1 year old mastiff with separation anxiety. Please help!!

[RoxieMom]

Hello everyone,
My boyfriend and I just adopted Roxie, a 13 month old English mastiff, from a breeder about a month ago. She is housebroken for the most part. She seems to have bonded much more closely with me then with my boyfriend. Whenever my boyfriend and I leave her at the same time, she does fine being left with free roam of the house for a few hours. She will have an occassional accident, but we understand she is still a puppy. However, my boyfriend and I have different schedules and he often leaves much earlier than me for work in the morning. Whenever it is just me leaving Roxie alone for a few hours, I come home to her having destroyed the blinds and defecated all over the floor even if she used the bathroom outside before I left. I have tried crating her, but when I return she has defecated all over her crate which is an awful mess to clean up. When I leave before my boyfriend and then he leaves Roxie, she does just fine with free roam or in the crate. I understand she is in a tough transitional period, however, I do not understand why she only shows signs of separation anxiety when I am the one that leaves her and not also for my boyfriend??

Recently, I went through a traumatic experience and I have had some anxiety and nervous energy that I believe she is feeding into. She has become very protective of me, but not in an aggressive way. I think she might feel as if she needs to protect me when I leave? I am at a loss. Sorry for such a long post, any advice or feedback would be helpful!

THANK YOU!!

 

[Ripsmom]

well, she might only display it when you leave if she is closer to you. with separation anxiety in many cases it will subside in 4 or 5 weeks after the dog has entered onto a new environment but for some dogs it's an ongoing problem...technically you should not try to crate a dog with separation issues UNLESS the dog is already crate trained and likes the crate otherwise you will actually raise her anxiety level and she will hurt herself trying to bust out of the crate. not that you cannot work towards crate training her but it needs to be slowly. many times people make separation anxiety worse by feeding into it and inadvertently rewarding the behavior. some things you can try is: mixing up your routine before you leave so the dog has a hard time picking up on cues that you are leaving (this is when they start feeling elevated anxiety) so if you normally shut the light, pick up your keys and turn the tv off try something like doing that then sitting back on the couch. if she can't predict your behavior she won't start to become anxious before you leave; you can also leave the tv or radio on for her, give her a special treat when you leave then take it away upon your return (she will begin to associate you leaving with good stuff) it should be something that will keep her busy for a bit like a raw beef marrow bone or a kong filled with peanut butter (you can throw those in the freezer too); do not acknowledge her when you leave...nothing.. don't look at her, talk to her or touch her just leave and when you return do not throw a party either...in fact you should ignore her for several minutes usually with these dogs they are overjoyed when you return just ignore her until she is calm and not vocalizing (if she does). one of my newer dogs screams when i come home so i ignore her until she is quiet and calm...over time she has shortened the length of time that she screams. it will be difficult for a bit with her possibly tearing the blinds and defecating..that's the hard part. You can try some natural stress reducers such as rescue remedy or valerian root, sometimes it's enough to just take the edge off, there is also a new dog shirt called the "thunder shirt" I've not used it but have heard positive feedback from those who have, it fits snug on the dog and is supposed to have a calming effect. if push comes to shove you can ask your vet for meds if the natural stuff doesn't put a dent in it; BUT these should be a means to an end so you will need to do the other behavior modification techniques along with it and over time you should be able to wean her off of them. In many cases the meds are enough to calm them so you can at least work with them. you can also start using the crate with the door open only when you are there, maybe feed her in it and give her chewy treats in it (door open) and when she starts going in on her own and laying in there chewing on stuff then you can start closing the door for short periods until you are able to keep her CALM in there for a few hours (when you are home first). with many dogs who have this issue having another dog in the house can really help BUT it needs to be a calm dog without anxiety issues otherwise they will feed off each other and this behavior may subside after a few weeks without adding another dog anyway. there is a lot of info online about separation anxiety as well. good luck