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99 Posts
Hello all!
This is my first post here. Last Sunday we adopted a 20 month old Labradoodle. He is potty trained and walks really well on a leash. The previous owners did a great job with him and it sounds like one of them was home all day, every day and if they left, the dog went with them. He got a lot of love.
Overall, he is very calm and loving. I have two issues for which I am seeking advice. The first is separation anxiety. The dog freaks out when we leave the house. As soon as the door closes, he barks, whines, and claws at the door. This happens immediately when we leave and stops immediately when we return.
We have been walking him about 2 hours a day. An hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, so I think he is getting good exercise.
We tried a very large travel crate to keep him from hurting himself or tearing up the house. Before we left, we set up a video camera.
He hated the crate and started barking, whining, and growling as soon as the door closed. When we left, he broke out of it within a minute. He bent the door until the latches came out. I now bought a really big, all-metal crate. Our son was able to get him to sleep in it for about an hour yesterday. That seems like good progress with the crate, but we have not left the house with him in it yet.
Question 1: Any suggestions on how to overcome his anxiety when we are gone?
The second issue is that, after his walks, he is very calm for about 15 minutes, then gets a huge burst of energy. When this happens he chews on everything is site. If we're lucky, it is his toys, but it ends up being anything that comes near his mouth... pillows, carpet, people, etc. It's as though he "has to" chew. It's really a bad energy. If he's chewing on his Kong and it rolls past a pillow, now that the pillow is closer his attention immediately turns to it.
I'm thinking about crating him when this happens, but cannot figure out what the trigger is that starts this behavior.
Question 2: Any ideas on what might be triggering it and how to prevent it?
Thanks everyone!
-Mike-
This is my first post here. Last Sunday we adopted a 20 month old Labradoodle. He is potty trained and walks really well on a leash. The previous owners did a great job with him and it sounds like one of them was home all day, every day and if they left, the dog went with them. He got a lot of love.
Overall, he is very calm and loving. I have two issues for which I am seeking advice. The first is separation anxiety. The dog freaks out when we leave the house. As soon as the door closes, he barks, whines, and claws at the door. This happens immediately when we leave and stops immediately when we return.
We have been walking him about 2 hours a day. An hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, so I think he is getting good exercise.
We tried a very large travel crate to keep him from hurting himself or tearing up the house. Before we left, we set up a video camera.
He hated the crate and started barking, whining, and growling as soon as the door closed. When we left, he broke out of it within a minute. He bent the door until the latches came out. I now bought a really big, all-metal crate. Our son was able to get him to sleep in it for about an hour yesterday. That seems like good progress with the crate, but we have not left the house with him in it yet.
Question 1: Any suggestions on how to overcome his anxiety when we are gone?
The second issue is that, after his walks, he is very calm for about 15 minutes, then gets a huge burst of energy. When this happens he chews on everything is site. If we're lucky, it is his toys, but it ends up being anything that comes near his mouth... pillows, carpet, people, etc. It's as though he "has to" chew. It's really a bad energy. If he's chewing on his Kong and it rolls past a pillow, now that the pillow is closer his attention immediately turns to it.
I'm thinking about crating him when this happens, but cannot figure out what the trigger is that starts this behavior.
Question 2: Any ideas on what might be triggering it and how to prevent it?
Thanks everyone!
-Mike-