Sirocco has a deep attachment to me. He gets crazy anytime I leave the house without him.
This isn’t a problem that much if we’re at home. Except for maybe the neighbors.
But when we travel it’s a big problem. We have to find pet-friendly hotels, that will take dogs. This is getting more difficult as hotels are putting more limits on pets staying at their facilities – only two dogs, dogs under certain weights, high non-refundable deposits. Don’t even think about getting a cat in a hotel.
The problem comes if I have to leave Sirocco alone in our room for any reason. It doesn’t matter if my wife is in the room with him, or if another dog is with him. Once I leave the room, the squealing starts. Loud, ear-splitting squealing. If I have to go to the car to get luggage, I can hear him as I walk back into the hotel and down the hallways.
We’re not real sure what to do about his separation anxiety. Maybe we need a doggy psychologist who can get the root of the problem. They’d probably just tell us that he has issues from being taken away from his mother too early (which he wasn’t.)
If anyone out there has any ideas leave a comment and let me know.
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That behavior happens when the dog is the boss. The boss protects the underlings. If the underling goes out of sight, the boss panics (because he can’t protect you when you’re not there). That is what “separation anxiety” really IS — the result of an upsidedown hierarchy.
This is also why he bolts out of reach at every opportunity (it’s the running dog version of decking you, which only the boss dares do). Underlings follow. Boss leads.
Obedience class from someone who uses the Koehler method, and is rough enough on the owners to make the new behavior stick — that is the only thing that will have the slightest impact.
Meanwhile, this dog must NEVER enter or exit anywhere before you do. Make him sit down and wait. He NEVER goes until he’s told, and make the consequences dire if he tries it.
You do him no favors by letting him do any of this. It’s what makes him anxious and therefore noisy. Emotionally, dogs need hard boundaries more than anything else.