Need Doggie Help...

CA.Giraffe

DH and I live on acreage. Our property is fully fenced and cross-fenced for animals. Three months ago, someone dumped a German Shepherd on the highway next to our house. He was malnourished, and nobody claimed him. We have all the animals we can handle, so keeping him wasn’t an option for us. My dad has owned several German Shepherds throughout my life, and offered to take him. They became fast friends, and the dog has been a great companion for my dad since my mom passed away last month.

My dad came to visit us yesterday. This is monumental, as it is the first time my dad has left his city in 11 years (he was a full-time caregiver for my mom during that time). He brought the dog, which we assumed would be no big deal, since we housed him previously for 3 weeks before my dad took him, and things were fine. We have two dogs, and the three got along well before, and seem to be getting along well this time too. However…DH and my dad went into town today, and left all three dogs in the yard. When they returned home about an hour later, my dad’s dog had broken down our garage door. The doorjamb is completely splintered and the solid wood door is off its hinges. Turns out, this is how the dog acts at home, too, to the point my dad has to get a sitter if he needs to leave. The dog simply cannot handle being separated from my dad.

After the door incident, DH was working on our crops and observed my dad’s dog trying to tear through some of our deer fencing. My dad was in the house at the time, so I’m not sure why the dog would try to escape – it would put him farther away from my dad, not closer. The dog was with our two dogs, and had not been outside longer than 10-15 minutes. My dog is trained in agility, and we have lots of things for the dogs to do outside – he shouldn’t have been bored. The dog didn’t exhibit any of this behavior when we first rescued him.

My dad is supposed to be staying with us until Monday, but I’m a little nervous about how it’s going to go. We had a couple activities planned that weren’t dog-friendly, and we can’t skip them. I had assumed it would be fine to leave my dad’s dog with ours while we were gone (for a few hours on two occasions), but it’s looking like that may not be the case…I can’t imagine asking my dad to go home early, though. Maybe sedate the dog? I’m not sure what his problem is…any ideas on how to make it through the weekend? The damage is one issue, but the safety of all our animals is paramount to me.

southernbelle0915

This might sound cold, but I would never let an animal ruin my house or property. Especially someone else's animal. 

I'd be very clear with your dad that if the dog ruins something, he should pick up the bill to fix it. It sounds like this will be a "money pit" of a dog for him. 

SBmini

I would crate the dog when you leave, and your dad should start crating the dog when he leaves too. The dog has serious separation anxiety that will take time to fix. Here's some tips for your dad when he gets home to help with the process:

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/separation-anxiety

clarke10

I would get a crate to put him in the rest of the week. As SBmini said, your dad should continue to crate him when he takes him home.

I'm sure it would hurt your dad's feelings if you asked him to leave and as a dog owner, I would take my dog home before I sedated her to temper her separation anxiety. 

CA.Giraffe

Oh, I'm sure my dad will have everything fixed before he leaves. He can afford to make the repairs and will feel obligated to do so, which is why I'm not as concerned about the damage as I am making sure it doesn't continue and put our animals in an unsafe position.

I hadn't thought about crating. We can do that starting now, since we have a crate. I hope our crate is strong enough to hold him.

QueerFemme

It sounds like the pup was likely very much abandoned and lonely prior to living with your dad, and now he has had a constant companion for the past year and is having some seperation anxiety.   Dogs don't make rational decisions when they are suffering from anxiety, just like people.  I'm sure the pup didn't realize that dad was in the house, and breaking through the fence would put him further away. All he knew was that he was alone in the yard without your dad.

I agree with crating him when no one is there to supervise.  I also think leaving the dog in the yard is a bad idea. Just because there are fun things to do in your yard, doesn't mean the dog isn't confused and wondering why he isn't at home anymore, and where his person is.   You had him for three weeks a year ago.  He may not remember.  Or, he may remember that he was dumped near your home, and it's creating anxiety for him. 

QueerFemme

PS  you can use benadryl to mildly sedate a dog, but it's not going to knock him out.  Just make him a little tired.  I don't really think leaving a sedated dog in the yard is a good idea though.  Also, getting him a crate is a great idea.... but, for a dog with seperation anxiety, he is likely going to go a little nutty at first in the crate.  Crate training is a process.

