We have beagle/blue tick mix. She is a good dog. Does not bark at all but whines and cries when we leave. This means we cannot do anything away from the camper unless we take her with us. That is not convenient when trying to swim or ride bikes as a family. Any suggestions. We are trying not to be "that person". Who leaves the noisey whining dog in the camper to disturb everybody else. Any suggestions are welcome.

Need more info --What is your procedure when you leave her? Have you tried both crating and not crating her to see if she does better with one or the other?Do you leave her with some kind of yummy treat?Does she behave the same way when you leave her at home?How much exercise does she get (physical and mental)?For some SA dogs lots of exercise (both physical and mental), a special treat and some white noise when you leave is all that's needed. Others will need some pharmaceutical help and conditioning training to overcome their SA.

Pawz4me wrote:Need more info --What is your procedure when you leave her? Have you tried both crating and not crating her to see if she does better with one or the other? We tried crating and she destroyed a metal crate. Bent the bars to the point I was afraid she would get caught on them. She has a plastic one now and she is fine in it as long as we don't close the door or if we close it but stay in the room. If we close it and leave the room she starts frantically scratching and whining. Do you leave her with some kind of yummy treat?Haven't tried many treats she has a lot of food allergies so I was kinda shy away from themDoes she behave the same way when you leave her at home?Sometimes. At times she is fine at home and other times she acts outHow much exercise does she get (physical and mental)?When at home usually a mile or so walk once a day. When camping several shorter walks a day. Not sure about mental? For some SA dogs lots of exercise (both physical and mental), a special treat and some white noise when you leave is all that's needed. Others will need some pharmaceutical help and conditioning training to overcome their SA.

Mental exercise = Teaching obedience commands or tricks, playing hide-and-seek (using toys or food), etc. Physical exercise is great, but absolutely nothing tires a dog out like a good session of mental exercise. Clicker training is fabulous since it really gets a dog thinking.How old is she? Has she always had some SA?For a dog who has destroyed a crate, and especially if the SA behavior has been going on awhile, I really think getting some medication from the vet to take the edge off and then working on retraining is the way to go. You have to lower the stress level (with the medication) so the dog can be relaxed enough to relearn good behavior.ETA: If she's food motivated then even with food allergies I'd always leave her with a food treat. You can take some of her regular food (moisten it if it's kibble) and stuff it into a Kong and freeze it. A frozen stuffed Kong will keep most food motivated dogs busy for quite awhile. And most experts believe the worst time for a SA dog is the first 10 or 15 minutes after their person/people leave. So if a treat can keep her busy and distracted for that time period it can really help.

Separation AnxietyPay particular attention to the pharmacological and treatment sections as they give very good advice on how to deal with this problem.Doug, DVM

Try a Thunder Jacket. Helps with my dog.

Separation anxiety | Good Sam Community

dturm
Moderator
Aug 15, 2016
Separation Anxiety

Pay particular attention to the pharmacological and treatment sections as they give very good advice on how to deal with this problem.

Doug, DVM
Pawz4me
Explorer
Aug 15, 2016
Mental exercise = Teaching obedience commands or tricks, playing hide-and-seek (using toys or food), etc. Physical exercise is great, but absolutely nothing tires a dog out like a good session of mental exercise. Clicker training is fabulous since it really gets a dog thinking.

How old is she? Has she always had some SA?

For a dog who has destroyed a crate, and especially if the SA behavior has been going on awhile, I really think getting some medication from the vet to take the edge off and then working on retraining is the way to go. You have to lower the stress level (with the medication) so the dog can be relaxed enough to relearn good behavior.

ETA: If she's food motivated then even with food allergies I'd always leave her with a food treat. You can take some of her regular food (moisten it if it's kibble) and stuff it into a Kong and freeze it. A frozen stuffed Kong will keep most food motivated dogs busy for quite awhile. And most experts believe the worst time for a SA dog is the first 10 or 15 minutes after their person/people leave. So if a treat can keep her busy and distracted for that time period it can really help.
scottew71
Explorer
Aug 15, 2016
Pawz4me wrote:
Need more info --

What is your procedure when you leave her? Have you tried both crating and not crating her to see if she does better with one or the other?

We tried crating and she destroyed a metal crate. Bent the bars to the point I was afraid she would get caught on them. She has a plastic one now and she is fine in it as long as we don't close the door or if we close it but stay in the room. If we close it and leave the room she starts frantically scratching and whining.

Do you leave her with some kind of yummy treat?

Haven't tried many treats she has a lot of food allergies so I was kinda shy away from them

Does she behave the same way when you leave her at home?

Sometimes. At times she is fine at home and other times she acts out

How much exercise does she get (physical and mental)?

When at home usually a mile or so walk once a day. When camping several shorter walks a day. Not sure about mental?

For some SA dogs lots of exercise (both physical and mental), a special treat and some white noise when you leave is all that's needed. Others will need some pharmaceutical help and conditioning training to overcome their SA.
Pawz4me
Explorer
Aug 15, 2016
Need more info --

What is your procedure when you leave her? Have you tried both crating and not crating her to see if she does better with one or the other?

Do you leave her with some kind of yummy treat?

Does she behave the same way when you leave her at home?

How much exercise does she get (physical and mental)?

For some SA dogs lots of exercise (both physical and mental), a special treat and some white noise when you leave is all that's needed. Others will need some pharmaceutical help and conditioning training to overcome their SA.

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