Attention Seeking or Separation Anxiety?

[HannahCarney]

Hello!

I have an 8 week old Cavachon puppy at home. She's been with us for about 4 days now and are noticing some anxiety-related issues that we are trying to identify as between attention seeking or separation anxiety... She was given anti anxiety medicine to help ease her into the adjustment of the new home/being away from mom but it doesn't seem to help out a ton.

We notice that she'll occasionally whine when in her crate but we have to be in the room for her to remain calm. Once we leave the room, in her crate or in the kitchen, she absolutely loses it and whines/barks. It's hard to tell if this is attention seeking, separation anxiety, or she needs our attention because she has to go to the bathroom. She has eliminated multiple times when she is whining and we can't quite tell if she was trying to get our attention to go potty outside or if this is separation anxiety signs. Usually the whining/barking starts, gets very loud, and lasts for 5-10 minutes before she settles down. 

We aren't 100% sure what the cause is of this behavior but want to solve it soon. It's heart breaking to listen to and ignore it. We did get her the Snuggle Puppy with the heart beat and that does seem to help, however, we aren't sure this is a long-term solution to her anxiety problems. Let me know what you think or if you have any recommendations. Thank you!

[Adrienne]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums!

At such a young age, and considering the fact this pup has been with you only 4 days so far, I am more inclined to think that the behavior stems from some sort of anxiety.  You see, before coming into our homes, puppies are mingling with their littermates, playing with them and sleeping piled up on each other for warmth. This provided them with reassurance.  Now, she's in a new home, with different sights, scents and sounds. She no longer has her mom and littermates to play with and sleep with. So this is a time of uncertainty and stress. 

To further compound things, consider that puppies go through what are known as fear periods and one of a puppy's fear periods coincidentally takes place between the age of 8 to 10 weeks of age. During this time, the puppy may be very sensitive to traumatic experiences, and a single scary event may be enough to traumatize the puppy and have life-long effects on his future behaviors. So we are dealing with a delicate stage. 

It's not unusual for very young pups to not be able to cope with being left alone. These pups need love, reassurance and security. The more a puppy experiences the trauma of being alone, the sooner the panic will set in next time. Fortunately, most puppies become more independent once they mature.

So at this stage, I would suggest if possible avoiding putting her in situations that may cause her distress. Important is therefore to keep her under threshold and not expose her to situations she might not be ready for yet.  So baby steps, teeny-tiny steps to fostering independence and also aiming to create positive associations with our brief departures through the combination of desensitization and counterconditioning. 

So for example, you can leave the area very briefly and come right back repeatedly (making sure your pup doesn't go over threshold) until your pup comes to understand that you don't leave for long. At the same time,  teach your pup that great things happen when you are not around. Give your pup her meal which you have placed out of reach up the counter or give her a safe chew toy you have kept on the shelf (but that your pup could see/smell so you can build a bit of anticipation) and walk away so she gets to enjoy it lone. When she’s done, return. Do this several times during the day to create the positive associations. If she ever appears distressed, take a step back and work with briefer absences until she's comfortable with that before progressing. Also, mix in brief absences among the longer ones randomly so that she doesn't come to anticipate an increase in difficulty in the exercises. 

Usually, as pups grow they learn to be more independent as they reach the flight instinct period: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/flight-instinct-period-4-8-months/

I hope this helps, keep me posted on how things go.

Best,

Adrienne 

 

[HannahCarney]

Hello! 

Just an update... She can now get through the night without whining/crying which is amazing! She is starting to gain some independence and likes to venture into our back yard by herself for about 20 min before looking for us but otherwise she want's to be glued to our side. We have a XL crate between our work desks that acts as her playpen while we work. Unfortunately, it seem slick she get's extremely upset being alone in her crate even though we are right next to her. It typically takes about 10-15 min and she'll eventually tire herself out and falls asleep. Is this something you'd consider over her threshold? She's fine being alone sometimes and goes down in her sleeping create just fine. We aren't sure if she's anxious in the crate or she just wants to play. Thoughts?

