[Dailydrool] Separation anxiety and Kelvin

[dpmcquade at juno.com]

<<He has separation anxiety for only me.  Hubby can leave and he just 
doesn't care.  I leave and he paces, whines, whimpers, whistle noses, 
and is generally restless until I walk back in that door.  I don't pay him any attention when I first come in either, I wait until he calms down and lays on the floor or couch before I pet him.   Sometimes it takes an hour but he does eventually calm down.>>

Carmen:
Generally this is the way separation anxiety works. A dog becomes really attached to one human--perhaps one that it sees as his savior. When that human "disappears," he becomes very nervous--it can show up in various ways, from messing in the house to destroying it.

Our Belvedere got passed on a lot before he came to us. I figure we are at least his fourth home. When he met me, he adored me on sight, perhaps because I was kind to him. I suspect he'd been on the receiving end of quite a bit of verbal abuse.

Bel adores me. He hates being away from me. Frankly, if I could have him with me 24/7, I probably would. But life isn't like that, so I do what I can to make him comfy. My husband, Drew, says that when I leave, he hangs out by the door, waiting for my return. It's not that Bel is unhappy with Drew, but he just isn't Bel's security blanket. I am.

If you search "canine separation anxiety" on the Web, you will get some information on how to deal with the issue. I got Bel fairly well under control by using the process of going out for a short time, then returning at increasingly distant times. But when I stopped working only as a freelancer and went outside the home to work, all our gains disappeared. Now that I'm only freelance again, he is better as long as I am around. Security is the real issue here.

You may try a behaviorist or have your vet put him on medication, if that will help. But at heart, I believe it's largely a matter of lack of nurture or an experience of abuse. With Bel it has been a lifelong struggle.

By the way, in my limited experience, all the separation anxiety dogs have been males. I'm wondering if females are prone to it too. Any Droolers have experience in that area?
Pam

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