Sorry, meant to post to conversations.

Mary

Mary,

Our rescue dog, a German Shepherd has demonstrated a somewhat similar behavior. He does not howl or throw a fit if he is in his crate when we leave, but if we do not crate him he goes ballistic!

Several people have told us a good trick is to get a special treat and give the dog one of those treats only when you are going to leave. In theory he/she will come to assosiate you leaving with the treat...aka: something postitive.

Now I will add the disclaimer that we are trying that with Bullitt, but it has not been the sure fire solution as yet. But again, he was a year old when we got him and had other issues as well. Many of which he has overcome....let's just say it's a long process....

Good luck with Ziggy. I am sure you'll get lots of good advice from the folks here!

Linda

I won't be much help either, Cooper barks, runs in circles and generally carries on when I leave. I leave anyway, and can see him jumping against the window, barking.

I seldom leave him, but even when I worked every day and left him, he did the same thing. I tried giving him a treat every time I left, but it didn't make a difference.

So, good luck, I have no good options. (sigh)

Annie

Hi Mary,

We have a not so tiny 76 pound male standard poodle. He was a rescue dog and stuck like glue to us. The instructor at our dog class suggested a variation on Linda's idea. She had us walk to the door we were going to leave through, and of course Oliver was right there with us. When we reached the door, with one hand on the knob to open it, we turned a little and threw a handful of small treats into the room. We left instantly leaving Oliver to decide which treat to go for first. The scattered handful of treats gave us enough time to get out of the garage. Of course you would have to use really tiny treats so you didn't over feed your little one.

We had the advantage that Oliver was and still is a very food driven dog. At first he would cry after he finished the treats, but he was always fine when we returned. We left an open crate for him, which he loved, but we were able to let him decide whether to go in or not. We got him from Poodle Rescue just before his second birthday. He had vet tags and license tags on but the address registered with his vet was an abandoned home a couple of small cities away. He was totally untrained, except for being housebroken, but a good dog. He loved to go to dog school with us and soon learned everything we needed him to.

Let us know what you try and how it works. Good luck with your little sweetie.

Lee

Latte would rather I stay home with her all day, of course. But when she was little, every time I wanted her in her crate, I put her in with a treat. Then we progressed to her going into her crate and me giving her a treat....and now she goes into her crate if I pick up my car keys, or emerge from the bathroom freshly combed and lipsticked.
But I don't close the door on her crate when I am gone. I gate her in the kitchen....with little 8 inch tall sliding screens just propped in the door way. She won't touch them....because early on I taught her that they make awful scary noises when they fall.

I suggest crate practice....go in get a treat....go in, get a treat, Mom goes out of the room and returns very quickly......repeat and lengthen the time you are gone.
Poodles are S M A R T!! Also practice putting on makeup and perfume and getting your keys and taking him for a short ride to some place wonderful....like a friend's house...or the pet shop...or just for a ride to the drive up bank!
Break it up so he doesn't know before hand that you will be shutting him up and leaving him.
Latte used to cry when I left....but no more. I assumed it was just for a little while....but my neighbor told me she would cry and howl for about 30 minutes...but she doesn't do that any more...but she does email friends...:-)

I haven't had this problem, but you could try deconditioning. Put on your makeup, don't go out. Put on your makeup, pick up and jingle the keys, don't go out. Makeup, keys, walk to the door, don't go out. Makeup, keys, walk to the door, open it, don't go out. Go out, come right back in. Treats for good behavior at every step. We have big poos too, they're easy to train.

Not much help either I'm afraid, but go to the Pets forum here and post your question. It is a pretty active forum and those folks have lots of answers for lots of problems. My baby Maltese just looks so forlorn when he suspects I am going to leave him. He doesn't get left often but he doesn't like it. Don't think he howls or cries or anything, suspect he just sleeps in his crate with the door open of course.
Never thought of leaving him a computer so he could email his friends.....great idea lindac! :) maybe he could use my new tablet when I get one.

I had that problem with my Dachshund, Elvira, when I first got her. She was, and still is to a certain extent, a Velcro dog. I did a lot of things listed above. Gave her a treat to go into her crate, which even after 10 years she still expects. A very food driven dog!

I also put her in a large area pet corral in the house's entry way so she could move around but not get into any trouble. She would whine and cry like I was abandoning her forever. But over time she got use to me coming and going and now just lays on the couch when I leave with forlorn looking sad Dachshund eyes. Talk about guilt!

Try all the things suggested and find what works for you and your new dog, Ziggy. It might take time, lots of time, but don't give up. Good luck.
Clare

Thank you all for your tips and encouragement. I can tell Ziggy and I have some serious work ahead of us.

It's funny, he is like Velcro. As I type, he is right next to my left side. Crazy dog. He is smart so hopefully if I just keep a routine with him, we can work this out. I've started by putting a treat in his crate. (didn't know he could throw it in reverse so quickly). good thing he is cute!

will keep you informed of our progress. thanks again. Mary

I have recently had two foster dogs, both with separation anxiety. They have done well in new homes with another dog to keep them company. But you already have another dog at home. So I have nothing to offer!

Poor, sad, neglected little doggy. ;)

You simply need one of these.

Here is a link that might be useful:

No suggestions here either, but I am SO THANKFUL that no one is asking for recipes to cook toy poodles!

