# 6 year old Vizsla with sudden seperation anxiety... what to do?



## meggie (Mar 21, 2013)

Background: We have had our wonderful Vizsla for 3 years now. He is 6, but we adopted him from his breeder when he was nearly 3. His original adopters gave him back to the breeder when he was nearly 3. He was apparently crated 20 hours a day and not run. We snagged him from the breeder and did not kennel him while we are at work. We have 3 young girls who adore him. I run him at least 4/5 days per week for at least 45 minutes. He is an angel when we are all home. He sleeps with my girls at night. Trading between rooms each night. He has never had issues with being home alone, unless we leave food on the counter by mistake. Anyway, mid November 2015 he suddenly couldn't handle being home alone for any amount of time. He was chewing on door frames, scratching and open doors, pulling off door frames and just getting into everything and making a mess... as well as urinating and pooping on the floor. Clearly anxiety. Once we are home he is fine. We tried to reintroduce the kennel, but it wasn't happening. That made it worse. He broke out of three of them and chewed through an airport kennel. We tried a small space, but he clawed the door. We contacted his breeder and they offered to take him back. We can't! We just love him. My girls would be heartbroken and we just aren't ready to give up. We are currently doing doggie daycare during our work week and he is on Prozac. This all certainly helps, but we can't be a slave to our home. Not with three kids. He seems to be okay if we leave him home alone after a long day at doggie day care. He manages 2-3 hours just fine because he is so worn out from playing all day. It gets tricky on the weekends. Sometimes he manages a couple hours just fine, but sometimes he can't manage an hour. The damage has stopped but he is still peeing and pooping on the floor. It is clear when we get home that he is unable to self calm. We leave him treats and the smell of our dirty clothes near his bed and on our couch. We are getting ready to move in a few months and will be installing a doggie door. Will this help? Will the move help? Will the change help? We definitely need a solution. We do not understand how he has gone from being able to be home for 8 hours to none. Is it hopeless?


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## meggie (Mar 21, 2013)

Here is a pic of Milo...


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

hi Meggie,

Milo is a cutie, but I say that about all V's. They get down deep.

OK. V's are very attached to their people, as you know. They usually don't develop separation anxiety out of nowhere, it's usually a response to some clear change in the routine. Did that occur?

If you can figure out what might have caused his sudden sensitivity to change, that would help. Re instituting as much of his prior routine as possible is a good first step. Then, talk with whoever is prescribing the Prozac...it's the correct medication..but it might not be at the right dose. 

Your question about a move feels ominous. They're security freaks, you know, they crave not only attention, but consistency, and a move is a radical change to both, at least for a while. So, no, I would say that the move would in all probability exacerbate whatever your guy is responding to, rather than alleviate it. He'll need some special attention and help to make that transition.

Let's start with a review of the Prozac dose as well as anything that might account for the sudden symptoms, though.


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## meggie (Mar 21, 2013)

He was on 40mg of Prozac, but we lowered it to 20 because he just wasn't himself and I didn't think that was being fair to him. He was so super lethargic on the 40. I could barely get him up to go for a run with me in the morning. 

I was worried about the move to be frank, but we are moving during the summer when I am off work with the kids. I am a teacher, so I am hoping the time spent at home unpacking and moving in will be well spent without one of us working full time. It is the best we can do for about 5 weeks before I had back to teaching. 

As far as a sudden change, the only thing that we can point our finger on is a 36 hour departure from home. My husband and I left for 36 hours to run a race. My oldest stayed at a neighbors and came home about 6 times to play with Milo... walk him and feed him and so forth. We do typically board him while we are away, but we have had folks come to the house before to dog sit. In fact, the last time we did that he was home for about 5 days with a dog sitter who did not stay over night. So, we thought 36 hours was a piece of cake. He seemed fine when we returned, but it was 3 days later that we noticed the anxiety. We do feel as if they could have done the damage, but we are unsure why then, specially when we have done that in the past. Could he have known our oldest was merely a kid and not an hour. 36 hours hardly seems like a long time when she came over 6 times in 36 hours. She spent more time with him then the dog sitter did when we left him home for 5 days probably a year prior to that November. We did certainly learn our lesson though and will only board him unless someone does stay at the house overnight. I do feel as if the over night thing might have set him off, but why can't he get over it. It hasn't spent the night alone since. We know he loves us and we do him. 

What about the doggie door? Will that help or is he going to try and get out of our yard and come looking for us. It is a super high fence. There is no way he can get over it or under it unless he digs. Seems unlikely, but I do know they can be determined when they want. 

Thank you for your help, Meggie


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

In a dog that has previously been OK, it's best to try to look at the event that is closest to the onset of the symptom. So, that 36 hr separation seems to be it. 

Anxiety is a tough thing to understand, especially in V's who are so emotionally sensitive. So, even though Milo has tolerated longer separations in the past, that doesn't mean there wasn't something about this particular separation that set him off. Often, dogs do better in boarding situations b/c they have other dogs around, which is a distraction. And, being alone at home and having someone other than "His" person come in a few times a day might actually remind him of your loss. The other, somewhat more cynical explanation is that they really didn't come in as frequently as reported, which would leave Milo alone, a lot.

In any event, you have to treat the anxiety by pairing separation with a neutral emotion....instead of panic. Since he's already on meds, I'd recommend changing the meds, sometimes it take s awhile to find the right one and titrate it to the right dose. The idea there is that you can leave Milo alone for brief periods of time...consistently and for predictable amounts of time...and have him NOT experience the panic. Then, you extend the amount of separation, until he gets accustomed to being apart from you without the dreaded panic.

I don't think the doggie door is much of a solution here, he'll just run out in search of you, and the last thing you want is an agitated dog not thinking clearly outside, where there are many more potential risks to his physical well being. Put him in a crate.

with regards to the move, if you have the place already and can, bring him over frequently to get acquainted with it, walk around the neighborhood so he can familiarize himself with the new sights, sounds, and smells. if not, redouble your efforts to resolve the anxiety, b/c as I said, the move will probably destabilize him further.


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