I am hoping someone has some fabulous insight to help my poor pooch.
The background - he is a 4yo G.Shep x Lab x Border Collie that I have had for three years. He was in a neglectful home before mine, and he came to me with a lot of issues. He was very timid, but through a lot of obedience and agility work he gained a lot of confidence.
He has severe (really severe) separation anxiety that we manage with a reinforced metal crate. He has broken several teeth in his frenzy while alone.
We got a second dog about a year and a half ago and that has really helped him. The second dog is about as mellow as can be, and is a good influence.
Lately, my first dog has been stressed out all. of. the. time. His two big triggers used to be thunder storms, and the garbage truck. They would cause him to pant and pace and shake like mad. He wants to be right next to me throughout the whole thing (we joke that he would very much like to be in your skin.) But now he is acting like this all day long, and it is making me nuts.
I am not sure what the trigger is. We had a baby a year ago, but he has been very calm and fantastic with her. I have been doing home child care, but for nearly six months now, and this has only started in the last couple of weeks. One of the kids is particularly loud and boisterous but I don't let him get in either of the dogs faces and they are NEVER left together unattended (I couldn't even if I wanted to - this dog is stuck to me).
He has access to lots of places in the house, including his crate, where he could go and hide for a while, but he just has to be in the middle of everything while freaking out. He has been pacing all over the room while I type this. Occasionally I can get him to lie down next to me but it only lasts a few minutes.
This is not a dog that can be tired out by long walks and then will be calm the rest of the day. This is not a case of too much energy, it is a case of extreme anxiety. So although I am open to suggestions of more exercise it needs to be for a different purpose than to just tire him out -- because that won't help.
I am thinking about doing some more obedience work with him and see if that helps. I used to take a lot of classes with him, but that fell by the wayside after the baby. We don't have the money to pay for a trainer/classes, but I can always do some work with him myself.
Any other ideas?
The background - he is a 4yo G.Shep x Lab x Border Collie that I have had for three years. He was in a neglectful home before mine, and he came to me with a lot of issues. He was very timid, but through a lot of obedience and agility work he gained a lot of confidence.
He has severe (really severe) separation anxiety that we manage with a reinforced metal crate. He has broken several teeth in his frenzy while alone.
We got a second dog about a year and a half ago and that has really helped him. The second dog is about as mellow as can be, and is a good influence.
Lately, my first dog has been stressed out all. of. the. time. His two big triggers used to be thunder storms, and the garbage truck. They would cause him to pant and pace and shake like mad. He wants to be right next to me throughout the whole thing (we joke that he would very much like to be in your skin.) But now he is acting like this all day long, and it is making me nuts.
I am not sure what the trigger is. We had a baby a year ago, but he has been very calm and fantastic with her. I have been doing home child care, but for nearly six months now, and this has only started in the last couple of weeks. One of the kids is particularly loud and boisterous but I don't let him get in either of the dogs faces and they are NEVER left together unattended (I couldn't even if I wanted to - this dog is stuck to me).
He has access to lots of places in the house, including his crate, where he could go and hide for a while, but he just has to be in the middle of everything while freaking out. He has been pacing all over the room while I type this. Occasionally I can get him to lie down next to me but it only lasts a few minutes.
This is not a dog that can be tired out by long walks and then will be calm the rest of the day. This is not a case of too much energy, it is a case of extreme anxiety. So although I am open to suggestions of more exercise it needs to be for a different purpose than to just tire him out -- because that won't help.
I am thinking about doing some more obedience work with him and see if that helps. I used to take a lot of classes with him, but that fell by the wayside after the baby. We don't have the money to pay for a trainer/classes, but I can always do some work with him myself.
Any other ideas?
