We adopted Ari (10 months old) two weeks ago and he has been a very good boy. He's learned a lot!
The positive things about Ari are: he's friendly with other humans and all animals alike. He loves EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. He doesn't seem to have a mean bone in his body. He's very outgoing / social and just loves to be loved. He's confident (for the most part) and nothing really seems to scare him. He's curious about everything! He's completely potty-trained and knows several commands now.
The negatives: Ari seems to have separation anxiety and a fear of going outside in the backyard alone.
For starters... the separation anxiety. My husband and I both work different shifts. I work a 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. shift while my hubby works a 3 - 11:30 p.m. shift. So Ari is typically only alone for 3 1/2 - 4 hours a day (5x a week) tops.
When we first brought Ari home, this didn't seem to be a problem with him. Ari has "his area" (as we call it) where he sleeps at night and eats. There is a half door (or a country door as we call it) so he can remain back there while we're out. The space is large enough for him to walk around, play, stretch out, etc... and he seems to love being back there. (We tried crate training, but he wasn't keen on that). Each night when he knows it's his "bed-time", he goes back to his "area" and lays down. We shut the half door, and he's 100% fine. Never hear a peep out of him.
However, when Ari knows that we are leaving the house (to run to the store or to work) and he goes back in his area, he freaks out when we shut the door. He whines, cries, barks, jumps up and down, and just recently, managed to jump completely over the half door! I was surprised to find him roaming the house when I got home! (Though he was a good boy and didn't do anything too "bad".
When I come home from work each day, I don't make a big fuss over him. Most of the time I ignore him for a few minutes (I go through the mail, put my shoes away, etc...) and then I take him out to potty (still without fussing over him). I'm just not sure what to do about his separation anxiety when we're leaving the house.
I would leave him out in the house alone, but I'm just nervous that because he's still a "pup" - he may tear something up or potty in the house. (Though I know he's potty trained, I just don't want to take chances).
Any thoughts on what we can do to lessen the anxiety he feels about being left alone for 3-4 hours a day? (I already walk him everyday, once in the morning and twice in the evening). I know doodles love to be around people all the time...
Secondly - I'm not 100% sure how his previous home-life was, but from what I could tell when we adopted him, he was chained up outside a lot. So right now, Ari refuses to go outside alone. When I ask him if he wants to go outside and "go potty" he gets excited, ears perk up, wagging tail, etc... but when I open the door, he refuses to go outside. He just stands there and wags his tail. I've tried throwing treats out there, toys, etc... and he will not go unless I physically step out of the door with him and then when I try to get back inside, he tries to bolt back inside the house.
However, once he's in the yard by himself, he is perfectly fine! Like a normal dog! It's just getting him out of the door that's the hard part. And I never leave him outside alone long, most of the time I watch him from the back window and make sure that he's doing his business, then I let him back in once he's done checking out the yard. I'd say about half of the time, I do go out there with him. Once he potties, we play fetch for about 15 - 20 minutes and then go back in the house.
So other than the separation anxiety and not going out of the back door by himself, he's the perfect "little guy" for my husband and I! I just don't know what to do about this.
Any suggestions out there? And I'm so sorry that this is SO long - I just wanted to describe in full what was going on so you would get the big picture. Thank you if you've managed to read this far!
TIA!
- Kari & Ari
The positive things about Ari are: he's friendly with other humans and all animals alike. He loves EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. He doesn't seem to have a mean bone in his body. He's very outgoing / social and just loves to be loved. He's confident (for the most part) and nothing really seems to scare him. He's curious about everything! He's completely potty-trained and knows several commands now.
The negatives: Ari seems to have separation anxiety and a fear of going outside in the backyard alone.
For starters... the separation anxiety. My husband and I both work different shifts. I work a 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. shift while my hubby works a 3 - 11:30 p.m. shift. So Ari is typically only alone for 3 1/2 - 4 hours a day (5x a week) tops.
When we first brought Ari home, this didn't seem to be a problem with him. Ari has "his area" (as we call it) where he sleeps at night and eats. There is a half door (or a country door as we call it) so he can remain back there while we're out. The space is large enough for him to walk around, play, stretch out, etc... and he seems to love being back there. (We tried crate training, but he wasn't keen on that). Each night when he knows it's his "bed-time", he goes back to his "area" and lays down. We shut the half door, and he's 100% fine. Never hear a peep out of him.
However, when Ari knows that we are leaving the house (to run to the store or to work) and he goes back in his area, he freaks out when we shut the door. He whines, cries, barks, jumps up and down, and just recently, managed to jump completely over the half door! I was surprised to find him roaming the house when I got home! (Though he was a good boy and didn't do anything too "bad".
When I come home from work each day, I don't make a big fuss over him. Most of the time I ignore him for a few minutes (I go through the mail, put my shoes away, etc...) and then I take him out to potty (still without fussing over him). I'm just not sure what to do about his separation anxiety when we're leaving the house.
I would leave him out in the house alone, but I'm just nervous that because he's still a "pup" - he may tear something up or potty in the house. (Though I know he's potty trained, I just don't want to take chances).
Any thoughts on what we can do to lessen the anxiety he feels about being left alone for 3-4 hours a day? (I already walk him everyday, once in the morning and twice in the evening). I know doodles love to be around people all the time...
Secondly - I'm not 100% sure how his previous home-life was, but from what I could tell when we adopted him, he was chained up outside a lot. So right now, Ari refuses to go outside alone. When I ask him if he wants to go outside and "go potty" he gets excited, ears perk up, wagging tail, etc... but when I open the door, he refuses to go outside. He just stands there and wags his tail. I've tried throwing treats out there, toys, etc... and he will not go unless I physically step out of the door with him and then when I try to get back inside, he tries to bolt back inside the house.
However, once he's in the yard by himself, he is perfectly fine! Like a normal dog! It's just getting him out of the door that's the hard part. And I never leave him outside alone long, most of the time I watch him from the back window and make sure that he's doing his business, then I let him back in once he's done checking out the yard. I'd say about half of the time, I do go out there with him. Once he potties, we play fetch for about 15 - 20 minutes and then go back in the house.
So other than the separation anxiety and not going out of the back door by himself, he's the perfect "little guy" for my husband and I! I just don't know what to do about this.
Any suggestions out there? And I'm so sorry that this is SO long - I just wanted to describe in full what was going on so you would get the big picture. Thank you if you've managed to read this far!
TIA!
- Kari & Ari