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the update!  It is great that she now can sleep through the night without whining and crying. It is also great that she is starting to explore your back yard. That's a great improvement!

For the crating during the day issue, it requires some troubleshooting. If she appears extremely upset, this will only increase her anxiety and will further create negative connotations with the crate. So we need to find out what is making her upset.

Here's the thing, for puppies, being crated during the day may feel quite different from in the night. Puppies therefore tend to perceive being in the crate differently based on whether the crate is being used as a place for a nap, a place to spend some quiet time to settle down, or a place of confinement for when you are away. In your case, it sounds more like you are trying to get her to nap or spend some quiet time while in it, but she's struggling with that. 

This can sometimes happen with puppies who are overstimulated. During the day, puppies are eager to play and learn about the world around them. Indeed, watch a young puppy wake up in the morning, and you'll notice how happy they are to embrace a new day. With eyes and ears ready to capture every slight movement and sound, it may be difficult for vivacious pups to wind down and get ready for nap.

Many puppies may play to the point of exhaustion, only collapsing suddenly once their batteries are totally drained. Others may be cranky and tired, but when placed in the crate, they may struggle to fall asleep because their body and mind is still too overstimulated to allow them to relax. It almost seems like they can't help it: their ears must twitch in direction of the slightest sounds and their eyes are ready to orient towards the slighted movement. Not to mention, their sniffer is also active trying to capture background smells.

For these pups to help them wind down, it helps providing them with something long-lasting to chew on/keep busy (stuffed Kong, Lickimat). This can keep them occupied until they get tired enough to fall asleep on their own. Also, placing a blanket on the crate and playing some calming music for dogs can turn helpful too.  

It's also important to ensure all puppies' needs are met. Puppies have various needs that must be met in order for the puppy to relax enough to sleep. Basic needs of course include being hydrated, having a full belly, going potty, staying at a comfortable temperature, having companionship and several opportunities for exercising, playing and mental stimulation (brain games!)

It therefore goes without saying that, to help set the pup for success, they should have had their needs for going potty, playing, socializing, exercising and exploring met prior to closing them in a crate.  So playing and training the pup, along with providing mental stimulation about 30 to 45 minutes (followed by the opportunity to potty) prior to crating may help. This is especially true if we are trying to have the puppy nap in the morning when they are super charged and ready to celebrate a new day.  

It also helps to create a predictable routine. Dogs in general are reassured by routines, so if you notice your puppy tends to feel more sleepy at a certain time of the day, make that her official nap time. 

There may also be chances that she's still not much comfortable being crated. One thing is in the night, after a day of playing and exploring with the puppy needing time in the crate to wind down, one thing is crating a puppy during the day when the puppy looks forward to celebrating and playing. Therefore, to compensate for this, it's important to ensure the crate becomes a happy place to be.  Here is a guide of training a dog to love the crate:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

As seen this is done gradually through lots of positive associations. Make sure to spend time to feed treats and provide toys inside the open crate during the day before closing your puppy in it for longer during the day. Make sure the crate is super inviting with a warm blanket or even a shirt the smells like you. Some needy young pups may only relax if they sleep with a Snuggle Puppy Behavioral Aid. This is a stuffed toy that emits warmth and even has the sound of a heartbeat. 

If there is too much anxiety and nothing works,  pups benefit from a temporary different setting, while going back to basics and training them to love the crate. One popular one is placing a crate with the door open within a play pen and some pee pads on the opposite side (just in case ), and many pups end up crating themselves 

automatically during the day. The play pen area can have some toys in it so that the pup can play freely and then decide when to nap.

 

The main drawback of this setting is that some pups may have setbacks in their potty training if they just started to signal a need to potty when closed in the crate by whining or moving around. However, if we are very attentive, we may avoid a good part of them by watching them and taking them outside at a moment's notice after they are done playing or when, after napping, they move around the crate or exit it. 

 

As seen, there are several dynamics that may be going on. You may need to try several options and see what works the best. Measure the effectiveness of each option by monitoring how quickly it takes for her to settle and see what works the best for her and then try to stick to that. 

I hope this helps,

Best,

Adrienne