Alexa

Ha ha. At 4.5 pounds he would be a small appetizer! thanks again for all the help and ideas. Mary

Ha ha. At 4.5 pounds he would be a small appetizer! thanks again for all the help and ideas. Mary

Latte doesn't like fish.
When I first got her....she didn't eat enough to keep a flea alive and I was always looking for something she would lap up..The first time I offered her some salmon she turned up her nose. Offered her a little piece of a shrimp..EWW!! etc...no licking the tuna plate etc.

Wondering is anyone would have a recipe that would make a tiny dog willing to eat shrimp and other sea food? ( just to kjeep this legal!)

Bacon wrapped shrimp. Yum.

Yes, LindaC, wrap it in bacon. That way if Latte still refuses it, you can always have it for supper!

Cooper loves fish and seafood of all kinds. His favorite is grilled salmon with maple syrup glaze. He has expensive taste and is a LOT bigger than 4.5 pounds, more like 25 pounds!

Annie

Well....she would eat the bacon and leave me the shrimp....easier to just give her bacon.
When there was all the hullabaloo about bad stuff in dog food, I made Chabby's food for a year or so. It's kind of a trick with such a tiny dog to get all the stuff they need into the amount they eat...cooked lots of chicken gizzards with carrots and brown rice. I added milk powder for calcium....worried about green veggies because she just wouldn't eat anything green...no green beans, spinach not certainly not broccoli or cabbage.
I searched for recipes that didn't take more time that Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon.
Then I went to biscuits....recipes with names like snickerpoodles and rumpole rocks featuring stuff like beef drippings and cod liver oil....but they were too dense for her tastes.
Really what Latte likes best is bacon and blue cheese....

Tell Latte, me too.

Separation anxiety is so hard on both the dogs and their favorite people. One of the main things to remember is to never make a big deal about leaving- no extra pats, treats or cuddles- just treat it like no big deal. If you have time, take the dog for a walk prior to leaving to tire it out. Sometimes leaving a radio turned on helps. If you have toys that keep your pet busy that can sometimes work as a distraction while you are gone as long as you feel they are safe (those balls with little treats they have to roll around, etc). Some people leave them with an old tshirt or something with your scent that may calm them. There are supplements amd medications that people use to help anxiety levels in their dogs- check with your vet first. Sometimes it helps if you "train" them by going through your routine to leave but then only leave for 5 minutes, and continue to gradually increase the time you are gone. Again, no big heroics when you come home-- same old, same old. Another option is a thunder coat- they help more issues than bad weather - uses the same thought process as swaddling a baby to help it feel secure. I work in rescue and have only had one dog come through with anxiety problems that the thunder coat did not help at all. Check with your vet and see if they have a trainer with a good reputation they can recommend- good luck, i hope it gets better!

I saw this on another blog and it sounded like a simple approach. I don't know why I didn't think of Patricia McConnell.

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Last year, my husband and I adopted a rescue dog, a hound mix from Tennessee that we named Presley.� She was the sweetest, most placid of dogs - at least until we tried to leave her alone in the house; then she'd howl almost continuously and scratch furiously at the door.� Our neighbors understandably complained; our landlord said we'd have to get rid of her.� I called a dog trainer in tears, and the first thing she did was recommend Patricia McConnell's I'll Be Home Soon, which is a short, exceedingly helpful book on addressing separation anxiety in dogs.��

We didn't follow the book to the letter, but I found one of McConnell's tricks particularly helpful: don't let your dog see you leave.� Apparently "out of sight, out of mind" works for some dogs. We got an extra-tall baby gate and installed it the door to the spare bedroom.� We'd lure Presley in there with a couple of treats, shut the gate, and leave the TV on a soothing, white-noise station, like the Cooking Channel. From inside the spare bedroom, she couldn't see the front door, and for the first time in months we were both able to leave without being followed by her howls.� After a couple of months, we could just throw a treat into the spare bedroom without closing the gate; eventually we took the gate down entirely.� Lately, she doesn't even bother to hop off the couch when I leave.

One thing I read is to use your presence as the 'reward' and calm behavior is how he earns it. So, at a time when you don't have to be somewhere, you put him in the crate, take a few steps backward, if he's calm, come back and let him out, if he's not, stand there and ignore him until he's calm, and then immediately praise him for being a good quiet boy and let him out. Throughout the day, work up to longer periods of calm (so he has to be quiet for five seconds before you let him out, then ten seconds, etc) and then work up to longer distances, until you can get out the front door and come right back, and then work on longer distances outside the door.

Here's hoping you have more discipline than I do. My current system is taking Smokey everywhere with me. He gets tied up in the laundry room while I start the machine and tangles me up in the leash trying to chase cats while I take out the trash. He is fairly enormous, but I have ordered a carry bag, which will surely not fool anyone, for smuggling him into stores. Your little man is teeny, so there's always this lovely cheetah print number!! http://www.amazon.com/Incognito-Discrete-Pet-Carrier-Tote/dp/B007WE357M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1348905100&sr=8-4&keywords=incognito+carrier Lol.

lindac, check the conversation side.

Try putting a worn & unwashed item of your clothing (wear an old tee shirt for a couple of days) in the kennel when you get ready to leave & crate the pup.