CA.Giraffe

Question on crating - if my dad's dog is crated, should it be in the same area as ours, sort of like the idea he may not freak out as much if the other dogs are around? Or should we keep them separate? We don't crate our dogs except in the car.

QueerFemme

The dog should be crated indoors.  If your dogs are going to be loose, then make sure he is crated away from your dogs.  If your dogs have access to the crate, it could create barrier aggression.

clarke10

CA.Giraffe said:

Question on crating - if my dad's dog is crated, should it be in the same area as ours, sort of like the idea he may not freak out as much if the other dogs are around? Or should we keep them separate? We don't crate our dogs except in the car.

If his dog is crated and yours aren't, I think it would be worse to have them near each other. I would put him in a separate room where he can't see the other dogs. 

MairePoppy

Crate training is the answer. Get one now for the dog and have your Dad reward him every time he sniffs or goes near the crate, by tossing in his favorite treat. 

Your Dad's dog isn't able to enjoy all the fun things you have in your yard because he hasn't been taught how to use them. KWIM? If you can get your Dad out there with his dog to teach him a few things, it might help him burn off his nervous energy so that he can learn to relax in your home. 

Sedating is a short term solution for vet appointments, but you can't depend on it for your absence. A really scared dog might over ride the sedation and then you'll have a dog with no inhibitions really going to town on your doors and furniture.

CA.Giraffe

Thanks! We're going to try the crate, and put the crate in the shop/garage (climate controlled) and our dogs outside. I feel bad for the dog, and hope that with my dad's efforts and time, he'll adjust.

doeydo

My family dog when I was a child had separation anxiety.  He just about destroyed the house and the insurance covered it, thankfully, so they got new doors, carpet, etc.  I forget how they trained him to handle it better, because from what I remember he was fine.  Anywho, I love Cesar Millan so maybe you could read up on what he has to say about it: http://www.cesarsway.com/search/node/separation anxiety

CA.Giraffe

Fortunately, my dad doesn't really have much to do other than care for the dog. He's taught it a LOT in the couple months he's had it - he even had to potty train it, and the dog is about 3 years old, according to the vet. We thought the dog was much older when we first rescued him, so we didn't exercise him much then; he was really frail. Now that he's healthier, he probably needs to get out more.

SBmini

CA.Giraffe said:

Oh, I'm sure my dad will have everything fixed before he leaves. He can afford to make the repairs and will feel obligated to do so, which is why I'm not as concerned about the damage as I am making sure it doesn't continue and put our animals in an unsafe position. I hadn't thought about crating. We can do that starting now, since we have a crate. I hope our crate is strong enough to hold him.

Zip tie the sides if it is collapsable. My sweet lab mix had separation issues that were compounded by a surgery she had right after we got her. When we got her, we were told she was used to the crate. Our first attempt of crating her (for about 20 minutes) she slipped out of her cone and through the corner of her crate. There was blood on her and the crate. It was awful. We zip tied it and thankfully, after a few weeks of work, we didn't have to crate her any more.

Couggal12

I also think crating the dog is your best bet. My parents have 2 dogs and one of them gets extreme separation anxiety while the other does not. They have to crate both of them due to the separation anxiety otherwise, the one dog will literally destroy anything he can get in to and if they don't crate the other one, it makes the one dog bark and get even more anxious. Even the blanket in his crate he will rip to shreds but, it at least stops him from destroying things in the house.

mysticl

QueerFemme said:

PS  you can use benadryl to mildly sedate a dog, but it's not going to knock him out.  Just make him a little tired.  I don't really think leaving a sedated dog in the yard is a good idea though.  Also, getting him a crate is a great idea.... but, for a dog with seperation anxiety, he is likely going to go a little nutty at first in the crate.  Crate training is a process.

We have an Australian Shepherd and she has the opposite reaction to benadryl, it makes her even more hyper.  

MamaAlly89

Crate training our dog was seriously the best decision we ever made, I high recommend it for dogs with separation anxiety. Our dog was a rescue and we never thought of crating him at first. Then when we would leave he would literally start eating everything in sight. The final straw was when I came home from work one day and he had gotten in to the bedroom closet and chewed up every single pair of underwear that I owned. Crate your pup.