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Seperation anxiety?

2K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  Evelyn 
#1 ·
Tonka screams and cries when he can see me but can't get to me and when I leave his sight to go to the bathroom or take a shower. Have I made him this way by letting him sleep in the bed with me the first night I got him and always taking him with me everywhere?


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#4 ·
It is normal for a chi to want to be with you, it is a sign of his lack of confidence that he panics if he can't be. Harley sleeps in my bed, and he follows me everywhere. When I am in the bathroom he curls up by the door.
Is Tonka a puppy still? You have to train them to be left, and it is much harder for some dogs. Is he crate trained? This makes it easier as he has his safe haven when you are not there. Start by leaving him in his crate and going out of the room. DO NOT go back in if he is screaming. When he is quiet you can go to him and praise him for being good. Gradually increase the time he is alone, and come and go a few times.
Teaching him to be alone is absolutely necessary for his long-term happiness. If he cannot settle without you he will be miserable every time you leave him, and what about if he ever has to go to the vet, or stay in kennels etc, so you will be doing a good thing teaching him to be confident when alone now.
 
#5 ·
This is really 'demand' barking rather than true separation anxiety I think. True S.A. is when a dog 'panics' when he is alone. He/she can get so upset that they can break windows, injure themselves in a crate, destroy room/s, etc. A very serious thing and hard to deal with.

I think this post describes a baby that is testing its 'parents'. I WANNA BE WITH YOOU! DON'T LEAVE ME, I'M GONNA DIE! Leave them cry it out, if you want to raise a puppy that you can leave safely in a pen or crate.
 
#6 ·
^^ what Stella said! ^^

In the evenings, when we were watching television, whenever the ad break came on, i would leave the room for the whole 2/3 mins and shut the door. Potter about, make a cuppa etc, then go back in the room, all the time ignoring the crying.

She eventually got used to being left alone, as she knew i would always come back. Gradually i then increased the time she was left alone, she now has no issues.
 
#7 ·
I've been crate training him. The only place I feed him is in the crate so he knows it's a safe place. He sleeps in there as well. But I guess like any baby he does cry every once in a while to go potty when he's in there. He doesn't go insane and try to break out of a room. He just looks at me crying. I don't get him out of the crate until he stops crying. But he's just so tiny and cute so I've started allowing him to go in the bathroom with me to give him peace of mind that I havnt actually left. View attachment 12394
I took this picture last night haha. He looked like he was in jail.


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#9 ·
When he does that, make sure that you completely ignore him. If you come back to him when he's crying, he won't forget. That's great that you crate train and aren't letting him out until he stops crying. As hard as it is, I would stop taking him everywhere with you, at least for the time being, so he can see that you go away for short periods of time but always come back.
 
#12 ·
that must make bath time easy! lol

My little Vida hates baths I tired showering with her and giving her baths by herself but either way she always tries to catch me off guard and thinks she is gonna be able to escape from the bathroom and I'm gonna forget all about giving her a bath :foxes251: lol ...Chihuahua are not as intelligent as you may think :p
 
#14 ·
Awww I'll bet that little face is hard to resist!! They will DEFINITELY pull at your heartstrings, but it is super important never to reward or give in to him crying; as doing so just rewards him for fussing; hence you would be basically training him TO fuss/scream/cry which is the opposite of what you want. You simply have to be diligent; and ignore him (no words of comfort, no trying to soothe from afar, no "It's okay, I'm still here!"'s from the other room. In order for him to actually learn to self-soothe, it's paramount that he be given the opportunity. He will learn in due time, and it's important that he does, should you ever be in any emergency situation where he needs to be left alone or crated for any amount of time. Chihuahuas are brilliant, albeit VERY manipulative, dogs if given the chance to be so; which is why it's important for you as the owner to set boundaries for him and help him learn what is okay and what is just plain obnoxious. =) Make sure his crate is somewhere that he can't see you when he's inside of it; you can cover it with a blanket; put a clock or radio overtop for some background noise; and I even use a drop of lavender on the top of the crate each night for the one puppy I am crate training for his new owner. He's almost 3 months old, and now only cries on and off for about 5 minutes before drifting off to sleep because he's learning that there really is no point to him whining, because never once have we "given in," to his cries. I wish you the best of luck!!
 
#15 ·
My rupert does this, he is crate trained and he has to stay on his own sometimes, not practical taking a dog round a supermarket!! But he cries and it is like a baby- dont leave me I love you! It's really hard to ignore it but I've seen the consequences with my mother in laws dog who is half chi and he is a nightmare, very demanding and acts like a total brat which is a shame as it gives chis a bad name.
 
#16 ·
mine have me trained Mischa and bazza follow me into the bathroom and Kalvin too Mira I stop her from whinning by giving her one of those magic bags she won't move for anything lol sometimes I put on the t.v. it use to be bad when I first got them , they just want their own way and try to make us feel bad the are smart but you have to be smarter and even stronger they eventually realize your coming back.
 
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