…I’ve had enough. It’s either get rid or try drugs.
No silly, not me, the bloody puppy. Sadie bless her cotton socks, or mine rather because she still raids the laundry bag for her sock fix, suffers terribly from separation anxiety. I’ve tried everything that any canine behaviourist will suggest for this truly awful problem that any dog, but particularly rescue dogs, can suffer from.
She hates to be left, she needs to be near me. Not just near but complete access. My back door has a full glass panel in it, the idea being that the dogs can see out and watch the cats and the cat burglars can see in and see two big dogs. That’s the idea anyway, the only problem of course is that there is a trail of dogs wet nose deposits all over the bottom of the glass panel on the inside and snail trails on the outside, so let’s say the top is clear but the lower 2 feet of glass is slightly opaque. Anyhoo - glass door, Sadie is inside and I’m on the back step talking to my neighbour, less than 2 foot away separated by glass and she cries, she howls, she frets…it’s ridiculous really.
If I leave her in the house she cries, she gathers up anything she can find with my scent on, preferably my expensive leather shoes and piles them onto her bed for comfort (smell comfort, not cosy comfort obviously) by the time I come home she’s had a good chew. I also find numerous presents and puddles around the house, a four bed house on three floors and she will tiddle and poop in every room she has access to. So before leaving the house I have to rescue shoes and shut them in my bedroom, shut the laundry basket in the bathroom, shut all the bedroom doors and hope that this would result in successful shit containment. Quite a job when I’m being followed by two dogs who want to know where I’m going, are they coming too and if not, why not? Obviously they don’t say this but I can tell they’re thinking it.
I also have to do this all as low key as possible to reduce Sadie’s anxiety. My returns have to be quiet and calm despite the fact that my sensitive shit detecting olfactory bulb is on high alert. I’ve left the TV on, music on, I’ve frozen peanut butter in Kongs, I’ve filled Buster balls, I’ve distributed dog chews and biscuits throughout the house but to no avail. The little sweetie still poops and tiddles.
Aha I declare, puppy crates, always works. Yup, so instead of a nicely distributed selection of doggy delights for me to find around the house I now find my soulful lurcher pup in her crate covered in poop, her bed covered in poop and the crate covered in poop. Brilliant. She’s also developed bald patched on her muzzle from frantically try ing to escape. She is also so exhausted from her 2 hours long Hound of the Baskervilles rendition (I know this because I’m informed regularly by neighbours who seem to talk through gritted teeth nowadays) that she sleeps soundly and peacefully once she’s been chucked in the shower and shampooed.
You name it, I’ve tried it so I’ve given up and admitted defeat with this little lady. Her bowel and bladder problems isn’t due to house training because she can sleep all night without waking me up for nighttime trips, it’s sheer panic from her anxiety at my absence. It was getting tot he stage where I was going everywhere by car so I could leave them in the car (strangely she is happy to be left in the car for ages, as long as Wes is with her). When I’m leaving the dogs in the car just so I can visit my friend who lives on the same street then I know that drastic measures are called for.
So off to the vet who suggests I try a behaviour course, yeah sure pay a zillion quid so he can buy an Audi TT and I can try all of the above again….no dammit, just give me the DRUGS!!! I know my Dr Bruce Fogle, I know about doggy psychology, I’m manipulated by them all day every day I declare! Well no, not really, I just whimpered that I’d tried it all and I needed the DRUGS!
£80 later and I’ve got some drugs for my pooch. No problem with her taking them, she’s a lurcher for heavens sake, she can give Bambi eyes and snaffle anything off your plate before you’ve noticed given half the chance, so a dab of paté and she swallows her pill no problem.
I’m also going to try a DAP diffuser, DAP stands for Dog Appeasement Pheromones, apparently lactating females give off these pheromones to provide comfort and reassurance to her pups. DAP are a synthetic version of the natural ones. Sounds good in theory so I’ll try that too.
Alternatively, I’ll take the sedatives and then I won’t care what she does 
I’ve had a thought guys, when you’re feeling stressed out and anxious just whip out a pair of my panties, sit back and feel the comfort wash over you 
Filed under: My dogs
