Seperation Anxiety - Page 3

Moons,
      I can totally agree with that approach, I too agree that there are some dogs that need to be put down, I don't recommend medication in every case I don't recommend tranquilizers, but sometimes for a novice that while training does have to leave the dog for an extended period to work sometimes it helps.  I believe that rescues should all have a trainer on staff that evaluates each dog, and can give an objective evaluation of what the dog is going to need, and wether or not the prospective owners can handle it and understand the time etc it is going to take.  It is much harder to take a dog and rehab it than it is start fresh.  I notice a lot of rescues require spay/neuter contracts have always wondered why they didn't have a training contract, there is more to being a responsible pet owner than not letting them breed.  Yes this is a very time intensive and labor intensive problem to fix, it can be done but as you said it is wether or not the person is willing to commit the time effort and be consistent, and realize there will be bumps in the road.,

"we are talking about one that has been passed on by every person it has had a bond with and naturally it is a little worried that his new person is going to do the same. "

That is also an assumption, and a wrong one IMHO.  This is a pup, and it was only 8 months old when she got it.  This is genetic. 
The first thing she is going to have to do, is find a heavy duty crate for the dog when she is gone, one it can NOT chew its way out of. 

I agree with YR, that this is the reason this pup was given up in the first place. 

hmm just saw classifieds..

LOL, perfect, there you go O.P.

We took in a resued female years ago who had some of these same issues.  On the way home the night we picked her up we stopped at the animal food ware house and took her in with us to see how she would react in a noisy environment.  As we were walking thru there were two policemen there and her hackles went up and she litterally pulled me in another direction.  That was interesting to say the least.  Over the next few months she ate holes in the carpets, distroyed an ottomen and a few other things that at least could be replaced.  In the mean time I was training with her three times a week and she had over two acres to run off her energy.  She was 11 months old when we got her.  She finally, after a lot of work quit her bad behaviors and became a good dog.  We found out latter we had been the 4 home she had been placed in and the three prior to us had had the same issues and returned her.  These facts were hid from us when we got her or we probably would not have taken the dog.  When she was four years old I was at a training class that had a police officer in it with a 4 month old GSd and he was treating it like meat.  If the dog did not do what he wanted he would litterally grab it and force it to do the commands.  The instructor at the time did not intervene but I did.  What was really interesting is it turned out he had been the first owner of the bitch we had rescued and she had been treated in the same manor he was treating the current dog.  I would be contacting the shelter and either be returning the dog or I would put it down rather then see it go thru what it sounds like she has been thru.  She definately has some real sever issues and unless the lady can get to the bottom of them and find out what origionally cause her to behave this way there is no way she is going to be able to correct them.  Not someone inexperience in the breed anyway.  It sounds to me like someone was trying to force train this dog to early and in the process has made a dog that cannot be controled, trusted and is going to be a very dangerous dog, even to the owner. GSD's are very intelligent and a lot of people that want them as a first dog have heard that so much they think they just do it on their own without any training and that is a lot of the problem with them. Steve

Call Cesar Millan. I think, he can fix your problem.

Heather,don´t give up.You seem to have a real interest in the dog,it just needs some time to fix this problem.Try contacting a proffessional trainer that has experience with SA.

I have just come across a book by an animal  behaviourist that might help you.
It is called 'In Defence of Dogs: Why Dogs Need Our Understanding' by John Bradshaw,and the foundation director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol in England. He has devoted the last 25 years to studying the domestic dog and his best-selling book is described as a major rethink about the way we understand dogs.
We also manufacture natural herbal remedies for dogs including a herbal calmer which you can put in your puppies water. It is like giving them a daily chamomile tea which soothes anxious nerves and doesn't have any side effects.
visit this page for more information or you can download a free herbal guide on caring for your pets.
http://www.brookbyherbs.co.nz/webapps/i/90632/240646/347573

Hey, just to clarify the medication thing...dogs, just like people, can get diseases that need medicine to cure. Including some mental issues. Obviously, this dog has MAJOR issues, not nessecarily from abuse, maybe just nucking futz! And some mental illness is caused by an imbalance of chemicals naturally occuring in the brain, & a prescription for a medicine that helps restore that balance can help make the dog mentally healthy. In the meantime, the dogs nerves may well be soothed by Xanax or some other mild sedative. Not just given willy-nilly, but prescribed by a vet. If y'all are OK with dumping the dog back at the rescue, or euthing the poor spaz....why not be OK with trying to help it? It's not like taking someone's ScHI candidate & medicating it because it's a little hyper, this dog has real problems. I'd say, no holds barred, try whatever you need to, to help this poor pupper. And kudos to you, for going through all this so far to try to help a rescue have a life. Our Wolf is relatively normal , LOL, & he's taken out innumerable blinds, too many crates to mention, & an entire door (wooden, hollow) in about 3 hours. The whole bottom half of it looked like the fringe on a scarf. That was when we first got him. He just stopped, too. Like he all of a sudden figured out that every single person around him loved him, even the cats, & even with the bad behaviour he was still loved! But also Yvonne stopped trying to confine him. And our Beckett can get out of any crate, & prolly would destroy a lot of stuff if he were unsupervized! So, good luck, & God bless you for even trying! jackie harris