up next to the crate where he lays his head. The biggest change was that I realized I was paying a whole lot of attention to him. Not babying him or anything, but at night I was watching him alot seeing how he was acting and it was probably making more stress on him. I started making bedtime just another part of the day, no fanfare, just kennel and treat and close the door. Oh yeah, and double the exercise!