Anne’s new little dog gets extremely nervous when left alone - how can he be reassured?
Question
Our darling new rat terrier is just perfect for us, but we do have one concern. He gets extremely nervous when my husband and I leave him alone. We quickly decided that he was miserable alone at home in his crate even though he sleeps well in it at night. We leave him in a light, airy, 2-car garage with toys, a sheet, food, water, etc. He starts a shivering shake as soon as he realizes that we are going to leave, and he has scratched the doors in the garage terrifically. We do not want to give him medication. How can we reassure him?
Hi Anne
Would you like to be locked up in a garage all day? I’m sure you’d also scratch and cry to get out!
You little dog is extremely nervous of being alone and desperate to be with you, because dogs are pack animals and need the company of people or other dogs. Full stop.
Of course you can drug the little fellow – I’m sure your vet will be happy to supply the medication but is that what you really want … a canine addict?!
My advice is take him with you to work or drop him off with a sitter or at a pet crèche, or find him a home where he will have company.
Sorry there i
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2 Responses to “Q&A - Dog gets nervous when alone”
September 30th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Why don’t you try getting your dog a friend, two’s company (my two dogs are very dependent on each other) and they tend to be less lonely during the day. They will never not miss you while you are away, but another doggy friend will sure make it easier on him.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:47 am
We Have to leave our dog when we go to work and we can’t leave him in the house because he chews anything wood so we put him in the garage for a few hours,but he gets really nervous. He thinks he is supposed to go with us everywhere and there are some places he cannot go.We love our dog and spend lots of time with him when we are home.