Separation anxiety

[NanciFriedson]

I have done everything to crate train Maggie. Her crate only has good treats etc in it, I play calming music and I have a camera on her. She has hated her crate since she was 7 weeks old. Now. She is 9 months old, and still hates it, and barks when I  Ieave the house. 
I tried putting her in my bedroom where she sleeps, and has a tile floor to lay on in my MB. She still barks when I leave.
She has separation anxiety and I think it’s getting worse. The pandemic hasn’t helped, but I try to leave the house daily. 
Nothing is working. Any suggestions? 

[JMFS]

What does she do once you're gone?  Does she eventually settle? 

Both Abbie and Gertie bark when we leave, but Gertie eventually settles.  You wouldn't know it because when we get home she starts barking again.  Without our camera we would have thought she carries on the entire time we're out.

Abbi, on the other hand Never settles, and ends up harming herself.  We now leave her in the bedroom because she (at 11 pounds mind you) chewed the plastic screw cap on her gate down to the metal.  Even with the sharp plastic pieces poking her she continued to chew.  It looked like a murder scene - blood droplets on the floor, a 1' x 10" section of the wall smeared with blood, and a pool of blood under the screw cap area. 

[Adrienne]

With the pandemic, many dog professionals are noticing an increase in cases of separation anxiety unfortunately. Schedule and routine changes are indeed are quite upsetting to dogs, hence why we see many cases of separation anxiety after the summer school break, holidays, after people working from home start a new out-of-the-home job, and now pandemic lock downs are being added to the list.

Separation anxiety though is often also over-diagnosed, so it's important to ensure dogs are really suffering from this so to address them correctly. It is quite normal for dogs to whine, bark or howl the first few minutes when dog owners leave the home. What makes an important difference is what the dog does exactly during these absences, the intensity of these behaviors and whether the dog eventually settles (or even sleeps) after vocalizing for a bit and after how long shows signs of settling (a couple of minutes, 15 minutes? an hour?). 

So yes, it would be important knowing what you are seeing when you carefully watch your recordings. What is she doing exactly? How long does the barking last? Does she eventually settle? Is she urinating or defecating in the home? Is she engaging in any destructive behaviors? If so, what is she destroying? Have you noticed any drooling, shaking, pacing? Also, does she show signs of anxiety as you are preparing to leave the home? These details are very helpful, although for a sure diagnosis you would have to show the recording to a professional (preferably veterinary behaviorist, applied animal behaviorist) and/or your vet to determine whether medications may be needed along with a behavior modification plan. 

The fact that she doesn't like the kennel (and has struggled adjusting to it) can be suggestive of separation anxiety. What happens here is that these dogs start associating the anxiety they feel with the place they are confined in and the state of being alone. These dogs may end up hurting themselves in an attempt to escape the enclosure (as Jennifer describes in her case with Abbi). However, dogs may dislike crates or other enclosures  for other reasons as well (improper introductions, dogs not being exercises/provided with mental stimulation enough,  location (too hot, too cold), something frightening occurring while crated/enclosed and so on) so once again, we need to be careful before drawing conclusions as there can be several differentials to consider.  

In general, cases of separation anxiety are more easily treated the earlier they are diagnosed considering that once this condition puts roots and the dogs rehearses the anxiety for many times, the more likely it is to worsen with time. So we want to nip this in the bud, as soon as we start noticing the earliest signs if feasible.